I love this movie more and more each time I watch it. I admit I was initially uncomfortable on my first viewing with how Luke was written, but that's what has made me love what Rian Johnson has done even more. He's using the characters in the movie to powerfully remind us how we build up people and things in our own minds (our "legends") and then are often disappointed when me meet them in person and they aren't everything we imagined them to be.
He essentially made Rey a stand-in for me, the lifelong Star Wars fan. I've been waiting 30 years since Return of the Jedi to meet Luke Skywalker again--I've built him up so much in my mind (and I suspect many others of my generation did as well) that if he didn't walk out with a laser sword and face down--and beat--the entire First Order in this movie, then I would have been disappointed. That's what I WANTED to see, I'm not ashamed to admit it. Rey also wanted Luke to come out and be the legend she'd heard about, so when he didn't we were BOTH disappointed.
That's why, when I watched it a second time and I made peace with where Luke was, the story really started growing on me. "The Last Jedi" isn't and never was going to be Luke's hero story, so if not that--how does Luke best serve the hero journey for Rey? Once I finally was able to get past saying in my own mind, "Luke Skywalker would NEVER do [fill in the blank]!" then I noticed a nuanced and thought-out story with very deep feelings embedded inside and was actually quite moved emotionally. It didn't happen on the initial viewing, but it's no longer too much of a stretch for me to believe that the same Luke who flew against the Death Star, and stood up to the Emperor and Darth Vader could also believe that because of his actions regarding his nephew, he may have left the Galaxy in worse shape by unleashing Kylo Ren. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Mark Hamill's performance and do feel that what he gave us on screen was everything I had waited decades to see. And even on first viewing, I was at peace with Luke's fate (much more so than I was with Han's fate the first time I saw "The Force Awakens")
I could go on defending, point by point, a bunch of things that fans have complained about and explain why they didn't bother me, but that won't change anyone's opinion. I don't have an issue with anyone who didn't like "The Last Jedi" and I won't argue that anyone should. However, I strongly disagree with those who say Johnson "ruined the franchise." He did not and I think this is a fine addition to the Skywalker story. I agree the movie does have some questionable plot moments--though the novelization of the movie by Jason Fry fills in a few of those apparent holes in the plot.
I have no problem putting "The Last Jedi" as my 2nd favorite in the franchise (behind "Empire Strikes Back").
Review by AndyVIP 8BlockedParent2018-03-14T13:43:15Z
I love this movie more and more each time I watch it. I admit I was initially uncomfortable on my first viewing with how Luke was written, but that's what has made me love what Rian Johnson has done even more. He's using the characters in the movie to powerfully remind us how we build up people and things in our own minds (our "legends") and then are often disappointed when me meet them in person and they aren't everything we imagined them to be.
He essentially made Rey a stand-in for me, the lifelong Star Wars fan. I've been waiting 30 years since Return of the Jedi to meet Luke Skywalker again--I've built him up so much in my mind (and I suspect many others of my generation did as well) that if he didn't walk out with a laser sword and face down--and beat--the entire First Order in this movie, then I would have been disappointed. That's what I WANTED to see, I'm not ashamed to admit it. Rey also wanted Luke to come out and be the legend she'd heard about, so when he didn't we were BOTH disappointed.
That's why, when I watched it a second time and I made peace with where Luke was, the story really started growing on me. "The Last Jedi" isn't and never was going to be Luke's hero story, so if not that--how does Luke best serve the hero journey for Rey? Once I finally was able to get past saying in my own mind, "Luke Skywalker would NEVER do [fill in the blank]!" then I noticed a nuanced and thought-out story with very deep feelings embedded inside and was actually quite moved emotionally. It didn't happen on the initial viewing, but it's no longer too much of a stretch for me to believe that the same Luke who flew against the Death Star, and stood up to the Emperor and Darth Vader could also believe that because of his actions regarding his nephew, he may have left the Galaxy in worse shape by unleashing Kylo Ren. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Mark Hamill's performance and do feel that what he gave us on screen was everything I had waited decades to see. And even on first viewing, I was at peace with Luke's fate (much more so than I was with Han's fate the first time I saw "The Force Awakens")
I could go on defending, point by point, a bunch of things that fans have complained about and explain why they didn't bother me, but that won't change anyone's opinion. I don't have an issue with anyone who didn't like "The Last Jedi" and I won't argue that anyone should. However, I strongly disagree with those who say Johnson "ruined the franchise." He did not and I think this is a fine addition to the Skywalker story. I agree the movie does have some questionable plot moments--though the novelization of the movie by Jason Fry fills in a few of those apparent holes in the plot.
I have no problem putting "The Last Jedi" as my 2nd favorite in the franchise (behind "Empire Strikes Back").