by: Connor Holland

Media Production Editor

Star Wars: The Last Jedi split the franchise’s ardent fans into two groups. Some love director Rian Johnson’s bold new direction, while others despise it. I myself feel that the film was mediocre and left much to be desired.

The keystone to any movie is a well-devised plot. To the disappointment of many, the new Star Wars film had a shaky storyline full of unnecessary side plots. This is not to say there were no good parts of episode eight; Rey’s training with Luke Skywalker was compelling, and the film displayed the conflict in Kylo Ren well.

However, these well-executed scenes are overshadowed by the pointless side plot on the planet Canto Bight. This portion of the film follows characters Finn and Rose through the planet’s wealthy casinos. They come to Canto Bight in search of a code breaker essential to the rebellion’s survival. By the end of their vitally important mission, the plot has veered so off-course that Finn and Rose are riding an alien horse along Canto Bight’s lush coastline. These scenes are pointless and distract from the important aspects of the story.

Along with a solid plot, a quality script is critical to producing a noteworthy film, and the writers for The Last Jedi utterly missed the mark here. Star Wars films have always maintained a very specific tone. Although there are fun and lighthearted moments throughout the saga, these movies are generally serious. Cheap slapstick humor has never been a part of these films, but The Last Jedi went an entirely new direction by filling the dialogue with corny jokes.

Furthermore, the producers of The Last Jedi seem to have put very little thought into this film, which is evident through one of their many physics blunders. In the opening scene of the movie, Rebel bombers approach a First Order ship preparing to drop their explosives. The bomb doors open, the ship releases its payload, and the bombs fall towards the First Order vessel to detonate. One would hope the producers of a science-fiction movie could realize that objects do not fall in outer space due to the lack of gravitational force. Their failure to recognize this major detail highlights the producers’ carelessness.  

Producing a Star Wars movie is a tall order. A wide scope of fans must be considered, and realistically it is impossible to please them all. Even so, from my perspective, Johnson did a poor job with this film. It had long stretches of boring plot littered with undeveloped characters, and the film’s stab at a satirical tone was distasteful.