Creek Speak February 2018 | Page 10

Director

Rian Johnson

Spoilers ahead.

(I’ll tell you when they’re over)

Take for example the scene in which Rey has gone to the underground chamber on Ahch-To. The cave represents the dark side of the force, and given its location on the island of the first jedi temple, one might assume that it carries some significance. When Rey visits, though, she finds only a mirror. A few flashy CG moments later, and the scene is over. This instance of Checkov’s Gun is eventually fired in the reveal that Rey’s parents are unimportant, but it is poorly managed. The scene isn’t particularly moving or dramatic, and it doesn’t seem to drastically change Rey’s perceptions of herself in the next scenes. This narrative thread is a part of the story’s clutter. It could have been made into a central conflict, but it would have required revision, and more screentime. As it stands, it doesn’t manage to connect with the main theme of failure, and it isn’t given enough time to feel like its own sub-plot.

Of course, anybody who’s seen the movie will know that the ‘Rey looks for her parents’ theme is one of the milder examples of inefficient storytelling that I could present here. The writers could have made the man with the flower pin into something more interesting, but instead, they threw him out in favor of Benicio Del Toro’s cameo, a character which also could have been more thoroughly explored. If Leah had never had her space-walk, nothing much would have been lost. As much as I hate to say it, Holdo’s sacrificial superluminal sojourn could have been omitted without a drop in quality. (You have to kill your darlings.)

Spoilers over

The heart of the movie of which I spoke earlier, though, is wonderful. The storyline that ties together Rey, Luke, and Kylo Ren is engaging, well thought out, and most importantly, surprising. It makes good use of characters that have already been established, continuing to fill out Rey’s personality and showing a side of Luke that we haven’t seen before. In my opinion, these parts of "The Last Jedi" are the saving graces. They should have had more room to flourish, and more emphasis from the writers. If the sub-plots that I’ve refered to as clutter were tied to the story’s heart, they would have improved for it. Their sheer disconnection from the characters that composed the central conflict made them emotionally inert. While the warmth from the narrative core doesn’t quite reach all the way out to the fringes, if you can look past the layers of junk that obscure it, you’ll like what you see.

"The Last Jedi" is still very much a Star wars movie. It has the lightsabers and lasers, sure, but it also continues the tradition of discussing light and dark, and the balance between them. It shares the potent symbolism that’s so well loved in the original trilogy, even if it fumbles at times. You get your space battles and alien creatures, but you also get the traditional relationship of master and student, and a better rendition than I’ve seen in the franchise before.

Whether "The Last Jedi" is worth your time and money is dependant on how forgiving you are. If you know you’ll be distracted by the surplus material, I can’t recommend it to you. If you can look past its flaws though, you’ll encounter a perfectly well made film.

The Last Jedi

3.5/5 stars

(Better the second time.)

Review by Harry Hildebrandt

"The Last Jedi" is an adventure film, but it takes a different tone than most modern entries in the genre. It plays with themes of failure despite best intentions, and subverts traditional expectations of what constitutes a hero or villain. At the film’s heart is a strong narrative about continuing on despite failure, and learning from mistakes.

Unfortunately, the movie’s heart is barely visible beneath the mountains of clutter that flood the film’s runtime. Anton Checkov once wrote that,“if in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” "The Last Jedi" is drowning in loaded pistols, unfulfilled promises, and missed opportunities.