(Spoiler Alert) Lots of people are denouncing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The Force Awakens had us all so excited for Luke Skywalker's return to the Star Wars story and how he may assist the resistance in defeating Snoke an The First Order. Of course, we get a completely different Luke Skywalker than we expected in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We get a Luke Skywalker that not even Mark Hamil agreed with - he's downtrodden, guilt-ridden, and a failure. It's a shock to all of us for sure. He's our hero - we grew up with him. The worst part about it is that we don't see him bounce back, necessarily. We simply (or perhaps awesomely is a better way to put it) see him expend his physical body and deceive Kylo Ren with a projection in order to give The Resistance a chance to escape The First Order, grow, and flourish with a new force sensitive individual as the true last jedi (until she's not). We all wanted to see Luke continue on in the Star Wars story, yet he dies, leaving us with an empty feeling, an overwhelming sadness. We were only just reunited with our favorite character! We never got to see the extent of his Jedi master abilities, just a glimmer. Whereas this is all unforgivable to most, I say we should all accept it. I say it's all for the better. I think Rian Johnson took us on a rollercoaster ride, and turned the Star Wars story on our heads, and I think it's great. Here's why - I think it's more true to life. Rather than give us a film that was some sort of template of a hero story, or feel-good nerd dream, we got some awesomeness with a bit of a punch in the gut. Life is a series of ups and downs, and nothing in life ever goes the way you'd expect. Sometimes we don't achieve what we want to achieve in life. Sometimes we become someone we didn't intend to be. Sometimes people die too young. It's a low point for The Resistance. They're just about wiped out, if not for Luke's sacrafice. Somehow it doesn't feel low enough. There's no mourning of Luke Skywalker - at all! Maybe this is why many of us have taken to online discussion with anger and disdain for this new film. I'm not sure. While I wish the characters showed some emotion for Luke in those last minutes, amidst all that hope, this film was just what we needed and I believe the possibilites are opened up for the next film. How exciting! So, in conclusion, in life we're taken down unknown roads, and that's exactly what Rian Johnson took us on with this film. It couldn't be mor difficult to predict a Star Wars film than it is to predict the plot of the next episode, episode 9. We should all celebrate this! We're about to go further down this unknown road. Buckle up and try to enjoy the ride!
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