It was a warm December evening when I strolled out of the Australian Premiere of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. The cinema was abuzz after the final curtain call. The film had garnered a rapturous response from a crowd full of cosplaying enthusiasts and card-carrying Star Wars fans.
Myself, I had been transfixed by the franchise since seeing Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Even a trio of prequel hiccups couldn’t lessen my fandom. I was also a huge fan of the films of the director, particularly Brick and Looper. I was The Last Jedi‘s perfect audience.
And did I agree with my fellow cinemagoers in the auditorium?
Yes, I loved the film. So I was more than a little surprised when the film received a critical drubbing from fans when it was finally released to the public. And when I say drubbing, I mean they hated it. And when I say HATED, I mean despised it. With a vengeance. The internet campaigns denouncing The Last Jedi were unheralded, even demanding that Disney remake the film.
The critics were more than kind, with the film achieving 91% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, but the general public were less favourable with an audience score of 45%.
But how could the reviews differ that much? What was it about The Last Jedi that offended so many fans? Had they seen the same film? Are they only happy with a cookie cutter version of the Star Wars universe that doesn’t permit any form of originality?
While in hindsight I can appreciate, and understand, some of the criticisms laid at The Last Jedi, I’m still perplexed by the venomous hatred that the film has injected into the franchise. Everyone agreed with the prequels – if anything the cinema going public showed the films a lot more love than the critics – but with The Last Jedi opinions were reversed.
Most agreed that an action packed but nefarious heist excursion to a casino was as pointless as the McGuffin that Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) were searching for. Especially after Rogue One’s thrilling conclusion showed how a “men” on a mission adventure should play out. And that Princess-turned-General Leia’s freefall “space-walk” was a wasted opportunity to end a character’s life with a big emotional wallop. And let’s not mention the “your mum” gags.
As a follow-up to The Force Awakens, I was more than satisfied with the plot developments, and by using a director who didn’t fit into the standard Lucasfilm/Disney mould, the film had a delicious streak of black humour in WTF moments – a beard full of fresh green thala-siren milk, anyone?
But more than anything I loved Mark Hamill’s portrayal of Luke Skywalker and the expansion of the complex relationship between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and the seething Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). And the final battle between the might of the First Order army and a solo Jedi Knight was breath-taking. The eye-popping spectacle is astonishing.
And that’s the rub – in the hands of a visionary director, The Last Jedi demanded much from Star Wars fans. And watched again, in many ways, is a better film than the fan servicing delights of J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens.
Yes, The Last Jedi lacks those crowd pleasing Han and Chewie moments but, by taking beloved legacy characters to a dark new galaxy, still far, far away, Johnson has given fans the Star Wars film they didn’t know they wanted. They just have to realise it.
The Last Jedi is now streaming on Stan.