The Last Jedi: Divisive and Bold
- Christian Gentolia
- Jan 3, 2018
- 3 min read
When you walk out of the theater and begin to join in conversation about this movie, there will be a whole spectrum of opinions. It will range from those who hated every aspect of Star Wars: The Last Jedi to those loving the direction the film takes. The Last Jedi will be incredibly polarizing to Star Wars fans and I believe that is a good thing.
The Last Jedi did a fantastic job in developing the journeys of Kylo Ren and Rey. Adam Driver embodies the conflict that constantly swirls within the character of Kylo Ren, so well that he becomes the most sympathetic temper tantrum. Daisy Ridley knocks it out of the park again with Rey's inner search into finding out who she is and what she is supposed to do with the Force. Outside of the action sequences, the film takes time to ensure that you understand each character's progression in their grand arc over the trilogy. It is incredibly compelling, so much so that when the film takes breaks from their storyline, I found myself wanting to go back to them as quickly as possible.
The film had some of the best and worst Star Wars moments in all three trilogies. One moment towards the first act of the film had me cringing at the absurdity of it all. However, there comes a scene towards the end of the second act that felt like seeing an old friend you thought would never show up again, and it was terrific. One scene has a moment of complete silence and it feels like Rian Johnson knew that the audience would be exploding in amazement at what transpired prior to that silence. Many moments of dramatic tension were cut short by Marvel-esque humor which hurt the film overall. One scene is definitely going to turn into a meme once the movie is out of theaters -- I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.
The composition of the film was higher-class than is typical of Star Wars films. There were a number of close-up shots of actors' faces so the audience could focus on the characters. In contrast to the close ups, the action scenes and specifically the fight sequences, were shown in wide shots which allowed the audience to understand was happening during these fights. The Star Wars theme was used consistently throughout the film which aided in adding emotional grip when the scenes weren't upended by random quips. The transitions were a throwback to the prequels, with the weird dissolves that took me out of the immersion of the film at times. Overall, the spectacle of the space battles and the fight scenes had its grandeur, while the dramatic scenes were laced with nuance to allow the drama to unfold.
When The Force Awakens came out in 2015, people loved it initially but that love waned after a couple of months. The Last Jedi feels like it will be the film that divides Star Wars fans into those who will not consider this trilogy as canon and those who will look forward to having nine Star Wars movies on marathon nights. The Last Jedi was brash in its decisions story-wise and I applaud it for its willingness to go this direction, but the execution of this brashness did not always work. Luke says in one of the teaser trailers "This is not going to go the way you think," and he is right.
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