Why it’s time to give ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi” a re-watch

The Last Jedi is, controversial, to say the least. Upon release it divided fans for portraying Luke as a depressed hermit who’d shut himself off from the force, for its Canto Bight sequence and for its addition of character “Rose” played earnestly by Kelly Marie-Tran, among other perceived issues. By the time the film had done the rounds in the cinema (and made a tonne of money) fans were well and truly split; one camp swearing it’s the best Star Wars has been since the original trilogy (My camp) and the other side believing that it’s the equivalent of space garbage. But time has been kind to The Last Jedi, and while this particular writer never took a distaste to this film, I’d like to write about why I think you should give it another chance.

Luke Islandwalker

I’ve had many discussions with Star Wars fans over the years, and no point is brought up as much, as Luke becoming an island dweller after his failure of saving Ben Solo from becoming Kylo Ren. This weighs heavy on the film especially with the mid-film revelation of Luke’s actions. I hear you screaming “but Luke is the hero, the embodiment of good against evil”, but consider this; after growing up under the oppression of the empire for most of your life, what would you do to stop it? People say to me that they don’t believe that Luke would raise his Lightsaber to essentially a youngling and his nephew to strike him down (although this trait does infamously run in the family). I agree, but this is addressed in the film. Luke had the darkest of impulses agreed, but in that same instance, realised what he was doing was wrong. This is one the films strongest scenes, Mark Hamill’s restrained performance is drenched in guilt and it’s clear why. We know from later shows that the First Order was well on its way to becoming what it was, but this was everything they needed to ensnare Ben and turn him into Kylo Ren. In Lukes lifetime, he's grown up under the tyranny of the empire, found out his dad was a massive part of this evil, helped destroy the empire, and then failed his nephew so badly that he joined the Empire 2.0 who’d reign terror over the galaxy again. Oh and all his students were either murdered or recruited into the First Order. This coupled with the shame of his actions when facing Han and Leia, can you really blame him for not being willing to jump into the fight so eagerly again?

Time heals all wounds

Time has been kind to The Last Jedi. Even with Disney realising the main problem with the sequel trilogy is a lack of cohesiveness, and subsequent Star Wars series leave much to be desired in terms of raw quality. Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and the main offender, The Book of Boba Fett, all suffer the same with episodes of varying quality. They have their high points within them, but remain an inconsistent watch. Even the acclaimed Mandolorian has episodes which serve as filler. Upon a rewatch of The Last Jedi, its strengths stay strong. It remains a stunning watch visually with special mention to the sequence towards the end on the planet Crait with its use of blood red and bright white during the battering ram run sequence. Its story points pertaining to Luke’s changing philosophies surrounding the religion of the Jedi not being arbitrarily good, is also tackled in the massively under-appreciated, The Acolyte. This coupled with Rey’s training on the island remain high points of the film, with revelations, high emotions and enough sprinkles of humour, to keep it from being too morose.

Rian Johnson’s ambitious direction and expectation defying script holds up well, and has stands strong against J.J. Abram’s pandering to fan outcry in The Rise Of Skywalker (that worked out well didn’t Disney?). By far the best aspect of this for me, is the revelation that Rey was abandoned and doesn’t come from a special lineage. This is such a bold move in my eyes, it completely defied my expectations and floored me on original watch. The heartbreak in Rey’s eyes as she acknowledges her heritage is truly a highpoint in any Star War’s film for me. The idea that anyone can be special regardless of their parentage fits perfectly in this film, and emboldened in the last scene with the young boy in Canto Bight using the force to bring the broom to him.

The “Casino” sequence

I will categorically say this now, Canto Bight and the character of Rose, are not as bad as you will be remembering them. For starters the Canto Bight portion of the film, takes up less screen time than you remember (around 11 minutes give or take) and is absolutely fine. It isn’t the most stellar Star Wars has been and is a little on the nose with its parables of war. But there is certainly much weaker Star Wars content out there and in the grand scheme of the film, just serves to break up the pace slightly. I do not understand the hate against Rose’s character. It’s easy to write it off as incel racist’s being incredibly vocal here, but I’m going to focus on the character and her portrayal by Kelly Marie-Tran. Rose in my opinion is a decent enough character. Wide eyed and grief stricken, Kelly handles the character well. I don’t think anyone leaving the film who didn’t take an instant dislike to the character was shouting from the rooftops about character and her journey within the film, but she conveys a positivity towards the world she interacts with and brings a much needed optimism to the dire circumstances shown in the film. Overall, I think considering she’s a new side character in a well established world, she does a decent job of keeping up, even if she doesn’t quite manage to do so.

At the end of the day, we are all entitled to our own opinions, and that’s a huge part of investing into the Star Wars Universe; that you can talk about it with your friends! When I discuss this film with the hater’s, I always make a point to ask them ‘when was the last time you watched The Last Jedi?’. The answer is usually, not since its original theatrical run. I urge you to go back and watch this film on its own merits, forget the film that follows. Remember someone made a conscious decision to retcon what The Last Jedi achieves, and the film itself shouldn’t be penalised for that. Watch it for the performances, in particular Adam Driver’s best showing of the three by a long shot (if you don’t get emotional when he’s confronted with the option of blowing his mother into space, you’re a well trained Jedi for sure). Watch it for the amazing sequences and special effects. Watch it for its bold direction and story which exceed either film around it by defying expectations by taking big bold story swings and most importantly, watch it because it’s Star Wars and we should all be happy that something so loved, to this day still is having new stories being made within this huge universe.

What Harry lacks in writing credentials, he makes up for in passion for the subject at hand. The MultiMediaVerse venture isn’t something that sustains us with life’s needs and serves more as a passion project (currently) for us, so if our various contents feels a little rough and ready, that’s because they are! Any feedback is always welcome and we hope you enjoy reading our articles.