Sorry, Internet. Not Everyone Loves ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ [OPINION]
As someone who has found himself on the opposite side of the street as fanboys and critics in regards to several different movies and TV shows in recent years, the way entertainment media is discounting the negative Star Wars critiques is infuriating. Sorry if I'm starting out a few laps ahead, I probably should've opened by saying I did not like 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi.' This article is about how most entertainment outlets (and even some fans of Episode VIII) are saying that my opinion is wrong or that I'm a troll.
MEGA MASSIVE 'STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI' SPOILERS ARE COMING AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE -- YOU NEED TO TURN BACK NOW
Seriously, if you somehow overlooked the giant bold letters above -- I'm throwing out every spoiler for 'The Last Jedi' that there is. Stop reading this NOW if you don't want that in your life.
I'll briefly run down just some of my issues with 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' below to give you a little perspective before moving forward with the article:
- Ridiculous new Force powers like Leia's ability to fly and Luke's Force projection
- Admiral Holdo's refusal to tell anyone her plan is a dumb plot hurdle
- Most of the second act is tied up with Finn and Rose's pointless side mission
- Poe, Rose, Finn, and Holdo are directly responsible for getting most of the Resistance killed
- After 34 years of waiting to see Luke in a lightsaber battle again, we're asked to settle for a 10-second stick fight. Cool.
- Two incredibly strong Force users struggle against 7 or 8 normies in a battle where they don't use the Force
- The complete dismissal of both Snoke and Rey's origins
- Luke could've physically shown up and defeated Kylo Ren in a lightsaber battle, ending the First Order once and for all but he doesn't because... reasons?
- There are roughly 7 people left in the Resistance by the end of the movie, one of whom is dead in real life
- Rey will likely be the main character moving forward, despite the fact that her character development was so minimal it was almost non-existent in this film
Another big issue I had was that it felt like Rian Johnson had no interest in making a sequel to 'The Force Awakens,' and carelessly reset everything that movie set up. That's fine if that's what he was going for, but Disney either should've either not allowed him to clear the table in the second part of a trilogy or not allowed J.J. Abrams to set that table. It's almost like franchise clickbait that didn't pay off and it's hard not to feel let down by at least some of that.
I went in wanting to love it, but at the end of the day did not. Unfortunately, that's not good enough for entertainment outlets and fans of the movie, who are bending over backwards to tell disappointed fans like myself that we're "shameless internet trolls" or that we're just flat-out wrong. I've seen even a few articles trying to convince myself and others like me that we actually do like it and just don't know it yet. Come on, guys. I've seen this damn thing twice already. The verdict is in.
Where were all these sympathetic critics and bloggers when movies like 'The Dark Tower' and 'Justice League' were getting roasted? Oh, that's right. They were busy throwing logs on the fire, and immediately writing about how those movies were disappointing fans. The weekends those movies opened, there were scores of articles about how poorly they were doing on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, pretty much every time a DC film is rated poorly on RT, be it among fans or critics, it's immediately a headline on every major entertainment news site.
It's funny how The Last Jedi's less than impressive score among fans not only received an opening weekend moratorium from headlines, but now has the benefit of outlets making excuses for the low audience score. Some outlets are saying we shouldn't judge the film on its Rotten Tomatoes score and must look to its Cinemascore. It's funny how nobody has made that excuse for any other poorly-rated movie in recent memory. Instead of taking the poor rating as a valid critique of the movie by fans, outlets are saying it's the result of online trolling. Okay, guys. Sure.
I'm not one of those guys who claims that Disney has critics and media outlets in their pocket. However, seeing how quickly they'll bash other movies and then all but apologize for a Disney movie that's taking heat makes me understand why people do think there's some funny business at hand.
Either way, here's how 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is stacking up against some other noteworthy films. Take from this what you will, but the only thing that matters is what you think of the movie and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.