This breakdown contains spoilers
After multiple viewings, I’d like to breakdown Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) from start to finish, touching on things that I liked and things I didn’t like while addressing some concerns that a lot of people have with this film.
To be clear: it’s perfectly okay for someone to dislike a film. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and that’s part of what makes film discussion enjoyable. That being said, it’s not okay to put others down because they have a different opinion, which is something I’ve seen all over the internet since The Last Jedi was released.
I think that a lot of people are missing what themes and messages Rian Johnson and the Star Wars creators were trying to convey with this film, so I hope to shed some light on it. I won’t touch on everything that happened, but I’ll touch on what stood out to me.
Intro to Poe and the Resistance
I really enjoyed the opening battle between the Resistance fleet and the First Order fleet. There were a lot of cool visuals like the Star Destroyers coming out of light speed from the perspective of the ground, which was a first for the saga, and this sets a precedence for all the brand new things we’ll see in the film.
I loved the setup to Poe’s character arc as we see him being the amazing pilot that he is, but watching him sacrifice the lives of half the Resistance because he disobeyed a direct order from Leia. The film shows us why she sees him as a “hot-headed flyboy” who’s not fit for leadership and it’s a great start to his arc. It gives Poe way more depth than the last film and it shows how wise of a leader Leia is, so double win.
I loved most of the sequence, specifically the dogfighting and the Resistance fighter who gives her life to complete the mission. I did not, however, enjoy the awkward humor between Hux and Poe. It was fine at first, but after a while, it became redundant. It even crossed over into immature territory once Poe dropped a “your mom” joke. There was a lot of hit or miss humor throughout the film, so this was just the start.
Intro to Rey and Luke
I loved that we pick up right where The Force Awakens (2015) left off, with Rey handing the lightsaber to Luke. When he tosses it over his shoulder and walks away, it sets the precedence of his character arc. Luke makes it clear that he has no interest in fighting the First Order, but more importantly, he’s not the legendary Jedi that everyone thinks he is.
A lot of fans hate the fact that Luke just tosses the lightsaber, but it’s symbolic of tossing away the expectations that so many fans placed on this film and it’s the beginning of many tropes to be subverted throughout the film. Luke is not what they fans think he should be. It’s a gutsy and risky path to tread, but it paid off and created a film loaded with depth if we choose to unpack it.
Intro to Kylo Ren
Our introduction to Kylo is a conversation with Supreme Leader Snoke, during which we watch the heavy manipulation that allows Snoke to control Kylo. It’s such a great sequence because we watch as Snoke borderline abuses Kylo into believing that the only way to redeem himself is to cut all remaining ties to his old life, even Vader’s legacy. He sees that Kylo’s rage is stronger than his desire to be like his grandfather.
I loved that Kylo’s gut reaction was to smash his helmet to bits, abandoning his idolization of Vader, and immediately put the smackdown on the Resistance fleet.
While I liked the story line in The Force Awakens about Kylo striving to be like his grandfather, I love that this film builds Kylo’s identity beyond that desire.
Luke’s Struggle
As we got to see Luke’s everyday life, I enjoyed getting more of a feel for the island, Ahch-To.
I really enjoyed seeing Luke spear a massive fish and the Porgs were pretty cute and fun. However, there was a really awkward scene in which Luke milks this weird creature and drinks its green milk.
It shouldn’t have been that weird, but something about the way the creature was sitting, the noises it made and it’s massive udders made the whole scene kind of gross. I definitely could’ve done without this part.
Our discovery that Ahch-To is the home to the first Jedi Temple and the original Jedi texts was a really cool development, especially because Luke abandoned the Force. There’s something poetic about a Jedi who renounced the Jedi teachings, yet it living next to the core temple and texts that represent everything he’s renounced.
The conversations between Luke and Rey are very telling and indicative of one of the main themes of the film. Rey believes Luke should live up to his legendary reputation and lead the Resistance in the fight against the First Order, but her tells her there’s nothing he can do to make a difference and that he can’t “face the whole First Order,” which is ironic considering he basically does that very thing at the end.
Most of this sequence revolves around Luke’s struggle, but it’s an important look into Rey’s struggle as well. She tells him that she strongly feels the Force inside her, but she doesn’t know what to do with it. It gives the audience a small glimpse into her inner conflict she’ll struggle with during the film.
Space Leia
After Kylo’s helmet-smashing incident, he’s started an attack on the Resistance ships during which he pilots the brand new, super sweet TIE Silencer. I love this scene because we get to see for the first time that Kylo is an excellent pilot, probably on the same level as Poe. This was a pretty intense battle visually, but more importantly emotionally. I had a lot more emotional investment in this one than the opening sequence because we get to watch Kylo struggle with killing his mother. Evidence of his internal conflict becomes greatly obvious with this decision, and it’s driven home when another TIE fighter blows the bridge to pieces, giving him a look of borderline shock. Despite killing his father, Kylo is still not 100% committed to the Dark Side.
This is the part where things go downhill for me. Leia’s little spacewalk really ruined the sequence for me. Sure, it didn’t make much sense, but you could always say that because she’s always been force-sensitive, her internal instinct kicked in and created a “force bubble” around herself, but that’s still not a great explanation because she still had lots of ice crusties all over and her lungs should’ve collapsed. What I didn’t care for was that besides looking really dumb, I think putting her in a coma was a waste.
Admiral Holdo was okay, but I would’ve preferred Poe to have his conflict with Leia, who he already has development with.
Unfortunately, it was one of the low points in the film for me.
Luke’s Change of Heart
Weirdly enough, after Leia’s Mary Poppins moment, we switch directly to one of my favorite moments as Luke wanders the halls of the Millennium Falcon.
It was a really heartfelt moment of reminiscing and grieving the death of Han Solo, and it offered the same comfort to the audience as well. When Luke is met by R2-D2, it solidified the scene as one of the best changes of heart I’ve seen in a long time. It was an amazing moment because Luke’s demeanor switches from the grumpy hermit we’ve seen so far into the young Luke we’ve come to love. It’s a subtle change, but an impactful one and the scene improved even more when R2 projects the original Leia hologram from A New Hope (1977) asking for Obi-Wan’s help.
It’s a perfect moment because Luke comes to realize that Obi-Wan was in the exact same position as he is at this point. Obi-Wan failed to keep Anakin from the Dark Side who inevitably wreaked much death and destruction on the galaxy, and Obi-Wan was reluctant to train Luke because of his fear of it happening again. It’s an amazing parallel to Luke’s exact situation and it’s completely believable that he’d agree to train Rey.
Finn and Rose
Finn and Rose’s little side quest to Canto Bight was on of my least favorite parts of the film. Rose as a character is certainly part of the issue, but it’s mainly because the whole mission ends up as inconsequential and it’s kind of boring.
While it does fit in with one of the main themes of the film (heroes fail sometimes), Canto Bight was just a casino with some weird creatures. Throw in a “save the animals” message and a chase scene right out of the Prequels, and you’ve got a waste of 30 minutes.
Rose as a character is ultimately pointless. I actually think she makes the scenes she’s in worse. We see her sister in the opening battle against the Dreadnought and she sacrifices herself to drop the fatal bombs that win the battle. The problem is that she seemed like more of a compelling character than Rose, and we only see her for a few minutes.
Rose’s character consists of swooning over Finn when they meet, tazing him when she realizes he’s running away to save Rey, and that she has a dead sister. She doesn’t have much of a character arc at all, and she feels like a waste of space.
Maz Kanata makes an appearance in the film, when she suggests finding her “master codebreaker,” but she’s more of an exposition machine. She also makes a suggestive comment about her and the codebreaker which was meant to be funny, but it just turned out to be super creepy.
Rey’s Training
I was taken aback a bit when I saw Kylo and Rey share their Force connection, but in a good way. It was a great way to build their relationship, while shedding light on their inner conflicts. Through their shared vision, Kylo tells Rey that she’s replacing the void left by her parents first with Han, now with Luke which is an interesting nod to the many fan theories about her father being Han or Luke.
I also found it interesting when Kylo mentioned that it can’t be Rey forging the connection because “the effort would kill her,” which foreshadowed Luke’s death at the end.
Luke’s lesson about the nature of the Force was almost as much of a lesson to the fans as it was to Rey. She learns that the Force lives within everything and it’s not just about lifting rocks (or flipping around during a lightsaber fight). His comment that “the Force doesn’t belong to the Jedi” is indicative of the balance that must be found between both sides.
The discussion of the balance of the Light and Dark Side hints at Rey and Kylo’s dynamic and more importantly, Luke describes the very thing that he fails to realize as well. While he understands (and tries to teach Rey) that the Jedi way is flawed, he still panics when Rey doesn’t run from the Dark Side just like Kylo didn’t.
Most likely, Luke remembers when he gave in to the Dark Side briefly and beat his own father within an inch of his life, therefore since he couldn’t resist it, he blocked the force entirely.
I think that the lesson that the “legacy of the Jedi is failure” is such a strong and necessary theme in this film and that’s the main point of her training. It was really great seeing the current generation of Star Wars films address that issue because it’s basically the theme of the Prequel trilogy as well. Once I realized that, those films got way better (not great, but I can at least enjoy watching them), so it was cool seeing such distant films connect in such a way.
Rey’s Lineage and Kylo’s Rise
My favorite part of the film by far was the sequence in Snoke’s throne room. I loved watching Kylo slowly realize that Snoke was manipulating him the entire time. Watching the film through a second time, it was amazing to watch Kylo slowly formulate a plan in his head. Knowing how Snoke is killed makes the little details even more obvious, such as when Kylo’s lightsaber is thrown to him and it spins on the ground, giving him the idea.
The Kylo-Rey lightsaber team up was possibly the best moment in the film and was shot and choreographed perfectly. You could see how well they clicked with each other, which gave more merit to their connection.
The scene after the fight in which Kylo reveals that Rey’s parents are no one is absolutely perfect. Not only does it reinforce the idea that a Star Wars film doesn’t have to revolve around a Skywalker or a “chosen one,” but it gives us a deep insight into Kylo’s character. He’s utterly alone, and he desperately wants Rey to come alongside of him because she’s the only one who could begin to understand his conflict. Kylo’s statement that Rey is “nothing, but not to him” is an amazing moment of vulnerability for his character, and shows that he just wants her to “let it all die.”
Rey on the other hand has just gone through the emotional crisis of her life (Luke letting her down, her parents are sold her for drinking money), and she aches for Kylo to turn from the Dark Side because without him, she’s alone in the fight.
Just the word “please” is so impactful in this scene and it’s such a strong moment for both characters.
Snoke
Snoke’s death is a great point of contention with fans in that they think Snoke’s character was a waste. I disagree, because he was never going to be the Emperor. He was an illusion of power and all he did was manipulate stronger people (Kylo). Through all the wild fan speculation, we built him up to be this incredible villain, but he would never live up to the expectations – just like Luke Skywalker. The situation in which he dies even reflects Vader bringing Luke to the Emperor in Return of the Jedi (1983), but the expectation in this case was subverted.
Logistically, I’m glad they killed off Snoke. I would much rather see an angry Kylo Ren run around unchecked, than to have him be subservient.
Finn and Phasma
I hated the fact that Phasma came back to only have a small, meaningless fight with Finn, which ended with her dying anyway. It was pretty obvious that Disney heard that everyone wanted Phasma to fight Finn in The Force Awakens (2015), so they shoehorned her into The Last Jedi (2017). Finally, to finish off a useless plotline with useless characters, I was forced to sit through BB-8 somehow riding/controlling an AT-ST walker and blowing everything up.
Phasma was one of the most underutilized characters in the Force Awakens, and it would’ve been cool to see her come back and play a larger role in the Last Jedi. I would’ve liked to see Finn infiltrate a Star Destroyer while being chased by Phasma and her crew, ending in an epic fight that should’ve been in the last film.
Battle of Crait
Crait was a pretty cool concept for a generally uninhabited mining planet. I thought the salt streaks on the surface was a neat idea, but I loved the caverns underground. The Millennium Falcon chase beneath the surface was incredible and the filming and sound design was amazing.
I liked almost everything about this whole end sequence, other than when Finn tried to sacrifice himself for the Resistance and he was “saved” by Rose. Finn’s sacrifice would’ve completed his character arc, set him off in an admirable way, and he would’ve been regarded as a hero. Instead, we got Rose presumably dooming the Resistance to extinction, and an awkward kiss. While I don’t think that a romance was implied, it just made that scene a tad worse.
Luke coming back as a projection of himself after Yoda’s discussion of failure being the greatest teacher (with was great) and ultimately leading to his death was another point of contention for a lot of people, but it was foreshadowed pretty strongly.
Some people think that Luke should’ve come back for real and fought Luke, but that’s just not a possibility. First off, his X-Wing has been submerged in water for a very long time, so that probably would work. Secondly, if he would’ve fought Kylo, he would’ve been killed so quickly it would make your head spin. Lastly, him using the Force to accomplish an incredibly difficult feat was satisfying and he got to die with purpose, and in peace. As a man who shunned the Force for years and struggled with the lack of purpose for many years, his character arc came around full circle, and he saved the last of the Resistance. In the next film, he’ll most likely come back as a Force ghost and guide Rey in the right direction.
My favorite aspect of Luke’s death is that despite his troubling past, he’ll be remembered by the Resistance as the legendary Jedi who faced down the entire First Order and sacrificed himself for the survival of the Resistance. We get to see this in the very last scene where the slave kids are reenacting the Battle of Crait, and the boy who clearly has force abilities looks at the stars and dreams about joining the Resistance. I thought it was a perfect and poetic way for Luke to die.
Final Thoughts
Watching the divisiveness surrounding this film, I can understand both sides. While I think it’s one of the best Star Wars films to date, it still has some large problems. The good thing is that pacing issues, lackluster characters, and weird Leia moments are eclipsed by the overall themes of the film.
The main themes are as follows:
- Anyone can be gifted in the Force. Star Wars shouldn’t just be a Skywalker story. Even the daughter of a junk trader who sold her into slavery can be an exceptional Jedi.
- People fail all the time, and holding them to an impossible standard will only disappoint. What matters is what they choose to do with their failures (learn from them or make them again).
- You need to “let the past die.” Holding onto the past will only hold you back from the future, and you can’t let your failures define who you are.
While fans are very polarized at the moment, I completely believe that in time, The Last Jedi will be held as one of the best Star Wars films. I think once the hype settles down and fans start to really pick it apart for its themes and messages, they see it for the heartfelt and relatable film it is.
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