By Grant Skipworth
Star Wars has connected generations of fans through a multitude of media. While fans have bickered over certain Star Wars video games, cartoons, and expanded universe books, the main slew of movies have been mostly agreed on. The original trilogy is universally loved while the prequel trilogy is universally disliked. Then when Disney bought Lucasfilm and obtained the rights to Star Wars, a new trilogy was announced. The Force Awakens hit theaters in 2015 and was met with praise but criticized for its lack of originality. The sequel to it, The Last Jedi, recently hit the big screen and fans are divided, more divided then they have ever been. Critics are on the same page with the film showing love for it but fans can not decide if they like it. Even the ones who enjoyed the film quite a bit have some problems with it. The biggest fans in our school offered some thoughts on the division and the film.
Before we get into the grit and grain, the range of scores that were given by students and teachers ranged from three to eight. The negatives start with some believing The Last Jedi not to even feel like a Star Wars movie. Mr Webster went the furthest with this idea saying, " As a movie it is a solid 6, but as a Star Wars movie it is a 3." Mr. Mcreynolds said "leaving the theater he was disappointed, because it did not feel like Star Wars." Mrs. Cunkelman went on the opposite side of the fence. She praised the fact that this one differentiated itself, "it strayed away from common theme from Star Wars in a positive way." Mr. Brooks, while he overall enjoyed The Last Jedi, stated "it just feels like they are trying to recreate the original trilogy." I hate spoilers but these next couple excerpts are going to get into some spoilers, you have been warned. Ms. Miller really enjoyed the movie giving it a 8 but missed the lack of final battle, " I missed the final lightsaber battles, come on Luke." With all the divide, there has been one scene that everyone has disliked and that is the handling of the late great Carrie Fisher. The scene where she is floating in space and brings herself back to the transport ship by using the force. Fans are confused on how she will be incorporated or handled in the upcoming episode 9. Another universal dislike was the character of Snoke. Mr. Webster said "What is Snoke, because we never found out". A positive mark with the film is the character of Kylo Ren. Many are praising the performance of Adam Driver as the new Sith. Mr. Hoots called him "Awesome and I loved what they did with him." Now the last and most intriguing, Luke Skywalker. Luke, who was barely even in the Force Awakens is in full force in The Last Jedi. The original hero and one of the most synonymous names in all of film. For the most part, what they did was met with cheer. Reminder; this is spoiler territory. Luke disappearing at the end while projecting himself using the force left many uneasy and confused with what happens next. Star Wars has created a division among fans that Episode 9 will try to put back together.
The debate over this last Star Wars movie has divided fans. One of the best things about Star Wars is the conversations fans have about it. This could be true for most movies and art in general. Art and the conversations that are had about it can be an incredible thing. Whether you liked The Last Jedi or not, it has created a conversation among fans and it is hard not to appreciate that.
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Image Captions:
Image 1: Contrasts The Last Jedi & The Empire Strikes Back.
Image 2: Leia (Carrie Fisher) stares seemingly into the distant future.
Image 3: The Rotten Tomatoes page of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
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