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 As
luck would have it, I found myself in my favourite seat in one of my
least favourite press screening venues, in the epicenter of the
mightiest, most fanatical cinema fandom that ever fandomed. Star Wars
folk to the left of me, discussing what “temples” had been invited to
the Los Angeles premiere, and had memorabilia autographed by Mark Hamill.
Star Wars folk to the right of me, in heated debate over whether gold or
copper tubing was more appropriate for a cosplay of Boba Fett from
Episode 5 (Aka Empire Strikes Back, for the less-initiated).
Apparently, this screening was the reward of Star Wars’ fan club
sweepstakes winners, and boy, were they hyped and ready to go. Why
then, with so much palpable and audible excitement all around me, did
THE LAST JEDI leave me so flat?
The
Rebel Alliance takes their victories where they can. The small group of
fighters picks and chooses battles against the First Order, designed to
at least slow down, if not stop their invasion across the galaxy (Far,
far away). The Resistance, including General Leia Organa, Poe and
Finn from our last chapter, is the last bastion against the fascistic
Order, who have picked up where the Empire left off, but time and
resources are running out. The freedom fighters need more than battle
strategies as their dwindling troops are not a renewable source. They
need a miracle, something that will gather all the forces of good across
space to their side and give them hope against impossible odds.
To
that end, we are reunited with young Rey, the desert scavenger who
discovered some new things about herself recently, and flew across space
to find the one person who could tell her how she might use these
attributes for the good of the Rebellion. Maybe she can even persuade
this wise man to throw in with the good guys, as well? Sadly, Luke
Skywalker’s fighting days are over. As did his predecessor, Obi Wan
Kenobi, Luke has chosen to live as a hermit. He’s camped on the remote
planet Ahch-To, home of the first Jedi temple, far from any news about
the Rebellion’s imminent demise, or any requirement to do anything about
it. Luke’s pretty bitter about what his dream of mastering the Force
has brought him; the utter destruction of his temple and the murder of
his students and friends at the hands of his own nephew, the dark-sided
Kylo Ren, son of his sister, Leia, and late BFF Han Solo. Rey pits her
stubbornness against the grouchy Jedi, intent on bringing him back into
the world he can’t keep avoiding, to save the Rebel Alliance and stop
the First Order.
Watching THE LAST JEDI felt like fighting my own battle against the dark
side. The film was so much of a hodgepodge of scattered storylines,
jumbled pacing, and lost momentum, crossed with affection for returning
beloved characters and heartfelt performances, that I still don’t quite
know what to make of it.
Right
from the start, the kindergarten-level dialog; overloaded with
simplistic and clumsy exposition was like an ice bucket thrown over the
head. It reminded me of some of the golden clunkers of the more
Lucas-heavy scripts of the dreadful second trilogy. I mean, there’s
stuff that was carried over from 2015’s THE FORCE AWAKENS, like the
silliness of our oh-so-scary villain being named Snoke, which is the
phonetic representation of a cat heaving a hairball. I’m not expecting
Mamet or Cassavetes here, but having avoided such elementary dialog in
the previous film, it felt retrogressive to have braindead lines like
“Let’s go, BB-8, it’s now or never!” “Why aren’t your bay doors open?
It’s all down to you!” “I wish I could put my fist through this whole
lousy beautiful town.” said with all earnestness, while the passing of a
well-loved character from the original trilogy is only relayed to us in
a verbal report after a First Order attack.
THE
LAST JEDI also suffers from a bit of identity crisis, as it seems to
struggle with the idea of allegedly being the more family-friendly of
the two new sagas, as opposed to the darker, more violent ROGUE ONE.
THE LAST JEDI is crammed with new toys (characters) and gizmos (ships,
weapons) that every kid and collector is going to want for
Christmas. Even here, however, there’s a catch: Our meeting the porgs,
a benign penguin-hamster hybrid inhabitant of Ahch-To (Gesundheit);
the most obviously cuddly, collectable critters on display, is soon
followed by a scene of good ol’ Chewbacca roasting one he’s beheaded and
skinned, before being shamed into wastefully tossing it aside by its
surviving, doe-eyed kin. BB-8 remains the cuteness, though with a bit
more of an edge than in THE FORCE AWAKENS. The humour is kind of sour
in other places, too, such as the silly neo-cantina scene as Finn and
Rose track the whereabouts of a mysterious encrypter, who might be the
rebellion’s last hope, into a sort of galactic Monte Carlo. The
abundance of slapstick there and in other parts of the film doesn’t
click and feels forced. On the flip side of that, there is a
Python-esque quality to the Lanais; the nurse-like, reptilian caretakers
of the Jedi temple, and their perpetual exasperation at the new
disciple’s messy appetite for destruction. Also, Poe’s “phone call” to
the beetle-browed, evil General Hux is a slightly anachronistic hoot.
Princess Leia’s side-eyed humour resonates with her 1977 sass. Most
importantly, who ever knew Luke Skywalker had jokes? However, as for
the other staple of the Star Wars franchise; the action sequences are
jarringly pat and unremarkable, with one notable exception towards the
end, which is more driven by a certain character than choreography.
What
is remarkable about THE LAST JEDI is the original crew, or the remnants
thereof: How heartbreaking that it took so long for Mark Hamill and
Carrie Fisher, who were never hailed for their acting skills in their
time, to get their onscreen propers? The tragic December 2016 loss of
Fisher left many wondering about her appearance as Princess Leia in this
film, and it’s gratifying how very much was completed and how central
her character is to the proceedings. (There is a ridiculous bit
early on involving the Princess in peril that’s just bizarre and silly,
but in the spirit of appreciation, we’ll let it pass.) Even so,
it’s Hamill, who’s done some of his greatest work off screen, most
notably as the iconic voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series
of the 1990s (and its spinoffs), who really gets to shine. He
digs deep to reclaim and fully flesh out the naïve farmboy who’s been
through hell and back several times, and not entirely sure he’s deserved
to live through any of it. The character’s themes of self-doubt,
betrayal, and shattered illusions, clash loudly against the family
belonging he shares with Leia and later with Rey, and the strength of
finally owning his own power and its inevitable consequences. It is by
far the most satisfying aspect of the entire film, and an award-worthy
turn by Hamill.
There is also an unexpected appearance by Laura Dern as a Resistance
officer who precedes and thwarts Poe in the Rebellion hierarchy.
Sporting a wavy pastel-purple ‘do (Which deflects from her
unflattering, high-necked evening gown), Holdo hasn’t Leia’s
patience or affection for the rakish Poe (Who I’m sure must’ve
reminded the Princess of another scapegrace pilot.), and the feeling
is more than mutual. It isn’t until a dire face-off against the First
Order that Poe sees Holdo for the courageous, true leader she is. Dern’s
scene, along with those of Fisher and Hamill, give THE LAST JEDI the
heart and emotion it could’ve used more of. (However, R2-D2 does
give us a Kleenex-worthy glimpse of younger days.)
Would
that the rest of the characters had been so well developed. We get more
of Oscar Isaac’s pilot Poe (By popular demand, I’m guessing), but
he’s far more one-dimensional this time as a typical hotheaded,
impetuous flyboy, whose rashness leads to tragedy. We see Finn run
around a lot; now with a new galpal, a plucky (extremely expositional)
mechanic called Rose, and while their chemistry is debatable, to say the
least, seems custom-made to end his friendzone crush on the (Literally)
distant Rey (Though I mourned its effect on the PoexFinn OTP I
dreamed of). It also seems to make room to wedge in an icky attempt
at sexual tension between Rey and Kylo Ren, as the two bond over their
Force-fed psychic connection, and the choices they must make. I don’t
recall either Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford being filmed topless in the
original trilogy, and I would have appreciated either of them (or
John Boyega, or Oscar Isaac) far more than the ogling and gratuitous
sight of Adam Driver’s bulky boobs (OK, Luke does float in the
medical tank in a diaper in ESB, but it’s not exactly a Playgirl shot).
Sadly, the spunky Daisy Ridley and charming John Boyega are really more
of the same from their previous portrayals, which in the former’s case
is pretty disappointing when one considers how much focus is on her
character.
Like
so much in the movie, developing these roles is lost to the jumpy,
stop-start momentum of the film’s pacing, and the sense that we’re
watching it in a vacuum. There’s no nuance or style to the film, and
it’s the first one where I left with absolutely no questions, theories,
or speculation about what would happen in the next chapter. I really
couldn’t care less whether there would be another one in this line.
THE
LAST JEDI’s strength is in its attention to the young lions of that very
first 1977 sleeper. The connection between them as characters, the
power they have achieved as actors, and the world’s affection for them,
jumps off the screen. However, as the only steady rock in the choppy
seas of too much going on, it does discredit to the new team of bright
stars that we had begun to know and cheer for in the previous film.
So,
while yes, those devotees around me burst into applause at the sight of
the end credits, I wondered if it wasn’t my imagination that - all puns
aside – the reaction felt a little more forced than it should have? THE
LAST JEDI isn’t a failure, but neither is it a celebration - or more
importantly, an elevation - of anything other than the fine legacies of
the late, great Carrie Fisher, and justly revered, Mark Hamill.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
Dec.
15th, 2017
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