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The Last Jedi: Change and Timing

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It’s been a full week since I sat in a packed theater and took in the spectacle that is the eighth episode of Star Wars.  Since then, the reaction to Rian Johnson’s vision has produced levels of venom, vitriol, and vituperation that I didn’t know existed in filmgoers (a change.org petition currently exists to have it removed from the canon and has more than 13,000 signatures–seriously).  Then again, numerous people have praised it as a worthy addition to the SW canon.

After reviewing films for over a decade, I’ve learned not to jump to conclusions about a film immediately upon viewing it. It takes me a day or two to really think through and process the action, dialogue, and themes that a movie offers to the viewer.  In the case of The Last Jedi, there’s a massive amount of dissection people will inevitably perform in the next two years, so I’m not going to take my scalpel and add too much more to the growing body of speculation.  However, I think we need to take a closer look at the film’s components and see what they add up to.

It is important to note that The Last Jedi is not worthy of a Best Picture nomination at next year’s Academy Awards.  The dialogue is too wooden in places, some of the acting is a bit wonky, and the running time is about 15-20 minutes too long.  With that said, it’s still a great film and provides the next generation an opportunity to join into the phenomenon that is now going on for nearly 40 years.

The Last Jedi is nearly impossible to discuss without spoiling key plot points, so here is your friendly warning that spoilers will be part of this article going forward.  If you haven’t seen the film, go see it and then finish reading this article with a clear conscience.

The biggest issue for most fans has been dealing with change.  It’s been a while since Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was introduced to the world, staring at a binary sunset.  You would think people want him to stay hermetically sealed, never to age or decay.  Sorry, but life happens—even for Jedi masters. They get older.  Situations leave an indelible impact on their conscience. Their personalities change.  Even they need reminders from time to time about what their purpose needs to be (thank you, Yoda).  Yes, Luke is a different person than he was in Return of the Jedi. But he’s become older, grizzled, and prone to some of the same faults that he exhibited in the cave on Dagobah.  He’d rather stay a hermit on Atch-To, protected from change, than deal with the world for another second.

Sound familiar?

Rey (Daisy Ridley) wants to bring Luke back into the real world to help out in a desperate time for the Rebellion. Yet he resists because he doesn’t want to endure change. In the end, he does help, but on his own terms while performing one of the all-time great gotcha scenes with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). It’s a fitting way to end his human legacy, but I have a feeling he’s going to be a thorn in Kylo’s side for a majority of the final film in the series.  It’s kind of like Christians who want to sit on the faith they profess, never revealing it to the people they come across on a daily basis. If there’s a light available, as Jesus stated, hiding it under a basket serves no benefit to anyone (see Matthew 5:14-16).  At least Luke made himself known in a manner that served to encourage and stiffen the spines of the remaining Resistance fighters.  They’ll need all the help they can get going forward!

A second issue people are having with the film involves Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) and her seemingly indecisive nature.  After Admiral Ackbar is picked off (no biggie for me—he only had one major line in the series that has already been memed to death), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) appoints her as the replacement. Her focus is simply to stay the course regardless of the obstacles around her.  Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), impulsive fighter pilot, can’t handle Holdo’s leadership style and attempts to take matters into his own hands, placing the existence of the Rebellion in jeopardy.

Perhaps the most powerful scene in The Last Jedi occurs when the Resistance members flee to the base on Crait and are picked off, one ship at a time, by the First Order.  Holdo stays on the main ship by herself, seemingly unwilling to take on the enemy combatants.  Then, in what will forever known in my book as the Holdo Manuever, she spins the ship around and, with the last ounce of fuel, makes the jump to hyperspace through the First Order battleship.  It sucked the air out of the theater I was in, and for good reason.  It was unexpected, it was brazen, and it was effective enough to get the remaining Resistance members to safety.

God works in this way in our lives.  We have big, beautiful plans for our one opportunity on earth, and we don’t want them to get derailed by anything.  Sometimes we want to rush things and end up looking silly, potentially hurting others along the way (in addition to ourselves).  But God says very clearly to Isaiah, “’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT).  What looked like sheer madness turned out in the end was a reminder to stay the course and let God handle the details.  Life seems to work a lot better that way.

Should Leia have been in her place?  Considering what we’ve learned about her in the preceding four films, the answer is an emphatic no. It simply isn’t within her character arc to sacrificially go out on that kind of limb for the Resistance. Introducing Admiral Holdo brings a figure to the party that isn’t fleshed out well enough to prevent her from using her ship as a chef’s knife.

I think that, over time, The Last Jedi will prove to be an indispensable part of the Star Wars canon of films.  It upsets the apple cart just enough to encourage people that change can be a good thing at times. It reminds us that life is not to be lived out of the world while somehow in the world.  It challenges us to consider that sometimes our impulsive nature isn’t the best option available.  In a convoluted way, it prods us to be better than we were when we entered the theater.

And isn’t that what all good films strive to accomplish?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer Breakdown

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With the release of the new trailer last night, you either fall into three categories:

A) I’m not watching.

B) I can’t believe what I just saw.

C) I don’t care about Star Wars. (you are lame)

So for those in category B….this is for you.

Ok, I will admit, I’ve seen this trailer more than ten times. There are so many questions and so much to unpack. I’ve already had several conversations with many who have watched it. As my cousin told me, “I think Disney loved all the different theories and made the trailer to both enhance and debunk at the same time which just left you even more confused and anticipating even more” That is true. There are other things that some of us here at ScreenFish have discussed as well.

So let’s get to it, and in the end, I’ll give you my theory:

“When I found you, I saw RAW untamed power…and beyond that…something truly special”
–Snoke

I believe that this beginning will bring us the flashback of Kylo turning to Snoke and the Dark Side. We know from the first film that Snoke calls him back to finish his training. Kylo was already powerful enough to send Luke into hiding (more on that later), so the real question is what will it look like to finish his training? Snoke is ancient so there is something to him that we haven’t seen in films and just maybe he will share that with Kylo. This part finishes with, again, what I believe is the flashback of Kylo receiving his now famous lightsaber from Snoke.

The next set of scenes bring us to the island where Rey gives Luke his lightsaber. Luke doesn’t seem to be happy to have it. It is possible that Luke either doesn’t want her there or wasn’t ready for her yet. Anyway, I believe that most of these scenes are the process of Rey getting her crystal for her lightsaber, which appears to be more white than light blue (or just a very light blue).

Rey is discovering that her whole life she’s known something has been there, and now it’s awake (a nod to the first film). As we see this montage, we realize just how powerful she is.

“I’ve seen this raw strength only once before. I didn’t scare me enough then, it does now”
-Luke

I believe Luke is referring to Kylo and, at this point, we get a glimpse of why I believe Luke was in hiding. It was fear. Luke knows he isn’t powerful enough to take on both Kylo and Snoke. If Snoke is truly ancient, then the clues to defeating him are in the temple. It also explains why he wasn’t happy to see Rey because he’s not ready. He hasn’t found the answers and now he must train someone but, likely, that fear creeps back in. In Rey, he sees his failure of Kylo and thinks that things are happening all over again. Luke is terrified.

From there we get the typical montage of action scenes, some Porg, exciting confrontations, and a heart-wrenching left-to-the-imagination scene featuring Kylo and General Leia.

But it’s the ending that has the Star Wars community going crazy.

“Fullfill your Destiny!”
-Snoke

Is he talking to Kylo…or is he speaking to Rey? I believe based on the next scene it was definitely Rey, but what was he doing to her? Is that a simple death grip, or is the rumor of Snoke’s ability to feed off of force wielders to gain strength true and he feels the force within her was awakened to feed him? If you look carefully in the background of the photo below, you can see that Snoke has Rey. But what is he doing to her?

And then…finally…the moment of shock, anger, confusion, sadness, and what the?

“I need someone to show me my place in all this”
-Rey

Those words, followed by Kylo and then his hands extended, have sent a shock wave. What does it mean? Well, here’s what I think. I believe it’s safe to assume that this trailer leads us to believe that Luke abandons her after he sees how much raw power she possesses. Luke is so terrified and has convinced himself that she will turn also that he leaves her, forcing her to return before she is ready.

I believe that Kylo couldn’t go through with killing his mother and that Snoke eventually does. I believe that no one force wielder can bring balance to the force; rather, it has to be a combination of dark and light. Kylo isn’t fully dark; there is light in him. Rey and Kylo will bring about the true balance together. Kylo will realize that Snoke was leading him astray and the above scene is a combination of Rey joining him and Kylo leaving Snoke.

Snoke is ancient and I think a) Anakin turning and b) Order 66 shifted the balance so much that it awoke him. He stayed hidden, gaining strength while the Empire went from its beginning until its ultimate end. I believe in order to bring true balance back, Kylo needed to turn to give way to the Force awakening in Rey. Combined, Rey and Kylo bring about the embodiment of the Force and will defeat Snoke in Episode IX together. Where Luke factors in to this equation, however, is the biggest question. Does he come back after he feels that Leia is gone? Maybe he has a renewed hope when he sees Kylo and Rey together, not embracing the dark side or the light side, but embracing the balance knowing both are truly needed.

What say you? If you made it this far, you’ve watched the trailer, so what do you think?

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens–Thoughts to Consider (SPOILERS)

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Kylo RenSince a large chunk of the population has donated a portion of their disposable income to a movie theater in order to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re getting to the point where spoiler-free reviews are going to be unnecessary. If you haven’t seen the film yet and want to be surprised when you get to the theater, I’d recommend taking a look at my earlier review first, since it contains no spoilers.   Otherwise, read on, as I go into some of my personal ponderings regarding the movie.

Scroll past the picture below to read on.  Otherwise, it’s okay to return later and read when you’ve had a chance to see the film for yourself.

Fighter battleAre we all here? Good.  Here are a few personal thoughts after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens twice (Thursday PM and Friday PM):

I am not a Star Wars fanboy, but I have always had an interest in the series.  Perhaps it’s because George Lucas wanted to change some sequences in the preexisting films to make a plot point more noticeable (Greedo shooting first instead of Han Solo), more detailed (all the CGI with Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope) or look more unified (the horrific revised ending to Return of the Jedi that seems a bit ironic, seeing as it shows the folks on Corcuscant celebrating freedom, not knowing they’ll suffer the same fate as Alderann thirty years later). Maybe it’s because I wanted to leave a theater with a sense of awe and wonder—something I didn’t get when seeing The Phantom Menace back in 1999.  It could be due to the fact that I saw Peter Jackson succeed mightily in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Hobbit?  Not so much.). Regardless, I went in wanting something more, something dynamic, something post-worthy.

I got that—and much more.

The film’s first portion centers on the planet of Jakku, as BB-8 takes the map portion with him a few seconds before Kylo Ren’s Bat Cruiser (not trademarked, but it should be) shows up and annihilation occurs.  Rey, a scavenger in those parts, wants little to do with the droid when she encounters him and eventually has to make a decision about whether to sell him.  BB-8’s loyalty reminds me, in a non-speaking way, of the loyalty of Ruth to Naomi in the Old Testament (see Ruth 1:16-18).  Rey decides not to, and it’s a good choice on her part, as the droid introduces her to Finn, a Stormtrooper gone AWOL. The two make quite a formidable pair, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of this pair in future films.

As for Kylo Ren, it’s revealed that he’s the son of Han Solo and Leia.  He’s definitely a force (pun intended) to be reckoned with (notice the Force stop of Poe Dameron’s blaster shot in the opening sequence). In fact, the only folks who can fight him off are Snoke, General Hux, and (later on) Rey. But he’s got some serious issues. He has no control over his temper, slashing massive streaks into a computer wall when he finds out Rey was not captured. In another sequence, the Stormtroopers on duty just turn around and walk away. This probably explains why his lightsaber fizzles, pops, and looks so different than the ones we’ve come to know in the past. He wants to be good, but can’t seem to fight his way out of the Dark Side. We see this in play on numerous occasions, notably when taking to Han Solo on the bridge at the end of the film.  He knows what he needs to do, but can’t do it—does that sound eerily like the struggle Paul talks about in Romans 7:15-25?  As a result, he is a wretched man.  It looks like we’ll get to see more of this struggle in future episodes.

The last scene location of SW: TFAIn the end, Starkiller Base is destroyed, Han Solo is taken out by his son, Finn is on life support after a nasty lightsaber slash up the back from Kylo Ren, and Rey travels with Chewbacca to a planet full of islands.  Atop one of the islands, she meets up, for the first time, with Luke Skywalker.  Luke on the island reminded me of John on the island of Patmos in the book of Revelation. He had vanished (remember the opening screen crawl?) after seeing one of his Jedi trainees go rogue (in this case, Kylo Ren).  Perhaps he was waiting for a revelation of his own.  In John’s case, he came across Jesus himself, who told him to write some letters to a group of churches that needed a wake-up call badly (except for Philadelphia) and provided an amazing look at what will eventually come to pass. We’re not sure about Luke yet, but Rey holds his lightsaber out to him as the camera pans around them and the film ends (one of the best shots I’ve seen in a film in quite a while, I might add).  Perhaps it’s the wake-up call Luke needs to hear.  Sadly, we’ll have to wait a few more years until director Rian Johnson shares Episode VIII with us.

Star Wars VII – The Force Awakens: Our History Matters *SPOILERS*

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aforcereyI don’t want to disappoint anyone so please note that “SPOILER” is clearly in the title. I not-so-fondly remember the Friday morning when the first Avengers film came out. I was minding my own business – wearing a Captain America shirt – in Target, when I was approached… and BAM!

“Man, isn’t it crazy that they killed off Agent Coulson?”

I started in disbelief and silence at the man as he walked away, in ignorant bliss. I hadn’t seen the film yet, and the heart of the film had already been ripped out an exposed.

So, just to be clear, this Star Wars: The Force Awakens review contains major plot points.

Before we get there, let me just say that I found the film to be beautifully conveyed, with a narrative that matched the tone, style, and pace of the original trilogy. In fact, it was a simplified plot that allowed the character development to deepen the action rather than glorified political bickering and grandstanding that work fine in House of Cards or Scandal, but which turned the prequels into some heavy-handed clunkers. Capturing that lyrical storytelling style, J.J. Abrams’ and company also found a way to reel back in the ‘old school’ look of the various planets that the narrative took us to — the snowy final act was one of the best looking sets in a film I saw this year.

aforcewookieQuick non-spoiler hits to give you a chance to turn back now…

BB-8 wasn’t as annoying as I expected. Okay, I’ll admit it: he was no Jar-Jar, and was more huggable than most Ewoks.

The cast’s diversity was a strength, not an add-on. Whether it was a central black character or the depth of options for women, The Force Awakens proved that it wasn’t all about white male superiority.

You could probably enjoy this one without seeing any of the others. But it wouldn’t be as much fun, so why would you?

John Williams’ score is again simply fabulous.

Now, to the plot points…

aforcedarthAs a fan of the oldest trilogy, it was delightful to see the old crew back at it, and to recognize that there were several set pieces that were mimicked from previous films. While the film did finally deviate from being a straightforward copy of the Battle of Endor, it was at times off-putting to find that we were watching a mirrored image from somewhere else. I was thinking of Gandalf versus Balrog, but honestly, things went better for Harrison Ford the last time he stood on a bridge…

Ironically, it’s that scene that I saw telegraphed from the first third of the film. While the Internet has been buzzing with anger over the preposterous suggestion that someone might leak information about the film, it struck me as completely “unshocking” that Han would die at the hands of his son – who we knew early on was Kylo Ren. Ren’s temper tantrums mixed with the Force tied him to both Leia and Han, and reflect the failure of Luke as a teacher in his first attempt (setting up his redemption as teacher in the second film?) Ironically, or not…. Luke’s visual appearance reflects that of Obi Wan Kenobi in A New Hope: he’s isolated, bearded, reclusive, and dismissive of the Force and its application. But that, and the probable reveal that Daisy Ridley’s Rey is in fact his sister. [Editor’s note: We’ve seen this before and Timothy Zahn’s post-Jedi trilogy included that plot point.]

For all of its flash and sparkle, The Force Awakens plays out like Star Wars should, and certainly like a Disney film. There are dysfunctional kids, dysfunctional parents, and the quest to find the family who left you behind. It’s just ironic that rather than letting this meander around, Abrams actually went for it and pulled off his own Oedipal moment. The end result is one I expected, but it also sets us up to see the conflicted pain of Ren and the potential future clash with Rey. Thankfully, here, Abrams’ sequel proved to be more open minded to both women and minorities; by herself, Ridley’s portrayal would have provided the necessary ‘juice’ to make us care, but she was not alone.

aforcefinnThat said, Ridley wasn’t alone. On one side of the equation, she had Finn (John Boyega), who provided a depth to stormtroopers we hadn’t seen in the films before. His recognition that war was dangerous, and that the First Order was not just, leads him to first a Han Solo position (the good for the sake of self) to the Luke Skywalker position (the good for the sake of friends … and for all). Finn’s development was a testimony to the script but also to Abrams’ casting of this fine, young actor and his portrayal. Finn made us care because he had seen evil from the inside, and been prey to its bullying and manipulations. Recognizing that evil, Finn’s desire to do good is redemptive, but it’s also braver – he knows what is at stake. Interestingly enough, if he was stripped of his parents and raised to fight for the First Order, then it is ultimately his nature that dominates his nurture, right? That could lend itself to a completely new conversation about the nature of humanity, the fall, and grace, too.

Ren is of course the flip side to this. Ren’s conviction in the direction of the eerily absent Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) is creepy. (Snoke looks incredibly like a decomposing Voldemort, who has been kept alive by hate and bitterness. Is he the manifestation of evil?) He knows he’s being manipulated, but he specifically prays to the spirit of his dead grandfather to help him eradicate the light in his own heart. I know that Adam Driver has given interviews where he worked to create the idea that Ren wasn’t evil, but even before his final acts of violence, he’s literally aware that good/light is better and he’s turning toward the darkness. [For a Biblical comparison, the Pharaoh rejecting Moses’ pleas on behalf of God use the phrase “hardened his heart,” implying his desire was evil and God allowed him the resilience to stay that way. Ren seems like that.] This also shows that his grandfather’s final act of “good” – and his place in the dead Jedi pantheon – has not offset the way that Snoke uses Ren to think about the world, or how Ren remembers his own history.

What is clear is that the history of Star Wars includes peaks and valleys of times when the Force was prevalent, and times when it was left dormant. Is that because it wasn’t needed? Is that because people had forgotten the Force, their heritage, or their history? Is it because there really are a limited number of people who can wield it? Time will tell for sure, but the history of the Force is what bonds the stories, and our collective understanding of what is going on, together.

That history, and the backstories of Finn and Rey, will have to remain for another day. We don’t know exactly how they will play out yet, but we know that they will ultimately matter because they are still seeking. They are seeking opportunities to grow, people to mentor them, and family to surround them – those same things which we seek today. In the case of Finn, Rey, and Ren, others have stepped in where family did not or could not, and altered their worldview to reflect things that weren’t true. By seeking out the Force, each of them comes to a place of choosing what to believe and who to follow. They are faced with the same decisions we experience everyday.

And we must choose wisely.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (NON-SPOILER): Visiting a Good Friend Once Again

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Rey and Finn runThe internet is a fickle place. A good amount of the time, people are doing everything they can to get you to respond in a specific way to a picture, an article, or an attempt by someone else to troll. However, when it comes to the launch of a film that is beloved across many generations, a unique thing happens: the Internet goes on self-policed lockdown.  People don’t want to know what happens.  They prefer to remain in blissful ignorance until they see it for themselves and make their own evaluations. And woe be to the individual who chooses to violate that unwritten code!

(Don’t worry; I’m not going to be that person)

Han Solo and ChewbaccaSuffice it to say that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a grand return to the galaxy far, far away that we all have come to love over the last thirty-seven years. Director and co-writer JJ Abrams knew he had to accomplish three main things: 1) bridge the unseen gap between Return of the Jedi and his film; 2) instill a powerful story that beats true to the Star Wars ethos; and 3) not tick off legions of die-hard fans in doing so. Mission accomplished.

There’s a nice blend of old and new in the film, from the planet sequences to the familiar faces (Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Leia—all of whom need zero introduction) and an inevitable new cast of characters, led by John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron). In fact, if I have a quibble about the movie, it’s that it plays a little too much to the nostalgia side at times. But that aside, this is an extremely fun ride, filled with a nice mix of action, humor, and things you just need to see for yourself.  One of the bonuses is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens feels more organic in nature than CGI-laden.  The film is filled with lush environments, sweltering deserts, and icy climes that feel out of place in the first three prequels (note: this is a good thing). It tends to draw the viewer into the film more.

Kylo RenWhen it comes to the faith aspects of the film, there’s a lot to talk about in regard to good and evil—as well as a number of other themes.  But I’ll mercifully save that for a more in-depth look at the film next week—when a good number of people have seen it and an online discussion can legitimately take place. Until then, it’s best to follow the crowds to the cinema, find a seat, grab a snack (if you so choose), and prepare to be entertained for a few hours.  With the state of the world right now, it’s a nice thing to look forward to.