Much has been written already about Star Wars: The Last Jedi and this to be expected when something as loved as Star Wars takes on a new direction.
My thoughts on the film are mixed. Some elements I liked, whilst others made me angry. It’s a bold step in a new direction for a much-loved film franchise. My main worry, that maybe they are flogging Star Wars to death.
As a whole, I found the film to be engaging and enjoyable. But I wouldn’t watch it again. I’m a massive Star Wars fan & I’m not going to sign a petition like some to get this film reversed. But I really didn’t like what they did to Luke Skywalker’s character. After all this is THE Luke Skywalker who destroyed the sith by recognising there was still good left in Darth Vader. We are then supposed to believe that this same Luke Skywalker would dismiss R2-D2 playing him Princess Leia’s message from A New Hope. That’s just not true to his character or the Jedi. But I guess this is the point director, Rian Johnson wanted to make.
There were some comical moments in the film, which were great. They at least didn’t try to change Chewbacca’s character. R2 and C3P0 didn’t feature too much, which was a little disappointing, but I guess, that’s how you can move on from the originals and the prequels and take your own direction.
I think the hardest thing for me watching the film is that this is a brand-new story & not one created by George Lucas. It’s make-believe. I know this sounds absurd, as all of Star Wars is make-believe (even if I wish it was real!). But when the original came out in 1977, this was a solid stand-alone film. In 1980, what I think was the best Star Wars was released. This all flowed on well from the first film and lead into Return of the Jedi. When George Lucas started making the prequels in the late 90s, the story was set. All the prequel movies did was flesh-out the back story that we knew from the original trilogy. It really wasn’t make-believe; it was just showing us what we already knew. But The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi are new stories. Brand new. There’s no set-up of these in Episode VI. These are new and not created by George Lucas. So, they are going to be different. But what they did to Luke Skywalker, it’s just too different to what I imagined at the end of Return of the Jedi. Luke is a Jedi like his father before him. I don’t think it’s believable that he would turn his back on The Force and the Rebellion/Resistance.
I’ll still be watching the next one, because as I said I didn’t hate the film. But I hope that maybe they end Star Wars at the next film. They don’t have the magic of the originals and aren’t as good as the prequels. I feel now Star Wars is an example of the modern-day studio system. And what this system works on hasn’t changed from the Golden Age. It’s all about money.