There are noted levels to Star Wars fandom.
Most famously, there is obsessive, fanatical kind of Star Wars fan, who more than likely has a tattoo of the Rebel Alliance logo somewhere, owns more than one replica lightsaber at their place of residence, and if you spice up their third cup of blue Tattooine milk, they could be Jedi Mind Tricked into an outright fistfight over who shot first. These are what Mark Hamill calls “UPFs” – Ultra Passionate Fans.
But there are levels below those fans, too – there are fans who have dipped a toe into the Extended Universe through the now non-canon body of novels and the still-canon cartoon series, fans who dove headfirst into the likes of Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Outcast, fans who fight the urge to snappily reply “I know” each time they’re told “I love you”, even if they can’t recall the make and model of every ship that flew in the Battle of Yavin.
I’m more of the latter, something more than a casual – I was at a 7PM Thursday screening – but haven’t yet really earned the U, and I’m acknowledging this with you because it’s important to be open about my positionality before I share some of what I’ve been thinking around The Last Jedi. Real nerds may feel differently.
Overall: It’s a good film. Not a flawless film, but a good A- film; good for 4th in my 2017 rankings behind Get Out, John Wick 2, and Logan.
Large picture stuff:
- ROGUE ONE IS STILL THE BEST STAR WARS FILM
• I had the thing spoiled for me by my students, who left anonymous notes in my classroom trolling me, but I didn’t address it because I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. Plus, I enjoy the journey of the narrative just as much as the destination. That’s such an English major thing to say, but there you go.
• A lot of the serious fan discourse around TLJ is that it ain’t your grand daddy’s Star Wars film. But I don’t think that’s bad thing, especially after The Force Awakens, which essentially refreshed and reset the plot of A New Hope again. I gave that one a pass because I figured they were setting up for the rest of this new trilogy to move the story further forward into new ground.
• Besides, TFA was already your old Star Wars movie. We’re buying tickets to see something new now that is true to the spirit of the series, but pushes it somewhere interesting. The bigger question is whether or not it’s “good”. And it is. As Jay-Z would have said – you want my old shit, watch my old movies.
• This is reinforced by the use of multiple thematic and visual motifs that signified blowing up the past, moving toward the new – and I mean besides Kylo Ren actually literally saying so: Jedi tree burning down, the crash through the casino in which they would normally find a seedy rogue-like figure for help ala Han and Maz, all mainstays besides Chewie gone (and Chewie himself is non-character specific, since anyone can wear the suit), film ending with the possibility of new Force sensitives (although I doubt that specific child on Canto Bight will return), the breaking of Luke’s lightsaber. The decks are almost as clear as they can be for a new story to be told going forward.
• Apparently Abrams will return for Episode IX, which is interesting, since he did TFA and those building blocks he set up were essentially undone with Rey’s parents and Snoke both dead.
Other:
• This film is gorgeous. Like, jawdroppingly, I need to set my computer desktop wallpaper to a shot of this gorgeous. Among the standout sequences: Holgo turning the ship around at lightspeed, the sound cutting out and then exploding, the shot of Luke from behind with sunlight peeking through the crack of the base, and the salt kicking up waves of red. Just incredible.
• Finn subplot on Canto Bight: clunky and okay. Ultimately one of the things that holds back the film for me.
• Rose included as a heroine: great! Rose-Finn chemistry: less great. Perhaps they are setting her up for more in the future, but I’d love to just see more in general.
• Sad face for Rey, who looks over at Finn and Rose in that last scene. I interpret that as her seeing a larger purpose for herself than romance, though.
• Holgo: great character with some complexity. Sadface.
• Leia: should have switched places with Holgo, which would have been a meaningful end to her story, rather than an offscreen write-off in the future. Also, the Force jump didn’t work for me. It was horrible. (This take from Ben Weise and Josh Toyofuku. I agree wholeheartedly.)
• DJ: Looks like Brad Pitt.
• Stylewise, probably my favorite action sequence I can remember in Star Wars with Ren and Rey’s dance against the Imperial Guards.
• Porg usage: cute, but their usage egregious and an obvious, heavy-handed excuse to move merch. I also don’t like dogs. Read into that what you will.
• I think I figured Luke was not there/going to die when he showed up with his lightsaber for the duel against Kylo Ren. That shit was already broken.
• Don’t have any meaningful predictions for Episode IX, but I’d like to see something that potentially moves beyond whether or not the big bad can be turned or redeemed.
adreamofroses 