Star Wars: Episode VII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Last Jedi (2017)

The second installment of the colloquially known Star Wars sequel trilogy, and ergo the follow up to 2015's "The Force Awakens," this title drew quite the ire of die-hard Star Wars fans. Directed by Rian Johnson, the film took many risks in its storytelling by opting to purposefully subvert established franchise tropes. Most notable of all were the portrayal of Luke Skywalker, beloved protagonist of the original trilogy, as a disillusioned hermit and rejection of fan expectations when it came to plot twists. The situation was not helped in no part by the fact that "The Force Awakens," which was directed not by Rian Johnson but by J.J. Abrams, very much played it by the book when it came to plot as it was very much reminiscent of the first installment "A New Hope." Claims circulated that the film was disrupting and even disrespectful of the franchise's legacy by virtue of radically challenging all audiences had grown to idolize, whether it be characters or themes. Having viewed six films which preceded this title many had come to finalize their understandings of what the saga was representative of, that being a mythical saga with larger-than-life characters; it was decided upon what a Star Wars film specifically looked like, evidently this looked nothing like a Star Wars film. Of course, there were individuals who granted merit to the challenge posed by the narrative and applauded the new direction being taken. Those who enjoyed the film pointed out the strictness to the movie was held to, arguing that if the story were to go exactly as everyone had expected there would be no richness or innovation for the film to be able to stand in comparison to the classics everyone loved. To this day the film remains largely contested, and with the entire sequel trilogy being complete, the general consensus seems to be that the trilogy as a whole was not well planned out due to the switching back and forth between directors and flip-flopping between being nostalgic or innovative, Still, however, "The Last Jedi" will get the occasional praise; it cannot be denied though that the title is the most talked about out of the three in the sequel trilogy.

Sources Used

James, Emily. “The ‘Backlash’ against Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Explained.” Vox, 19 Dec. 2017, www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/18/16791844/star-wars-last-jedi-backlash-controversy. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Jenkins, Henry. “The Last Jedi: An Online Round Table — Part One.” Pop!Junctions, 13 Feb. 2018, henryjenkins.org/blog/2018/2/11/the-last-jedi-a-round-table-part-one. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Singer, Matt. “Why ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Pissed off Fans.” ScreenCrush, 17 Dec. 2019, screencrush.com/why-fans-hated-the-last-jedi/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

 

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_last_jedi. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.