The Last Jedi
Dec. 29th, 2017 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerI suspect that I am the last person on earth to see The Last Jedi, but I am almost certainly wrong so I'm going to put my thoughts behind
I found this movie overwhelming sad in a way that is hard to articulate, because I liked a lot of the parts of it. I liked the fact that Poe's hotshot plan doesn't work out (although I am not sure why they couldn't just say "yes, Poe, we have a better plan than 'let's just sit here and die,' so stop freaking the fuck out"), I liked the casual diversity, I liked Rose (I liked all the cast members, but I already liked them from the last film so that was never in question), and I liked the fact that Rey's parents are no one in particular (maybe they'll retcon that, but I would be MOST put out if they did) and that her madcap plan to redeem Kylo simultaneously worked and failed.
It sort of highlights the moral shortcomings of the original trilogy's ending: Vader may not be able to stand watching the Emperor torture Luke to death as Luke screams for help, but that doesn't mean that he's repented for anything else that he's done in service of the Empire. (In the event, given that he becomes a Force ghost and everything, I guess he did - but the one doesn't imply the other.)
But nonetheless it was almost unbearably sad watching the Resistance get relentlessly pummeled into smaller and smaller pieces. They are almost certainly going to come back from it in the next movie, because that's how trilogies work, but it's going to shred my suspension of disbelief.
It was sad watching Luke die - or rather, not so much watching him die, but watching him die and knowing that he's doing so after living a wretched miserable life. He and Han and Leia all deserved happiness if anyone ever has and instead they've suffered nothing but strife and misery and betrayal at the hands of a child whom they all love, who thus far has managed to kill off two of them. (And I strongly suspect Leia will die in the next film - Carrie Fisher's death will almost force that on the filmmakers - which also seems very sad.)
Luke at least sort of had a choice about it - I think he knew what he was getting into when he force-projected himself across the galaxy. And he'll probably come back as a force ghost anyway. But that won't make the life he lived any less sad.
I also find the movie's obsession with whether there is good in Kylo - well, okay, inevitable for a Star Wars movie - but also kind of baffling. No one gives a damn whether there's good in Hux or Phasma or Snoke himself or Random Stormtrooper #357, even though for all we know there could be dozens of potential Finns among the stormtroopers who were forced into service and would gladly desert if only they got the chance.
Surely the soldiers who were press-ganged as small children are better candidates for redemption than the guy who killed most of his classmates and then ran off to join the world-conquering First Order of his own accord.
Walking that back slightly - it makes sense to me that Rey and Luke would both be obsessed with Kylo's possible redemption, because they have a personal connection with him. But the film seems to be trying to say something about redemption without considering any of the other people who might be redeemable, which undercuts whatever they're trying to say. The scene where Finn fights Phasma, in particular, struck me as a moment when they could have done something with that - the bit where Finn sheers off part of her helmet and for the first time we see her face? But then she falls into an abyss and that's that.
Less spoilery note: I'm not sure why marketing went all-out for Porgs when the film also gave us crystal foxes. Probably Porgs are cheaper to manufacture.
I found this movie overwhelming sad in a way that is hard to articulate, because I liked a lot of the parts of it. I liked the fact that Poe's hotshot plan doesn't work out (although I am not sure why they couldn't just say "yes, Poe, we have a better plan than 'let's just sit here and die,' so stop freaking the fuck out"), I liked the casual diversity, I liked Rose (I liked all the cast members, but I already liked them from the last film so that was never in question), and I liked the fact that Rey's parents are no one in particular (maybe they'll retcon that, but I would be MOST put out if they did) and that her madcap plan to redeem Kylo simultaneously worked and failed.
It sort of highlights the moral shortcomings of the original trilogy's ending: Vader may not be able to stand watching the Emperor torture Luke to death as Luke screams for help, but that doesn't mean that he's repented for anything else that he's done in service of the Empire. (In the event, given that he becomes a Force ghost and everything, I guess he did - but the one doesn't imply the other.)
But nonetheless it was almost unbearably sad watching the Resistance get relentlessly pummeled into smaller and smaller pieces. They are almost certainly going to come back from it in the next movie, because that's how trilogies work, but it's going to shred my suspension of disbelief.
It was sad watching Luke die - or rather, not so much watching him die, but watching him die and knowing that he's doing so after living a wretched miserable life. He and Han and Leia all deserved happiness if anyone ever has and instead they've suffered nothing but strife and misery and betrayal at the hands of a child whom they all love, who thus far has managed to kill off two of them. (And I strongly suspect Leia will die in the next film - Carrie Fisher's death will almost force that on the filmmakers - which also seems very sad.)
Luke at least sort of had a choice about it - I think he knew what he was getting into when he force-projected himself across the galaxy. And he'll probably come back as a force ghost anyway. But that won't make the life he lived any less sad.
I also find the movie's obsession with whether there is good in Kylo - well, okay, inevitable for a Star Wars movie - but also kind of baffling. No one gives a damn whether there's good in Hux or Phasma or Snoke himself or Random Stormtrooper #357, even though for all we know there could be dozens of potential Finns among the stormtroopers who were forced into service and would gladly desert if only they got the chance.
Surely the soldiers who were press-ganged as small children are better candidates for redemption than the guy who killed most of his classmates and then ran off to join the world-conquering First Order of his own accord.
Walking that back slightly - it makes sense to me that Rey and Luke would both be obsessed with Kylo's possible redemption, because they have a personal connection with him. But the film seems to be trying to say something about redemption without considering any of the other people who might be redeemable, which undercuts whatever they're trying to say. The scene where Finn fights Phasma, in particular, struck me as a moment when they could have done something with that - the bit where Finn sheers off part of her helmet and for the first time we see her face? But then she falls into an abyss and that's that.
Less spoilery note: I'm not sure why marketing went all-out for Porgs when the film also gave us crystal foxes. Probably Porgs are cheaper to manufacture.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-29 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-29 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-30 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-30 03:52 pm (UTC)But Porgs must be cheaper to manufacture and are clearly designed to beam directly into the part of the brain that screams CUTE so they were the inevitable choice, really.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-30 03:59 pm (UTC)He betrays his master the Emperor to save his son. The film presents this as redemptive, and his spirit moves on to the vague glowy-person positive Manichean afterlife of the Star Wars special effects universe. Hooray. Virtue Ethics supports this absolutely, since the morally good side of his character has won out, even after so many evil deeds, proving him good inside. What about the deontologist? If we believe that an apprentice owes true fealty to his master, then this betrayal is a wicked act. If we believe that the father’s drive to protect his child is a natural and universal bond deeper than law, then this killing-in-defense is a good act. If we believe the Emperor was the legitimate ruler of the Empire and that its laws are binding, then this treason is a wicked act. If we believe the Emperor is a tyrant who has unjustly displaced the rightful Republic, then this tyrranicide is, potentially, a good act. What if the general Sith lifestyle says the apprentice is supposed to kill his master to take his place? Then Darth Vader is a lazy bum, and should’ve done this a long time ago. This is but one of many occasions in which Hollywood presents a narrative which is simple and easy to judge using virtue ethics—which is presumed to be the default in today’s audience—but much more complex if deontology rears its head.
And that's not even considering the utilitarianist branch - by killing the Emperor, Vader destabilized the governing system for thousands of planets, and likely caused all manner of strife and misery as people fought to fill the power vacuum. But perhaps he caused more happiness by allowing for the instatement of a better-run and freer society...although the latest movies suggest not. I think that's one of the things I'm liking most about these; they're emphasizing the cyclical nature of the universe in a way not commonly found in Western storytelling (outside of maybe Norse mythology). How did Terry Pratchett put it? "Don't put your trust in revolutions, because they always come around again...that's why they're called 'revolutions'."
Anyway, abstract philosophical ruminations aside, I think you're completely right about how incredibly sad it was to see the Rebellion whittled away like that. I get why they went that route, and it certainly fits with the theme of torch-passing and of opening out the Rebellion into a whole potential universe of characters rather than focusing on a particular bloodline. But I feel like that was something the movie sort of glossed over - there just wasn't enough time in between the big space battles and daring desperate rescue plots to reflect on the loss, the grieving that's always inherent to large-scale change. And maybe that's not what Star Wars is for, but it feels like something we're culturally afraid of looking at. "On to the new shiny thing!" sells much better than "This one thing that was super important to us not long ago has served its purpose and now must die, and this isn't a bad thing because it makes room for a new shiny thing, but it does mean something beautiful and unique is passing and we should honor that." But when the alternative is like the last series of iPhone upgrades, where we're constantly being resold the same thing with only minor tweaks and upgrades...at least we're acknowledging that change happens.
...I'd say "sorry to be so big-picture as to kind of lose focus on the topic at hand", but that's sort of me, haha. Here's something more specific: if my Facebook feed is any indication, there's two kinds of people - Porg people and Vulptex people. I wonder if Porg people tend to be cuddlier and more down-to-earth...my husband is firmly on Team Porg, and loves the plushie I got him for Christmas with a vengeance. :)