Although I'm old enough to have been the original Star Wars trilogy in theaters, I didn't actually get to see them as a kid. (At least I did see them long before I got married and had a Star Wars-obsessed son.) Although I still consider The Empire Strikes Back the best movie in the series, I'm not particularly nostalgic about the original trilogy. Perhaps that makes it easier for me to accept different visions of the Star Wars universe. (Surely the galaxy is big enough to contain many stories, right?) I didn't know what to expect from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but I really liked the movie. So far, I've seen it twice: once with my son on Friday (I surprised him with a viewing on opening day), and again Saturday with my husband (who was seeing it for the first time) and my son. I'll try to avoid spoilers as I talk about the movie.
This episode of the Star Wars saga, while drawing on what we've already seen, manages to pack a lot of surprise twists into the story. To paraphrase Luke, this isn't going to go the way you think it will. Some of the mysteries from The Force Awakens are answered (though I wasn't always satisfied with the answers), while some will no longer be important. The line between good and evil is harder to define. The new trio of main characters learn from Luke and Leia. I liked Rose, who shows Finn a different perspective on the universe. The visuals and battle scenes were stunning.
The Last Jedi is far from perfect. There were some scenes and plot decisions that didn't quite make sense (though they weren't bad enough, for me at least, to break the suspension of disbelief. I don't expect Star Wars to be scientifically rigorous.) I've heard people complain about the humor not fitting the Star Wars universe or being poorly timed, but it didn't bother me. There were some characters that I wanted to see more of. Nevertheless, this felt like a solid addition to the saga for me. I doubt we will ever get to see balance or a stable government, as stories (and Disney) profit from conflict. But The Last Jedi shows you don't have to be extraordinarily gifted to make a difference, and perhaps that's more inspiring in the long run.
Speaking of inspiration, I hope I can now return to Dryads to Discover and my other projects without having Star Wars loom over my brain like the Death Star over a planet. Whoops...
3 comments:
I completely enjoyed it as well. I think what Luke said paraphrases the whole thing best. (Which is why some fans are saying it's the worst movie ever made - not because it's bad, but because it didn't go the way they wanted.) I was a teen for the first three and saw them in theaters and after the second trilogy, I'm so relieved to see good Star Wars films again.
I think maybe the fans who want everything to be exactly as it was when they saw the first movie will never be satisfied. Kids and adults view the world differently.
We'll probably wait until it comes out on Netflix. We saw The Force Awakens at the theater and were sorely disappointed by how derivative it was. We swore off Star Wars until we caught Rogue One on Amazon Prime. That one we liked, but still not enough to shell money at the theater for the latest one.
I think Star Wars has lost its appeal for us. There's nothing fresh about it except for the special effects. But for newer generations it'll be just like the first time for them, so it has its audience.
Much like Star Trek rebooting the franchise by shifting the time line, SW needs a push in a different direction to keep it contemporary.
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