Thoughts on The Last Jedi - TOTAL SPOILERS - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
SPOILERS INCLUDED AHEAD!!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, I RECOMMEND YOU DO NOT CONTINUE READING
My first thought was how much I cried. And it was for a number of reasons. This was Carrie Fisher's last Princess Leia film. It was not how her story was supposed to end, which make the events of the film even that more tragic. The next film was supposed to be the "Princess Leia" film and you can see the foreshadowing as to what she was going to do there. That story was stolen from us by the Grim Reaper.
I cried because I'm sentimental. I'm the person who can't throw things out because I know the story attached to them. I can't even clean my kids room or throw away their school projects. I have a whole houseful of my parents stuff that no one wants that I can't just throw away.
It's apparent after The Last Jedi, that the Star Wars universe I grew up on is over. The obvious plan now was Han Solo dies in movie #1, Luke Skywalker in movie #2, and Princess Leia in the movie that will now never be made. The childhood trio that sucked me into sci-fi big-time is gone.
I'm struggling with that.
The movie was great, though. Rian Johnson is a great filmmaker who created a fun movie in the midst of all the death and destruction that goes on here, and there's a hell of a lot of it. Fun moments with Po tormenting General Hux are hysterical. The build-up over the last two years of Rey handing Luke his father's lightsaber ends with a laugh. At the same time, we get to see the concepts George Lucas instilled of old fashioned western where it's good versus bad tossed aside. Just when we think we're ready to cheer because Rey is right about Ben Solo, it all goes to hell in a hand-basket. It's a great scene, though. The concept of the hero who goes against what he's told and is right is tossed away here - sometimes the reckless one isn't right and the generals are. Sometimes he doesn't see the forest for the trees. Po gets a lesson. Everyone, it seems, gets a lesson. There's a time and a place for everything, and sometimes you don't get it right. The Star Wars universe has moved beyond the 1950's movie serials that first inspired Lucas.
Luke Skywalker's story is a good one as is told here, and is a cautionary tale for many. His own ego at the time wouldn't allow for the fact that he was seeing in Ben wasn't a definitive outcome and he acted hastily - creating Kylo Ren. He tells Rey a lie similar to the one Obi-Wan told him, but where Obi-Wan's was intended to protect Luke from following in the footsteps of his evil father, Luke's lie to Rey is merely to protect himself. He still wants to be the hero. Even though he says he doesn't, he wants to be the hero and the legend.
We don't learn who Supreme Leader Snoke is. Who Rey's parents are is both fitting and a let-down. You have to have the "nobodys" rising up to keep the rebellion going, especially if that's all that's left of it at the end.
Which brings me back to the movie we'll never see.
I imagine the thought was Leia reorganizing, recruiting, and revitalizing the rebellion to keep it going after it seems nearly all is lost. The fact that Ben could not fire the shot that would have killed his mother will never be resolved. I'm hoping Carrie Fisher's real-life daughter who does play a more prominent role in this film stays on and helps in that regard. It carries her torch in a way. It's a story that needs to be told.
Mark Hamill has not aged well, by the way. I adored him but there's a reason he went into voice acting. I don't know if that's due to the facial reconstruction he received after his accident that inspired the whole story of his encounter with the snow creature on Hoth, or just the way life goes sometimes.
The Last Jedi leaves us with hope for the future and leaves the series in good hands. It's just hard to realize the story of your childhood heroes is now over. As someone who has mourned so much, it's a hard thing to deal with. Hell, I'm crying as I'm typing this.
My first thought was how much I cried. And it was for a number of reasons. This was Carrie Fisher's last Princess Leia film. It was not how her story was supposed to end, which make the events of the film even that more tragic. The next film was supposed to be the "Princess Leia" film and you can see the foreshadowing as to what she was going to do there. That story was stolen from us by the Grim Reaper.
I cried because I'm sentimental. I'm the person who can't throw things out because I know the story attached to them. I can't even clean my kids room or throw away their school projects. I have a whole houseful of my parents stuff that no one wants that I can't just throw away.
It's apparent after The Last Jedi, that the Star Wars universe I grew up on is over. The obvious plan now was Han Solo dies in movie #1, Luke Skywalker in movie #2, and Princess Leia in the movie that will now never be made. The childhood trio that sucked me into sci-fi big-time is gone.
I'm struggling with that.
The movie was great, though. Rian Johnson is a great filmmaker who created a fun movie in the midst of all the death and destruction that goes on here, and there's a hell of a lot of it. Fun moments with Po tormenting General Hux are hysterical. The build-up over the last two years of Rey handing Luke his father's lightsaber ends with a laugh. At the same time, we get to see the concepts George Lucas instilled of old fashioned western where it's good versus bad tossed aside. Just when we think we're ready to cheer because Rey is right about Ben Solo, it all goes to hell in a hand-basket. It's a great scene, though. The concept of the hero who goes against what he's told and is right is tossed away here - sometimes the reckless one isn't right and the generals are. Sometimes he doesn't see the forest for the trees. Po gets a lesson. Everyone, it seems, gets a lesson. There's a time and a place for everything, and sometimes you don't get it right. The Star Wars universe has moved beyond the 1950's movie serials that first inspired Lucas.
Luke Skywalker's story is a good one as is told here, and is a cautionary tale for many. His own ego at the time wouldn't allow for the fact that he was seeing in Ben wasn't a definitive outcome and he acted hastily - creating Kylo Ren. He tells Rey a lie similar to the one Obi-Wan told him, but where Obi-Wan's was intended to protect Luke from following in the footsteps of his evil father, Luke's lie to Rey is merely to protect himself. He still wants to be the hero. Even though he says he doesn't, he wants to be the hero and the legend.
We don't learn who Supreme Leader Snoke is. Who Rey's parents are is both fitting and a let-down. You have to have the "nobodys" rising up to keep the rebellion going, especially if that's all that's left of it at the end.
Which brings me back to the movie we'll never see.
I imagine the thought was Leia reorganizing, recruiting, and revitalizing the rebellion to keep it going after it seems nearly all is lost. The fact that Ben could not fire the shot that would have killed his mother will never be resolved. I'm hoping Carrie Fisher's real-life daughter who does play a more prominent role in this film stays on and helps in that regard. It carries her torch in a way. It's a story that needs to be told.
Mark Hamill has not aged well, by the way. I adored him but there's a reason he went into voice acting. I don't know if that's due to the facial reconstruction he received after his accident that inspired the whole story of his encounter with the snow creature on Hoth, or just the way life goes sometimes.
The Last Jedi leaves us with hope for the future and leaves the series in good hands. It's just hard to realize the story of your childhood heroes is now over. As someone who has mourned so much, it's a hard thing to deal with. Hell, I'm crying as I'm typing this.
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