Looks kind of dumb, so it's very Star Wars alright. (Off-Topic)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 11:14 (2045 days ago) @ cheapLEY

Just want to say that I agree with basically everything you said.

But also, I want to point out that everything you said is looked at through the context of what Star Wars has been previously.

At its heart, The Last Jedi doesn’t seem to be about any of the core ideas that Star Wars has always been about.

And maybe that it’s not that thing anymore. I offer no judgment on whether that’s good or bad. But Star Wars has a lot of baggage. It’s hard to forget it all, but I think a lot of the new trilogy is dependent on leaving some of that at the door, for good or ill. The problem comes from the fact that the creators of the new trilogy aren’t fully willing to do that themselves.

When Rey meets Luke, she immediately assumes the moral high ground, and never lets go of it.

When Rey meets Luke, she actually has the moral high ground, as far as I can tell. It’s been a while, and I don’t remember the duel you’re talking about very clearly or her losing her temper, but I’m struck by the thought that her anger is righteous, the frustration of seeing someone with the ability to do real good and work for real change instead choose to sit idly by and let things go to shit and wallow in self-pity.

That’s probably not how the scene plays out. I legitimately don’t remember it well.

But I have so far seen this trilogy (especially with context of the prequels) as at least partially a commentary that the Jedi were wrong, that eschewing all emotional connection, even anger, in favor of stoic acceptance was responsible for their downfall, and for that of the entire galaxy.

Admittedly, that’s a lot of personal bias, as I’ve longed to see Star Wars actually explore that, and see the rise of a less monklike Jedi order.

So I read “Rey got angry,” and I don’t necessarily equate that to “that’s bad.” Anger is natural, and sometimes it is righteous, the appropriate reaction.

I pretty much fully agree. I wasn’t criticizing the fact that Rey got angry. But I am pointing out that as far as her interactions with Luke are concerned, Rey isn’t the one who is growing or changing. That bring the case, the story isn’t actually about Rey at that point. It’s about Luke.
And that’s fine in and of itself. But I don’t think it’s good storytelling to take the supposed “main character” of the movie and use her as a battering ram that all other characters change around and react to. If the story is about Rey, then it should be about her growth. If Luke is the actual protagonist of the story, then make the movie about him :)