When my wife and I saw TLJ last December, my initial feelings could best be described as "underwhelmed". Not quite disappointed, but certainly not as thrilled as I was when I walked out of The Force Awakens. My wife and I saw it again and I appreciated it more, but the flaws of the film bugged me more as well.
There are some things about TLJ that are pretty bad. The Canto Bight thing is totally shoe-horned in there, at the expense of pacing, but worse, at the expense of ALL logic (if Finn's ship could go to hyperspace to GET TO that casino planet, why couldn't Leia and the others escape like that, or each ship goes to a different destination so Hux can't follow/trace them all, etc.). Sadly, Finn and Rose are wasted on this rather boring subplot. Furthermore, while I liked Poe's growth (what it means to truly lead), it came at a silly cost (why didn't Holdo just tell everyone the plan? This plot point would have worked better if they found out there was a spy aboard or something to make Holdo keep tight lipped about it, whilst making Poe paranoid and rash). I was thrilled to know that Leia could use the force, but floating through space was a bit much (and the effects looked too much like a similar scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 for my tastes). Truth be told, Carrie Fisher's performance is one of the highlights of TLJ ("Dead heroes, but no leaders"), however her floating scene just doesn't sit right with me even now.
Despite those flaws, there are 3 huge positives- Kylo Ren, Ray, and of course, Luke himself.
Let's start with Rey. Some call her a "Mary Sue" for wielding the Force like a pro with absolutely zero training. I would agree, EXCEPT Luke did the same thing in ANH. What? Let's be honest, he knew Obi Wan for like 5 minutes but was suddenly able to use the Force to guide the shot blowing up the Death Star. Later, he trains with Yoda for like a week or something- hardly a lengthy curriculum. So there's that. Hence I discount "Mary Sue" when it comes to Rey.
Despite that debate, what I found compelling about Rey this time out is her search for "her place" (just as Kylo Ren is also seeking his place, more on that later). She is looking to Luke to help her find her place, who she is, why she can do what she can do, etc. Sadly, Luke has no answers for her. Now, this is where the filmmakers pull a doozy- Rey isn't a Skywalker. Or a Kenobi (stupid fan theory). Or anyone in particular. She is a nobody, coming from poor deadbeat parents from Jakku. This does two things: first, you don't have to be a Skywalker to wield the Force; second, its a great contrast to Kylo Ren, who was born in privilege (a Skywalker, son of the Rebellion's greatest heroes, etc). She has nothing but is intrinsically good, whilst he is born with everything and is simply bad. The fact that she is a nobody makes her relatable, and while it is a little sad, it is very realistic (after all, the characters cant all be related, right? Its a bigger galaxy than that). This is one thing I hope they don't "undo" for Episode 9.
Then there's Kylo Ren's equally complicated story arc. Kylo Ren starts the film being chastised and belittled by Snoke- Ren is told that he is "just a child in a mask", hardly the next Darth Vader. Thus, Ren begins to question all that he has done. He destroys his own mask in a fit of impotent rage, and it is clear he is filled with anger, and a lot of doubt (Snoke calling Hux a rabid "cur" certainly applies equally to Ren, and he knows it). Have all of his decisions led him to this? Surely he must be greater than this?
In Ren's next scene, when he is flying toward Leia's ship, he hesitates to shoot the bridge, knowing his mother is on board; again he doubts, just as he felt doubt in killing his father Han Solo. When the other First Order ship blows up the bridge instead, to Ren, Leia is dead. I think that several critics missed that idea- HE thinks Leia is dead, and thus his past is just about dead as well. It is time for him to bury the past (even though he will always be obsessed with it) and forge his own path to greatness. There is nothing- no love, no sentimentality- to hold him back.
Even though a lot of people complain about it, Ren's murder of Snoke fits Ren's arc perfectly. He must get out from under Snoke's shadow, and in doing so does something that even Vader could not do- he becomes the head of his new Empire (or whatever you want to call the First Order at this point). Thus Ren has surpassed the past, even as he claimed to "kill" it. Ren is now the number one threat to the galaxy, his greatness fully achieved. All he must do is get rid of the stragglers of the Resistance (he thinks his mother is dead, so he will feel no hesitation) and he will have achieved it all.
But, his anger and his (continued) obsession with the past blinds him when Luke confronts him. Ren lets his rage blind him to what Luke is doing (more on that in a bit). When that "confrontation" is over, Ren heads inside the old rebel base and finds- Han Solo's dice (another Force projection). Again, something that I bet a lot of viewers miss- by seeing those dice, Ren must surely realize that his mother was there, still alive! Imagine how he must be reeling knowing that he just missed his mother, that his past isn't as dead as he thought. (Sadly, the audience knew that Carrie Fisher died and the Ren/Leia confrontation will never happen. But think about it as if that wasn't the case... )
Finally, this brings us to Luke Skywalker himself. After RotJ, one would have expected everyone to have a happy ending. However, TFA shows that there is still no peace in the galaxy. None of our characters had a "happily ever after". What makes everyone think Luke would have? Whatever happened, he blamed himself and left everything behind. That was all we knew from TFA. We find out, more than we bargained for, in TLJ.
People have had enormous problems with Luke's behavior. First, some have said he was made cowardly by going away and hiding. I don't think I need to remind anyone that Obi Wan and Yoda both went into hiding, waiting for years before getting involved again. Luke is just following a Jedi tradition, if you will. I have no issue here.
Luke is obviously reluctant to jump in again, and tells Rey to "go away". His argument is VERY logical- would he jump out with his "laser sword" and fight the whole First Army war machine singlehandedly whilst blindfolded and jumping through the air? It is unrealistic for many reasons. But, as Luke's story unfolds, there are other, more personal reasons to not get involved.
Luke has many reasons to doubt the Jedi, his father, and himself in terms of their galactic legacy. He makes the case that the prequels tried to make (but couldn't quite figure out how)- that the Jedi, whatever their intentions, had become part of the problem. Subsequently, they have become romanticized figures, but Luke, knowing the truth of it, feels they are not nearly so worthy of veneration. "Failure" is their legacy, Luke says. Is he really wrong?
Finally, the issue that has divided the fanbase ever since- Luke's reaction to the growing power of Ben Solo. During his time training with Ben, Luke feels the darkness stirring within the young man, and, for the briefest of moments, contemplates killing him. I think it is akin to killing a young Hitler- do you kill an innocent child for the evil he may do one day? Luke can see that his nephew is enamored by tales of GrandpaVader (never thought I'd write that), and that he will travel down that path, ruining everything Luke and Leia accomplished. Who could stand aside and LET that happen? Surely such a scenario is a trap of the Dark Side of the force.
He is TEMPTED, but doesn't succumb to that trap. To those fans who say this is a poor way to handle Luke, I have two responses. First, Luke was sorely tempted to kill Vader in ROTJ. Look at the end battle of ROTJ- Luke is enraged, and violently hacks his father's hand off. Luke is certainly about to perform the death blow, but stops just short of the abyss. He will not do this- he will not murder. His actions toward Ben are similar. He is tempted, but doesn't commit the act- thus Luke is certainly consistant. Second, some say that he resisted the Dark Side in ROTJ, and thus shouldn't be so tempted again. Says who? Who said that its a one and done thing? Sure, Luke passed the test in ROTJ. But the future? The future is always in question. Temptation can rear its ugly head again, and no one, not even Luke, is a saint, forever perfect. Luke was tempted, didn't fall into it, but the damage was done. Or was Ben going to go bad no matter what, and this was just the convenient nudge? Truthfully it doesn't matter. Luke blames himself, rightly or wrongly, and runs away from everything.
Now here is what I consider the best part. Luke now realizes that he must learn from his failure and come back to the galaxy. But Luke has sworn to never wield a Lightsaber again. But Leia, the Resistance, and indeed "all hope" is about to be extinguished by Kylo Ren. Luke does something we have never seen a Jedi do- a realistic force projection of himself to Crait and the battlefield. Now, we have never seen a Jedi do that before- such is Luke's power. But the best part of this is- he doesn't actually fight. He turns Ren's rage against him, buying time for the Resistance to escape. Luke does this without bloodshed, without anger. In my opinion, Luke knows this will cost him his life, but the cause is the right one. Luke will save his sister, he will save "hope". Indeed, Luke's "fighting without fighting" is an action that FEELS so true to the Jedi principles, more true than any previous Jedi action in any of the films. Luke is using the force for "defense", not attack. Luke tricks the Dark Side, and saves the light without anger or violence. Luke's explanation to Ren gives me chills whenever I watch it "The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi". Powerful stuff in my opinion.
There are many problems with TLJ. Pacing is a problem. The Canto Bight subplot is a problem. Some of the humor is a problem. However, I would argue that the main through line of Luke, Leia, Kylo Ren, and Rey is strong, worthy of the best of the Star Wars films. The trick is sifting through the weak stuff to get to the good stuff. In that way its like the Prequels, but unpredictable. I do not know where TLJ will ultimately fall in the pantheon of Star Wars. There is a lot of hate for it right now (some legitimate criticism, some just crazy). But there are defenders of it as well. Only time will tell, depending on how Episode 9 deals with this. Some hope that Ep 9 will reverse all of the big things that happened in Ep 8. I HOPE they double down- Rey is a nobody, Snoke is DEAD, Kylo Ren is the new Emperor, etc. Let this stuff have the opportunity to stick. It is worthwhile, and if Ep 9 can keep this while adding to it, this "sequel trilogy" will be successful.
PS- Carrie Fisher's untimely death certainly impacted how people viewed TLJ. IF she lived to be in Ep 9- the climax to 8 would be stronger in that Luke saves Leia for a future "confrontation" with her son. But, in real life we know she won't be in Ep 9, making Luke's act seem almost futile. Something to ponder...
Until next time...
