Star Wars: The Last Jedi Analyzed & Explained - Part 1
By: Keaton Marcus
This is definitely one of the most controversial subjects in cinema. Is Star Wars: The Last Jedi a good movie? Did it really ruin childhoods? Was it the death of the promising sequel trilogy? Personally, upon rewatch, this is my favorite film in the entire franchise by a tight margin with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, both classics. Yeah, I know there will be people wanting to downright murder me for voicing my positive opinion on this one, but I’ve decided to take a look at the movie in depth. Technically, this is another analysis, but I am going to do things a little differently. First of all, this whole thing will be split into two parts. This is the first. Secondly, unlike my articles on Enemy or Arrival, I will not be taking a look at the plot step-by-step and explaining it. Instead, it will be more like a deconstruction of its deeper themes and hidden meanings sprinkled throughout while providing my general opinion on whatever I’m writing about. Just so it wasn’t clear, I strongly believe that The Last Jedi is a science fiction masterpiece It’s visually and thematically rich, and cleverly subverts our expectations at almost every turn. Enough of this. Let’s get into it.
In however long this takes, I will start off by covering the clearly divided and toxic fanbase of this once unanimously beloved franchise. My first sub argument: the force. Arguably not only one of, but the most iconic aspect in the saga is The Force, defined as an energy that balances all living things. It brings all life together in a beautiful collection of decay, life, light and dark. And no, Rey, it isn’t just about lifting rocks. One of the many criticisms of The Last Jedi was that the use of this energy in the film was unrealistic and unreasonable, defying the magical “guidelines” that came before it. WHAT? Yeah, fans are bonkers. First of all, let me take readers on a trip to the past. Even in the original three movies, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the Force kept changing in its odd and mysterious abilities. Characters were able to achieve various things throughout the movies, such as mind control, dragon noises (huh?), hands-free choking, super reflexes, moving an object, and even disappearing upon death. So let me get this straight…Obi-Wan can straight-up vanish after being sliced in half by Darth Vader and we’re all cool with that? But when Yoda returns in The Last Jedi and burns the Jedi Temple, it’s not ok? I sense one of the many examples of hypocrisy within this toiled fan base. It becomes clear that even in the originals, George Lucas was making stuff up as he went along with each film. It also brings another interesting thing to question. Would the originals be torn apart if released today? Of course they would. Basically half of the fans would go crazy over “pre-established lore”, throwing f bombs at Irvin Kirshner, telling him that he ruined their childhoods. This brings me neatly along to my next argument. There is absolutely no room for growth or imagination within the eyes of the fans.
After the originals, fans took everything far too literally. The Last Jedi decided to expand on the powers of the force, which I will elaborate more on later, and this was not locked with what we had already seen. So what happened? Director Rian Johnson became the ruiner of childhoods. Real mature, guys, real mature. Yoda can come back as a force ghost, but shooting a lightning bolt is complete nonsense. Another example would be the fact that audiences despised Leia coming back to life in space, and in Zero G, flying back to the ship in a sense. But why is this so nonsensical just because we haven’t seen it before? Actually, that isn’t even a new ability, rather a new form of a pre-determined ability. So what’s all the fuss about? To be very honest, it’s difficult to tell with some of these people. Another argument you could make against mine would be the fact that one cannot survive in space for long. However, it is possible to survive for up to two minutes. And otherwise, isn’t it an issue in it of itself to be talking about realism decades after we got that scene in Empire when Han and Leia suddenly come out of the Falcon into space? Then there’s Luke’s projection at the end of The Last Jedi, another aspect of the movie that was absolutely ripped and teared. Wait a second, we’ve seen this before. This scene is directly in line with how the originals used this tactic. Luke’s greatest achievement wasn’t blowing up the Death Star, it was overcoming fears and learning to resist fighting. That was literally the moment when he became a true Jedi. His scene on Crait is principally the same thing, and could even be recognized as a clever way of paying homage to Return of the Jedi. It may be on a considerably larger scale, but is size really worth all the drama? For the people who wanted Luke to physically be on the planet, taking down AT AT walkers and being a total badass, that isn’t in the Jedi code. Destruction and violence is something associated with the Sith. Cough Darth cough Vader at the end of cough Rogue One cough. Sorry, something left my mouth there. The Jedi are all about non-violence, but in the prequels, they were almost assassins. So why isn’t the fan base calling out those films? Luke used knowledge instead of violence. It ignited controversy because it isn’t in the rule book.
One fictional book filled with space facts isn’t any more realistic than another fictional book of space facts. I guess what I’m getting at here is that The Last Jedi is, metaphorically, that other book of fictional space facts. But since the first is official and looks all pretty, fans listen to that, and only that. Even the creator himself, George Lucas, confirmed that all the books, games and comics were non-canon to his series. Read this quote directly from him in an interview in Starlog, 2005. “I didn’t read that stuff. I haven’t read any of the novels. That’s a different world than my world.” So reverting back to my previous point, why are fans saying it’s disrespecting Lucas if the man literally admits that these books the fan base is following are an utterly different world? I don’t know, logistics. Disney even took issue with making every single moment in their trilogy canon, including The Last Jedi. That’s right, folks, this movie is officially in the books. So again, why is this any different to your damn books? If you are the type of person that needs some sort of committee to sign off and slap a rubber stamp on your fantasy adventure than perhaps you are the one who doesn’t understand the Force. Just saying. Fans despised the prequels for making the Force something small and knowable with the midichlorians. But if you’ve condensed this entire concept and slapped it under one book, aren’t you doing the exact same thing? I suppose so. There is no room for mystery, either. Take Darth Vader for example. We don’t really get any key information (besides Obi-Wan lying in A New Hope) to his development until the last act of The Empire Strikes Back when he reveals that he is Luke’s father. But even then, that tells us more about Luke then it does about Vader, so is it really excellent development? Not only this, but at the end of the original trilogy his character is still so ambiguous that even seeing his face came as a complete shock. It wasn’t until the prequel trilogy wrapped in 2005 with Revenge of the Sith when he got his full backstory, and people were disappointed about how that turned out. This is an essential lesson that all fans need to learn. Because after decades of getting books, comics and games it is expected that you will get to know every last detail. So technically, it isn’t Rian Johnson ruining the originals…It’s this lore. It’s fantastic that fans love this franchise so much, but they become too fixated on literal details, which unfortunately almost chokes out the room for imagination.
Remember when Snoke appeared in The Force Awakens without any backstory and fans were literally rioting? That’s all fine, but what about Palpatine in the originals? He doesn’t even get a considerable amount of screen time until the conclusion to the trilogy, so what’s the problem with Snoke not having details spoiled about his backstory the minute he arrives on-screen? Yeah, I know The Rise of Skywalker sort of screwed this whole thing up with a rushed explanation, but pretend that it hadn’t been released yet, and we had just seen The Last Jedi in 2017. Palpatine is a nice character and all, but his real importance is that he is the ultimate wedge between Luke and Vader. Luke is kind of like the angel on Vader’s shoulder, and Palpatine is like the devil on the other side. In my opinion, Snoke has an even lesser need for a backstory than Palpatine. I know that sounds insane, but hear me out. He’s an off-shoot of that character, a wannabe Emperor who wears golden pajamas. Snoke is actually another extension of another character, Kylo Ren. Kylo’s backstory is one of bringing balance to the force, which is a concept that the Jedi didn’t seem to understand. In the prequels, they thought it meant killing bad guys, or the Sith, but that just doesn’t sound right. Do you ever associate the word “balance” with the word “kill?” I’m guessing not. Quotes from George Lucas actually imply that it’s more of a literal balance. For example, he noted that “…the Force has two sides, the good side, the evil side, and they both need to be there.” - Time Magazine, 2002. Notice how he used the word both. This implies that Lucas means the Light Side and the Dark Side need to be blended into one for there to be true balance. This movie cannot make that clearer. The ancient Jedi themselves even kept some sort of Dark Side crystal underneath their island for that very purpose. Nice one, Rian. The Jedi initially recruited a number of powerful Light Side users which allowed a powerful Sith to corrupt Anakin and turn him to the Dark Side. As the last Jedi died out because of the Clone Wars, Luke then pulled Anakin/Vader back to the Light Side, which lead to the Sith being destroyed. Or not.
What could I mean by that? Well analyzing my example more closely leads to the fact that this is seemingly a never-ending cycle of the Jedi dying and the Sith being wiped out because of extremes. Extremes meaning too much weight on the Light Side, or too much emphasis on the Dark Side. In order to bring balance, there needs to be a mix of both. Furthermore, Luke began training a new generation of Jedi after the Sith were seemingly destroyed, but that lead to the rise of Kylo Ren being pulled to the Dark Side by Snoke. Luke then abandoned the Force, which allowed Kylo to return to the Light Side. But he resisted it, and kept a strong mental conflict in his head, which allowed the Light to find an outlet with Rey. The constant back and forth between the Dark and the Light has pretty much defined Kylo as a character, almost like a desperate cultist looking for an escape, and Snoke has convinced him that the answer is going fully to the Dark Side and becoming the next Darth Vader. Kylo does everything Snoke says yet becomes less powerful and more conflicted, even losing to Rey at the end of The Force Awakens, who had never even fought with a lightsaber at the time. Finally, after some reflection, he has come to the conclusion that he was being used all along. Took that long, huh? He even has the chance to kill Leia in the movie and doesn’t take it after some quick mental debating. When Rey calls him a monster yet again, he agrees. To move forward as a character, he needs to free himself from Snoke with Rey’s help. In others words, letting the past die. A lot of people interpreted this as one of the many subversions of our expectations, which is actually a meme now, but it really isn’t. This should be expected. He isn’t turning good, he’s doing exactly what’s necessary for his character to grow and thrive, offering Rey the chance to come along, similarly to what Vader did to Luke. Obviously, fans hated this too because there wasn’t a Wikipedia page or a novel to explain it. For god’s sake. Killing Snoke??!! Blasphemy of the highest order!
Rey spent The Force Awakens trying to find answers about her past, and unexpectedly, doesn’t find any upon arrival to Luke’s island in The Last Jedi. The important thing for her character at the moment isn’t some out-of-left-field explanation for her past, rather breaking her dependence on needing that answer. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is good character writing. By the way, that was a little jab to the people who think Rey is a poorly-written and developed character. It’s complex and ignoring what The Rise of Skywalker does, is a bold direction for her character. But similarly to Kylo, she is doing what should be expected, fulfilling her character’s true destiny. In desperation for these answers, she even turns to the Dark Side. Instead, she’s forced to accept the fact that there isn’t an easy, simple answer for everything. That isn’t subversion of expectations. Kylo Ren is similar once again. The two have both been failed by the Light and Dark sides, and instead of turning to them again, they reach out for each other. They form an unexpected bond, which is definitely one of my favorite aspects in the movie. This could lead to real balance in the Force. It’s easy to claim that Rian Johnson took everything JJ Abrams did and threw it away but that is simply not true. But just because audiences didn’t get the details and answers they wanted after watching doesn’t mean he didn’t use these pre-conceived elements. Instead of going for cheap fan service and making her Obi-Wan’s granddaughter or something awful like that, he took the threads from The Force Awakens and used them to challenge our main characters. The one challenged most of all, however…Was Luke.
Rian Johnson didn’t decide to make this man a broken hermit. JJ Abrams didn’t decide this, either. George freaking Lucas did. In a quote directly from him, he notes that “The idea was that, 30 years after the fall of the Empire, Luke had gone to a dark place and secluded himself in a Jedi temple on a new planet…over the course of the new movie, he would rediscover his vitality and train this new Jedi.” Sounds similar to The Last Jedi, doesn’t it? Also, I got that from SlashFilm in case you’re wondering. Not only that, but Lucas even approved the concept art for Luke’s island in the movie, so why is it disrespectful to the character’s legacy? It is commonly argued that Luke should have never ended up in this position because he was always hopeful and upbeat, but that’s simply one side of his complex character. In several moments in the originals, he is also a cynical and downbeat person confident that he was from no where and will become a nobody. He’s impatient, constantly questioning if what he’s doing is wasting his time or not, and generally just being a downer. Of course there’s the more upbeat side of him, but that’s only a portion. He was certain Vader was still a good guy yet he almost killed him in a fit of rage. Luke isn’t always what he aspired to be and that is what makes him an interesting, compelling protagonist. Some fans wanted all of his challenges to magically be over, but that just doesn’t meet the mark. Despite all the controversies about this, fans legitimately wanted…Fan service. I know, it sounds nuts, but it’s true. They desired to see the classic characters exactly how they were in the originals, just older. But the thing is, fans completely trashed that when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released, and that gave them what they wanted out of this trilogy. In a 2018 interview with Mark Hamill, the actor even explained that reunions are commonly “disappointing”. In the same interview, director Rian Johnson explained that if you take a closer look at the start of Luke’s journey, he’s ascending, becoming more powerful. But then they get into their middle-age which leads him to a far darker place. In an important quote, he stated “Myths are not meant to sell action figures. Myths are made to reflect the most difficult transitions we go through in life.” Sounds a lot like Luke in TLJ, doesn’t it? It wasn’t disrespectful to Luke to deny him a happy ending, it’s is disgraceful to slap them in a movie for nostalgia’s sake without moving their character forward in any meaningful way. This is called empty fan service in my books, and Johnson wanted to provide something a little more special.
According to JJ Abrams in a 2016 interview, Harrison Ford never wanted to be an “empty cameo.” Han’s death in The Force Awakens was simply in service to that film’s plot. This entire trilogy isn’t about Han, or any of the classic characters…It’s about the new ones. It’s about Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn and Poe. Luke, on the other hand, has an ending that doesn’t only serve his story but his character as a collective whole. After beginning a new Jedi temple, he lost Ben to the Dark Side and based on what Leia said in The Force Awakens, Luke must have known about the darkness from the beginning. With everything else failed, Luke is faced with the choice of killing his apprentice to prevent history from unfolding. This is pretty much where the film lost people officially. People say that this scene officially destroyed Luke’s character, but that’s the exact opposite from the truth. Luke is always trying to save his friends, right? That is exactly what this moment is all about. Luke considers killing Ben to save his friends. Had he killed Ben, it would have saved the Jedi, and everyone else Kylo killed in the future. But Luke didn’t end up doing the deed. Why? Because that’s not in his character. Remember, Jedis are associated with non-violence. Also, a fun fact, but the framing in the shot when Luke contemplates about killing Ben is the same as when Luke is at his highest point of doubt in Return of the Jedi. Rian Johnson, you literal God of a director. Like Return of the Jedi, he falters before ultimately doing the right thing. Losing the students awakened him to the truth. The Jedi were failures, and they needed to end. In the film, Luke points out that the Jedi let Darth Sidious rise and wipe them all out. Originally, Luke looked up to the Jedi based on a couple sentences from Obi-Wan, and TLJ gives him more challenges and conflict. Remember, getting light-side users together invites the Dark Side over to party. The Jedi order was a fatally flawed idea. Letting it finally die will cause the Force to naturally find balance. He’s helping his friends whenever he can, which is a clear call back to his failure in The Empire Strikes Back when Luke finally has the maturity to do the difficult thing and not act on pure impulse.
I’ll get into more of this in part two of my analysis, so you’re left with this until tomorrow!