December 16th marked the release of the long anticipated Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In honor of this huge event, we spend the episode solely discussing it. The movie is far and away more polarizing than The Force Awakens, with some arguing that it doesn’t honor Star Wars history. However, there is an overwhelming amount of people who feel it may be the best entry in the series’ history. To help us discuss this at length, we are joined by David Becerra for the first time!
What’s Inside
Potential spoilers ahead, read at your own risk!
- The Good:
- The first thing readily apparent in this movie is the vivid imagery that director Rian Johnson was able to achieve. Star Wars: The Last Jedi features some of the most impressive space battles to ever grace the big screen. With the majority of the movie taking place in space, this was crucial in the success of the movie. For those who have always wanted to see the effect of a ship using hyperspace as a weapon, we finally got to see that with Admiral Holdo’s saving throw. In multiple viewings this was regularly met with stunned silence in the theater.
- There is some controversy regarding the way that the Luke Skywalker character is handled. While some would argue that it was badly handled, we tend to lean towards the side of it being the best version Luke has ever been. The movie took a lot of chances, some that landed, some that didn’t; But, for the franchise to be more than just remakes of Episodes IV – VI, this was necessary. Regardless of how you feel, this was undoubtedly the best acting Mark Hamill has portrayed as Luke Skywalker.
- The send off to the late Carrie Fisher was equal parts sad and cathartic, and was handled incredibly well with the position that the franchise was in with her sudden and premature departure.
- The gray area of the force that has been the hallmark of Luke Skywalker is explored in the length by both Rey and Kylo Ren. The constand tug-of-war between them trying to turn each other is a huge success and will likely play a big role in Episode IX. Behind Luke, they arguably steal the screen in each scene that they are both in separately and doubling so when they are both there.
- Yoda being Yoda.
- The Bad:
- As mentioned above, there are many who don’t agree with the direction of Luke Skywalker. In the two year break since the last movie, there were many who were expecting Luke to have been working on something to once again bring balance to the galaxy. But it was hard for some fans to grasp that is nothing more than a hermit who went there to die and has no intention of helping rid the galaxy of the evil First Order.
- Actor Mark Hamill publicly said that he didn’t agree with the direction that Director Rian Johnson took with Luke; Saying that his actions were out of character. However, he eventually retracted on Twitter, saying that these creative differences were normal on any project, and were blown out of proportion.
- You then have the side mission that mainly consists of Finn and his new love interest, Rose. The movie spends a significant amount of time invested in their side plot (aided by Poe, among others) that ends up being largely meaningless with the ending of the film. Whether you are a fan of Finn or not, being reduced from one of the heroes of Episode VII to being little more than a side show was a questionable decision at best.
- As mentioned above, there are many who don’t agree with the direction of Luke Skywalker. In the two year break since the last movie, there were many who were expecting Luke to have been working on something to once again bring balance to the galaxy. But it was hard for some fans to grasp that is nothing more than a hermit who went there to die and has no intention of helping rid the galaxy of the evil First Order.
All of these things and more are discussed at length in the episode!
[…] NextThe Alpha Build Ep 46: Star Wars: The Last Jedi […]