Star Wars The Last Jedi has been out for a few days now and we’re sure the diehard fans have seen it so we thought we’d share our thoughts (with MAJOR SPOILERS) and answer a few of the questions you may be asking.
In this report were going to be talking about plot points and events from the film as well as pointing out things you might have missed and try to answer some of the many questions were sure you have.
So, if you haven’t seen Star Wars The Last Jedi then it’s time for you to click on another story on the Tech Guide website.
As a lifelong fan of Star Wars I think my credentials to critique this movie, point out a few plot points and holes and pose some questions are more than acceptable.
OK, now is your last chance to click off this story if you haven’t seen the latest Star Wars movie. There are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
Here we go.
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WAS IT A GOOD STAR WARS MOVIE?
Yes, I think it was, it ticked enough of the boxes in terms of action, battles, character development and wow moments to fulfil fans’ expectations as well as drive the story forward.
You have to remember this is the middle chapter of a trilogy and The Last Jedi can certainly hold its own among all the other Star Wars episodes that went before it.
IS LUKE SKYWALKER REALLY DEAD?
We’re getting to the biggest spoiler of all here but one that needed to be addressed up front.
To us it seems the film was about Luke Skywalker trying to get back in touch with the Force following his mishandling of Ben Solo (aka the future Kylo Ren) and his training as a Jedi.
He felt like a failure and when he faced Kylo Ren at the end of the film in a Force projection to give the Resistance time to escape, he found redemption.
The effort of that projection combined with his newfound peace allowed him to become one with the Force just as Yoda did in Return of the Jedi.
Rey actually says: “Luke is gone but not with sadness, but with peace and purpose”.
He disappeared and his Jedi robes fluttered away after an emotional last look at the setting twin suns which harkens back to A New Hope when he looking to become something more than just a humble farm boy.
Luke succeeded, and he became a legend. And I think we can expect to see him as a Force ghost in Episode IX.
WHO IS SNOKE AND IS HE REALLY DEAD?
Yes, Snoke is no more after being literally cut in half with a lightsaber (Luke’s lightsabre, in fact) that was activated with the Force by Kylo Ren.
His death was surprising to us because we assumed he would be the ultimate evil leader for the entire trilogy.
One of the things fans were speculating about was just exactly who Snoke was following his appearance in The Force Awakens.
Was he a Sith? Maybe.
The other theory is that he was actually Darth Plageuis – a powerful Sith Lord who could defy death. If that’s the case, maybe he’s not dead after all.
THERE WAS NO LIGHTSABER DUEL
For the first time ever in a Star Wars saga film we didn’t see a lightsaber duel.
The only time two lightsabers touched each other was in Luke Skywalker’s flashback scene with Ben Solo when the young trainee Jedi parried Luke’s lightsaber.
In the climactic confrontation between Kylo Ren and Luke, their lightsaber blades do not clash. Instead, Luke just dodges Ren’s lightsaber swings but ducking under it Matrix-style.
Hopefully that will make up for that in Episode IX.
NO ONE SAID “I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS”
Another first for a Star Wars saga film was no one uttering the famous line “I have a bad feeling about this” although some speculate that’s what BB8 was telling Poe Dameron in the opening scene before the X-Wing took on the Dreadnought. To which General Leia replies “I’m with the droid on this one”.
ARE REY’S PARENT’S REALLY NOBODIES?
Since we met Rey in The Force Awakens we’ve been trying to work out who her parents are.
Is she a Skywalker? Is she a Solo? She has to be related to someone to have the Force.
Turns out, if Kylo Ren is to be believed, her parents were junk traders who sold her for drinking money.
When she was in the dark cave on Ach To, we thought her parents were going to be revealed. But instead she saw a reflection of herself.
So, is Kylo Ren right about her lineage? How would he know that information anyway?
Is he just toying with her and trying to manipulate her?
I have to admit I was a little disappointed to find out her parents were nobodies and I still hold out hope that she may have descended from finer Force-friendly stock.
WHAT ABOUT GENERAL LEIA FLYING LIKE MARY POPPINS THROUGH SPACE?
Kylo Ren took his finger off the trigger when he targeted General Leia on the bridge only to have his adjoining TIE fighters deliver the deadly blow.
When she was blasted into space (along with Admiral Akbar who died) I turned to my son next to me and asked: “did General Leia just die?”
“Looks like it,” he replied.
A moment later we see Leia floating unconscious in the vacuum of space before she shows signs of life and uses what we are assuming to be the Force to get back to her ship.
We did hear audience members laugh at this but in our mind we’re glad she survived even though she looked silly doing it.
WHAT’S WITH KYLO REN AND REY FORCE SKYPING EACH OTHER?
Kylo Ren and Rey were linked through the Force so they were able to see each other and communicate.
It is later revealed that Snoke set this all up to bring them together and to lure Rey to him. And it succeeded.
You may notice right at the end of the film, they were able to Force Skype again without Snoke’s help (he was already dead).
To us this signified that they had reached another level in the Force and will hopefully see those abilities in Episode IX.
THE SLOWEST SPACE CHASE EVER
For most of the film we see the massive First Order cruisers in pursuit of the ragtag Resistance fleet which is managing to keep out of the range of the enemy’s cannons.
To us, this seemed like the slowest space chase in any Star Wars film. It reminded us of the slow white Bronco chase involving O.J. Simpson.
Surely the First Order could have gone to lightspeed and reappeared in the Resistance path.
It turns out Admiral Holdo was steering them towards the planet Crait.
If she had told Poe Dameron her plan, like he asked, it would have avoided the attempted mutiny and made Finn and Rose’s mission to Canto Bight unnecessary.
DID ADMIRAL HOLDO HAVE TO DIE?
Speaking of Admiral Holdo, couldn’t she have put the large Resistance cruiser on autopilot and aimed it at the First Order ships?
Yes, it was a supremely brave act to die for the cause by flying the ship at light speed through Snoke’s destroyer – but surely they could have thought of a better way of achieving the same outcome without sacrificing one of the Resistance’s last remaining leaders.
DID REY STEAL THE JEDI TEXTS?
Yes she did. In one of the very last scenes of the film, we see Finn open a drawer aboard the Millennium Falcon to grab a blanket for the injured Rose.
In that moment, we catch a glimpse of the texts that used to be stored in the Jedi Tree with Luke Skywalker on Ach To.
In fact, when Luke attempts to burn down the tree we see the Force ghost of Yoda who says “there is nothing in those books, Rey doesn’t already possess.” She possessed them all right, she stole them and took them with her.
In the end, it was Yoda who uses the Force to strike the tree with lightning to set it ablaze and were pretty sure he knew those books were not in there.
WAS THAT AN X-WING WE SAW IN THE WATERS OFF ACH TO?
Yes it was. No doubt it was the ship Luke used to deliver himself to the most “unfindable” place in the galaxy after his failure to train Ben Solo in the ways of the Force.
It would have been kick ass moment to see Luke jump back into the pilot seat to go to the aid of the Resistance.
But in the end, he never left the island and, as he mentioned earlier in the film, came there to die. And he did.
IS CAPTAIN PHASMA DEAD?
It would appear so. After losing the duel with Finn, Captain Phasma falls into a fireball and one would assume it was a situation she would unlikely survive.
But, apart from a split helmet at the hands of Finn, she was protected by her armour and may pop up as the ultimate survivor in Episode IX.
We hope so anyway. She ended up in a trash compactor at the end of The Force Awakens and then falls to an apparent fiery death in The Last Jedi.
We think her luck is due to improve.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KNIGHTS OF REN?
We’re told by Luke that Ben Solo took some of the other trainees with him after burning down the Jedi Temple.
These people, we assumed, became the Knights of Ren.
They were seen in a flashback sequence when Rey touches Luke’s lightsaber for the first time in The Force Awakens.
They weren’t seen in The Last Jedi – unless they were the red Praetorian guards (but we doubt that).
We certainly hope they make an appearance in Episode IX.
IS KYLO REN NOW THE NEW SUPREME LEADER?
Yes he is. There is still an interesting power play between General Hux and Kylo Ren.
Hux, when he sees Ren unconscious in the throne room, was going to kill him with a laser pistol.
Kylo Ren comes to and uses a Force choke on Hux to convince him that he’s now in charge.
The Knights of Ren could make an appearance as Kylo Ren’s guards in the next movie.
WHY DIDN’T KYLO REN REALISE LUKE WAS A FORCE PROJECTION?
One of the big surprises of The Last Jedi is the fact that Luke uses a Force projection to confront Kylo Ren on the planet Crait.
But could he tell he wasn’t facing the real Luke? The lightsaber Luke ignites was torn in half in the tussle he had in Snoke’s throne room with Rey.
Also, if you look closely, you’ll see Luke doesn’t leave any red footprints or skidmarks during the duel.
Kylo Ren had left several red skidmarks during the fight – and only realises he’s been had when it’s too late after the Resistance escapes.
WHERE WAS LUKE’S GREEN LIGHTSABER?
In Return of the Jedi, we saw Luke’s lightsaber was green? We were hoping he would have produced it in The Last Jedi.
It would have been a nice touch to see it when Luke battles Kylo Ren and it would have helped disguise the fact that confrontation was a Force projection.
Does the green lightsaber still exist? Is it back on Ach To? Is that another object Rey took from the island?
It would be fitting to see Rey wielding the legendary Luke Skywalker green lightsabre considering she is now the last Jedi (as announced by Luke).
WHY DIDN’T THE ALLIES COME AFTER RECEIVING THE RESISTANCE DISTRESS SIGNAL?
We know the Resistance allies received the distress signal but no one decided to come to their aid.
Was this just to keep up the drama and highlight the Resistance’s desperate situation?
We’re assuming these allies reside in the Outer Rim. Were they also under siege by the First Order?
We hope the Resistance get some help in Episode IX.
IS POE DAMERON NOW THE LEADER OF THE RESISTANCE?
That is highly likely, especially since the death of Carrie Fisher, and the writers will have to (we assume) write General Leia out of the story.
Even at the end of The Last Jedi when the remaining Resistance fighters looked to General Leia for orders she says “don’t look at me, follow him” as she pointed to Poe.
We think it’s a good chance that Poe Dameron will be the leader of the Resistance in Episode IX and the death of General Leia will be explained in the opening crawl.
DOES THE BROOM KID HAVE THE FORCE?
It certainly appears that way. In the very last scene of the movie we see these young children on Canto Bight (they were the same children who helped Rose and Finn escape earlier in the film) being chased out of their room after talking about the legend of Luke Skywalker.
One of the boys uses the Force to grab his broom before looking up with hope to the starry skies.
The theme of the movie was that you didn’t need to be a Jedi to possess the Force.
Rey parents (if Kylo Ren is to be believed) were nobody and she still possessed the power.
This kid is probably in the same boat and may form the next generation of non-Jedis who have the Force.
HOW MUCH OF A TIME GAP WILL THERE BETWEEN EPISODE VIII AND IX?
The actions of The Last Jedi took place right on the heels of the events of The Force Awakens – a first for the Star Wars saga films.
But we think the gap to the next movie will be substantial, possibly a year or two.
This will give Rey an opportunity to become more comfortable with her Force powers, give the Resistance time to regroup and give the writers a chance to explain this sad offscreen death of General Leia.
