Star Wars The Last Jedi (2017)

Influences and Pacifism?

A postmodern, introspective Star Wars aimed at all those cool kids who think that Game of Thrones is the best show ever because it kills off the main characters. There's a twist, however, instead of subverting narrative expectations in the first act before going on to tell the same tired hero's coming of age tale for five seasons, and selling your show on the new ways you've found to represent mutilation on the small screen, The Last Jedi offers more questions than answers and dissects a popular art-form which equates heroism to an unquestioned reliance on violence as well as the utility of heroes in the first place.

Rian Johnson structures his take on the Galaxy Far Far Away around a Fury Road-style chase through space. As the tension rises the brutality of the antagonists stirs conflict among the heroes, drawing lines and disintegrating the substance of the Resistance, as opposed to Fury Road's far more optimistic portrayal of the redemption-through-friendship motif.

From the outset the heroic Rebellion are on the back foot with their numbers dwindling bleakly throughout the film's run-time. Front and centre is Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron whose traditional roguish brand of heroics (see "code for toxic masculinity") is shown to waste lives. His impassivity is offset with a youthful charm which keeps the audience onside but sadly blinds many of its number to the reasonable actions of his main antagonist, Holdo. Poe's arc is the most tonally confused with many seeing Holdo's Nux-esque sacrifice at the end as a commendation of violence, but I think Johnson's pacifism fits more comfortably into this fantasy action movie than people give him credit for. It's all about utilitarianism, if self-sacrifice and a bit of murder can maximise the aggregate lives saved then go for it (says Johnson). But if a peaceful alternative can be found - retreat, espionage, dialogue, turning up at the last minute as a ghost to trigger your nephew's PTSD and allowing your pals escape - then those alternative routes should be taken. Most importantly of all, thoughts of one’s own legacy should not factor into the decision-making process when lives are at risk.

Following J.J.'s adaptation of a big bag of Haribo's, The Force Awakens, Johnson was put in the difficult position of creating a film which had been set up to emulate various aspects of Empire and Return of the Jedi. His decision to take those elements and re-appropriate them into a meta narrative about war and Star Wars itself was a little undergrad Philosophy-minor, but at least they didn't get Colin Trevorrow to direct this one. That's all I'm saying.

(not) Coming of the Frustrated Man-Babies

The Last Jedi is partially, I suspect, an outlet for Rian Johnson's lasting scars from his high school years as an outsider who just couldn't score with babes. On various levels Kylo Ren, Hux and Finn live out the legacy of Luke Skywalker who lived in a Galaxy where the only age-appropriate girl was his own sister.

The continuity for Finn between films is reinforced by nice choices in the performance and script. For a man who spent all of the previous film running from conflict it makes sense that he would take his first opportunity to jump ship and head off to find Rey. I also like Boyega's cocky neck-tilt he does whenever he meets new woman. Finn's reputation as a hero of the resistance is an effective mirror of Luke in this film and I like that Johnson chooses to tell the story of the loner finding purpose in the fight for good. In the previous trilogy this development for Han Solo mostly takes place off screen. At the start of the film, Finn is loyal to himself and Rey. But it's not like that... no it’s not like that. We're just friends and I'm cool with it. The thing is she's actually in my friend-zone too? We're actually just really good friends? Isn't it so funny that everyone always thinks it's like that? It's so crazy. Like imagine if it were like that.... imagine. Just. Imagine.

Oh, Rian. High school was hard for everyone. Give me a call some time. We can play Ratchet and Clank, remake Lord of the Rings in my back garden and pretend that we're not in love with our best friends.

Meanwhile, Hux is clearly working through some issues. He's not finding solace in his Incel 4Chan community and he just can't get over the memory of that time he and Kylo Ren got really drunk and thought it would be funny if they spooned. Hux's oft-simmering, oft-exploding reservoir of emotion is channelled throughout the film into an ever-expanding series of cannons which he likes to shoot at the big resistance ship filled with all those girls who didn't respond to his advances on Tinder. Domhnall Gleeson's performance became the focus of some criticism following the film's release with people suggesting that his overacting was off-putting. Whilst it might seem a bit tired of me to point out that treating fascists with contemptuous parody is a perfectly reasonable response, I'll just say this, the man lives in a universe inhabited by Muppets where a dude's best friend can be a big growly bear thing, where six-armed aliens run 50's diners and where Jar-Jar Binks lives. The performance is pitched perfectly. One of the greatest moments in the film follows Snoke's death, when Kylo lies unconscious on the floor. Hux reaches for his gun. The thing I am most looking forward to in episode 9 is seeing this dynamic play out.

And Kylo. Disney were probably surprised by the audience response to Loki, following Branagh's Shakespearean take on Thor. The appropriation of the male power-fantasy by female audiences and the way it was channelled into countless Tumblr threads and ladies' book groups buying tickets to The Dark World to enjoy Chris Hemsworth's arms resulted in more word-of-mouth marketing and ticket sales than the lacklustre franchise could have otherwise hoped for and so naturally a Loki-figure was required for their new Star Wars franchise. Loki just wouldn't stay dead. With his black hair, pasty complexion and penchant for melodrama, Ren also calls back to Severus Snape and through him a history of Romantic anti-heroes like Heathcliff. He might be violent, an emotionally stunted, privileged brute but he's hurting. You can change him.

Once again, however, the seeds of their antagonist grew into something much more interesting. With Kylo's ancestry and vulnerability, not to mention the fact that he keeps murdering everyone, I'm hardly the first person to recognise his analogous connection to a generation of increasingly frustrated and radicalised young white boys who were promised the world on a silver platter then got pissed off when they realised that hard work might count for more than wishing on a star. Driver's sultry performance and refusal to emote an expression which can't be read in fewer than one hundred different ways make him a captivating screen presence and the complexity of his misplaced rage almost goes some way to redeeming the prequels’ utter failure to convey the same character arc through Anakin. As the series develops, this character's brilliance continues to far outstrip the now relatively-paltry characterisation of Darth Vader. Johnson's continual dissection of the symbols which represent the Star Wars franchise is what make this the best Star Wars film for me.

Rey(lo)

I think absolutely everything that takes place on the Jedi island is wonderful. Shot lavishly, compellingly written, challenging-ly inert, the scenes offer the perfect counterpoint for Luke's Dagobah training. Ideally, we wouldn't have the exact same recluse Master, wide-eyed Apprentice dynamic being played out at all, but Ri-Jo was dealt the hand he was dealt. Aspects of Luke’s representation, particularly the montage of his day-to-day life on the desolate island, display for the audience, as much as Rey, the disappointment which comes from placing too much stock in myths which no living person could embody.

It's a very feminist idea that while the male Jedi found place and purpose and history when he went searching for them, Rey finds only disappointment and confusion in a universe which has long neglected people like her. Her path is to forge her own legacy without the guidance of her progenitors and, really, that is the most interesting story that could be told in a pop-corn blockbuster about laser-swords.

Rey has become the focus of a great deal of backlash, but I see her as one of the most compelling protagonists in this franchise. Yes, like Anakin and Luke before her she is equipped with a specific set of skills such as being a good pilot, being naturally the best at the force, and having a good mind for technology but it’s in her innocence that she's given real depth. In a call-back to her "I didn't know there was this much green in the whole Galaxy" line in Force Awakens, a single shot in which she marvels at the rain falling from the sky indicates her innocence and speaks to a history on a desolate desert planet which now need not be told in a thousand spin-off comics. The neglect she has suffered throughout her young life is crystallised in her desperate attempts to find validation and purpose in a series of men in her life who continually let her down. Yes, Rey is cut from the same cloth as the likes of Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger and whichever petite brunette stars in your YA franchise of choice but her presence as a driving force in this new franchise is taking it to a number of interesting places in terms of characterisation and themes.

Quite the most captivating thing about this film is the Force Skype-chat scenes which build upon concepts introduced in the original trilogy but bring them into the modern age and making them more applicable to the current generation of characters. Romance has featured in the Star Wars universe before, but besides an uncomfortably predatory kiss on board The Millennium Falcon sexual tension has remained untouched (or ludicrously mishandled). The conversations between Rey and Ren (its like Ben. But more Rey-ey) constitute a very eloquent solution to a problem. Unlike the original trilogy where Vader’s presence offered an ominous portent for Luke’s future only in the sequels, the Rey/n as dark mirrors of each other motif was introduced in film one. But how to make these characters grow and influence each other without their differing politics resulting in one of their deaths? The answer was, develop the fact that force users can sense each other and use it to introduce a new, visually captivating way of making the characters interact which is unique to the Star Wars mythology. Rey and Ren’s vulnerability, their inability to find affirmation in the past and their evident mutual attraction turn the notion of being tempted by the dark side from an analogy of making the same mistakes as your parents to a raw flirtation with a passion which might ultimately be bad for you. Rey’s temptation is plain to see on screen, she seeks validation and has no one to turn to but the man she calls a monster. The hard work put into representing this relationship on screen makes the (semi) climactic confrontation in Snoke’s throne-room more interesting because, if you were in her shoes, you might just go for a little bit of dark-side. Ultimately, however a shot of Rey closing the door of the Falcon on Ren, and that part of her life shows that, at least for now, she has put that temptation behind her. And they can’t end up together. He’s too far gone, he’s too evil and he doesn’t deserve her. Right? Rey has to be relatable, but she also has to be an example and seeing her enter into a toxic relationship as that one would be inexcusable.

Bad Bits

I think it’s clear I friggin’ love this movie but there’s clearly reason for the backlash, and while it is ambitious and braver than most films of its kind there are parts where the ambition doesn’t quite pull it through. Sure, the Canto Bight stuff is gauche, but that’s not a problem for me, I’ve sat through ewoks, cantinas, Jabba’s palace, 50’s diners and, hate to harp on at him, Jar Jar Binks. That said the Finn subplot is the weakest. Finn’s character arc is strong, but he’s not complimented by the characters around him. The Benicio Del Toro performance is abysmal and, sadly the Rose character is flat as cardboard. She functions in the script as a purveyor of wisdom whose outlook Finn needs to come to emulate but the dynamic isn’t interesting because there’s nothing she needs to learn in return. If Rose was challenged by Finn in the same way that Holdo is by Poe and Luke is by Rey, then the Canto Bight scenes would have more dimension to them. More purpose. If you’re one of those people who thinks they could just have been cut out, no, you’re wrong, the biggest flaw of Force Awakens was the fact that we don’t understand the politics of the situation. Who are the First Order? What do they want? Why, besides the fact that they have a big gun, do they need to be stopped? Well, this subplot offers some answers. They oppress people and prop up unjust systems, right? Well, it’s a start. But Rose doesn’t work. It’s not Kelly Marie-Tran’s fault, she does a fine job with some cringe-inducing lines, it’s the script. Should have done a wee redraft there.

Anyway, time for bed. To conclude, I like the film.