Star Wars: The Last Jedi and What I Think of This Film

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  The Last Jedi is the latest installment in the Star Wars Saga. Reuniting Luke Skywalker with the galaxy that he left behind has left many fans crying fowl. But it is not just how Luke was portrayed in the Last Jedi that has many at odds with Disney-Lucasfilm, but several other plot points.

 Here is a list of remarks that I have found by Star Wars and movie-going fans on the internet since the film's December 2017 release (no direct quotes are used and they are highlighted in bold). I will address each complaint in with my own thoughts.

  Just remember that we are all Star Wars fans, here. You clicked on this article for a reason. My thoughts may not fit your beliefs and that is fine. We are all entitled to our opinions. 

Spoilers ahead.

Top 10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Complaints

1. Princess Leia flying was stupid. She never could do that before. (Leia has used the Force several times in the new canon comics and books. But more importantly she has known of her connection to the Force for over thirty years. Though she did not train as a Jedi, she is in tune with the Force, and has been for decades. If you watch the crew of the Raddus as she is floating back into the ship they do not seemed surprised at all of her abilities. Just because you are not a Jedi does not mean that you cannot use the Force.)
2. How can Rey have Force powers if she is not a Skywalker? (The theories of Rey's parentage have been flying all over the internet faster than lightspeed for past two years. The Last Jedi dashed many fans' theories, including mine, as to who Rey is. But hold on a moment. Just because she is not a Skywalker does not mean that she cannot utilize the Force. That is like saying that just because someone is not tall that they can never play basketball. The Force is not just for certain family trees. When Temiri Blagg used the Force to bring his broom to him on Cantonica that showed us that there are many in the galaxy that are able to harness and use the Force. Before A New Hope, the Emperor sent out Inquisitors to find Force-sensitive children and bring them to him. He felt that he could turn them to fit his purposes. The bottom line is that the Force is strong with many.) 
3. Killing Snoke was stupid. I wanted to know who he was! (It is possible that we may learn more about him in other stories such as the comics, books, or anthology movies. A force from the outer regions has already been spoken of in the Aftermath novels by Chuck Wendig. This could be Snoke. But the reason killing Snoke was a genius move was not only to provide us with a shocking moment, but to show us that Kylo Ren kept his promise to Darth Vader. He is indeed finishing what Vader started. Ren is now the Supreme Leader, doing what Vader could never do. And many fans built Snoke up to be a very important character, even though his screen time was not at all long or involved. What we are dealing with is conjecture until more information is available.)
4. The new canon sucks. Disney expects you to read all their dumb books to understand the movies. I don't read! (This can be a complaint that can be misconstrued. Many believe that if they do not read the supplemental books and comics that they will not be able to follow the new canon films. This is wrong. It is not necessary to the enjoyment of the films to know that broom boy's name is Temiri Blagg. Or that Niima Outpost is named after Niima the Hutt. It is, however, fun for me to pick up the supplemental books and comics to learn more about the production of the films and what many of the props and characters in the background are about. I do this as a book lover and as a Star Wars fan. This, to me, broadens the story, and gives it an extended life beyond the movies. I love reading, therefore I seek out more stories and information. This does not mean that everyone has to.) 
5. Luke Skywalker is a hero! Not some dumb old man too afraid to face the First Order. He blew up the Death Star for crying out loud! (Luke Skywalker is many things to many people. To those who knew him and his failure at his Jedi Academy they understand his motivations behind his self-imposed exile. To people like Rey he was a myth. To Arashell Sar, Temiri Blagg, and Oniho Zaya (the Canto Bight kids) he was a legendary Jedi who defeated the Empire. No one means the same thing to every person. And sometimes the story of who someone is more than meets the eye. Luke studied the Jedi for decades. He traversed the galaxy claiming artifacts and knowledge not destroyed by the Emperor. And when he finally began to train others he was not prepared for the evil that lay within his own nephew. He may mean a lot to many fans who have looked up to Luke as their childhood hero. But what Rion Johnson did was portray a man whose own legend became larger than he was. Underneath his skill and mastery of the Force Luke is human. A human with hopes, dreams, fears, regrets... like all of us. He may have been broken, but in the end he triumphed. He made it possible for the new Rebellion to escape Crait. He inspired Rey to follow the light. And he became one with the Force on his own terms. If it were not for Luke Skywalker inspiring Rey, the Jedi would have ended with him. He is a hero.)
6. There was too much humor in this movie. (The Resistance is down to a skeleton army, having lost hundreds of members. Luke Skywalker has exiled himself to Ahch-To after his nephew killed his Jedi students and burned his academy to the ground. Kylo Ren kills his teacher to assume the role of Supreme Leader. And the First Order is becoming more powerful every day. That is all heavy stuff to deal with in a film. By injecting humor into this film it offset all the heaviness of the story. Without the Caretakers, Porgs, and even Leia's quips the Last Jedi would have been a dark movie to watch.)
7. The pacing was off with that stupid Canto Bright (yes, the commenter actually said Bright) story line. Who cares about stupid space horses, anyway? (Many say that the Canto Bight story line was useless and that it went nowhere. I ask you think back to the Empire Strikes Back when Luke ditched his training to go to Bespin to save his friends. He went there, but he lost the duel to Vader and had to be saved, and Han still was frozen in Carbonite. Some might say that the entire Cloud City story line was useless. And they did when the movie was first released. In fact many fans were as divided on Empire as they are now about Last Jedi. In my opinion the Canto Bight story line gave us another view of the galaxy. It also introduced to another Force user. It solidified Rose and Finn's friendship. And it introduced DJ, who reminded us that the only beings who benefit from war are the profiteers.)
8. Captain Phasma and Maz Kanata were underused again. (This complaint I agree with. I am a huge fan of both characters, and I was disappointed in how they were used in the Last Jedi. I am hoping that Episode IX gives us more of them. Hopefully Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie will be available for much larger roles.) 
9. Who are the Knights of Ren? Tell us already! (This is a mystery that will have to wait until Episode IX. With confirmation by Disney-Lucasfilm that the Elite Pretorian Guards were not the Knights of Ren, you can expect an answer in one form or another. I, personally, do not believe this to be a big mystery. Luke said that Ben left the burning temple with a handful of his Jedi students. That leads me to believe that this is who they are. We will see.)
10. The theater needs to fix their film, the sound cut out when that lady from Jurassic Park (yes, that is what the commenter called Holdo) crashed her ship. Get better equipment!  (This complaint was everywhere on opening weekend. The film was fine, everyone. The Holdo scene was deliberately shown silent to increase the impact of her sacrifice. There was not a glitch in the film equipment.)

  And those are my reactions to some of the internet's main complaints about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Whether you agree or not, let us all come together in our geekdom to enjoy this awesome franchise.

  Have a great week, everyone!

 

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