The Last Jedi (a movie review?)

Yeah, the question mark up there is legit. I think this is going to be less a review about the movie and more about a review of Rian Johnson, who thinks he is way more clever than he actually is.
But there will still be spoilers.

But let's get the most obvious question out of the way: Did I enjoy the movie?
Well, yes, yes of course, I did. It was, after all, Star Wars, and it did, as Leia would say of Han, have its moments.

But it also had its moments.
Like why are all of the resistance ships running out of fuel at the exact same moment. That this is a question that I was having during my first viewing of the movie is wrong on so many levels. I mean, when did fuel become a thing? Luke hyperspaces all over the galaxy in his x-wing during The Empire Strikes Back, and there's never a mention or need for fuel, which is good since Dagobah would have been a lousy place to find a gas station. And Han flies the Falcon between star systems without a need for fuel. And I'm not even going to touch the idea that the fuel consumption rates on all of the Resistance ships would have had to have been basically the same no matter the size of the ship (WTF!) for them all to be needling empty at the same time.
Clearly this was a plot contrivance by Johnson, who seems to believe that stupid ideas are justified if they provide for "cool" moments. To be fair, this is also a problem Abrams has.

So was all the dumb of this "chase" scene worth the moment when Holdo hyperspaces the Resistance command ship into Snoke's star destroyer? I don't really know. That was a cool moment, but my thoughts leading up to it revolved around: This is so dumb. And it was kind of painful to watch all of that the second time. Not the hyperspace moment -- that was still cool -- but all of the chase leading up to it.

I also think it's a little weird how Poe is kind of constantly running up to people and greeting them with extreme enthusiasm, "Hey, Buddy!"

And I could go on, bit by bit, with the things that poke at me, but let's just not do that. I'll sum it up this way:
There are no moments like that whole fuel thing in the original trilogy. There's no point where I stop and think, "Wait a minute... That's kinda dumb." The thing most like that is the dianoga in the trash compactor, but there are legitimate explanations for that, so I have to shrug it off. You can't shrug off the fuel thing, not after eight other movies have failed to mention a need for fuel and, not just not mentioned it, demonstrated a distinct lack of that need.

That's just an example of the kind of thing Rian Johnson must feel is clever but really just isn't.

However, that's not the thing that bother me most. None of the logic problems that Johnson introduced are the things that bother me most. No, what bothers me most is Johnson's lack of respect for the story. Not the Star Wars story but story in general.
Here's the thing:

In the movie, Kylo "reveals" to Rey that she's a nobody. No one from nowhere. And that would be fine if... It would be fine if it was the truth. It would be fine if it was Kylo lying to Rey to get her to join him. It would be fine if Kylo was just wrong, that he read things the wrong way. It would be fine if there was a story reason for Kylo to tell Rey that. But... there's not.
And Rian Johnson doesn't have any say in the matter.

In a recent interview Johnson revealed that the only reason, the ONLY reason, he had Kylo say that is that he believed it was the thing that would most piss off the audience. He wanted to get a rise out of them. This puts him on par with George RR Martin in my book. "I want to piss off my audience because it's fun so I'm going to kill this character they all love." He further revealed that Abrams is the one who has final say in who Rey really is and nothing he wrote about it actually matters. Sure, maybe Abrams will decide to go with it, but Abrams isn't bound by anything that Johnson did. I suppose that includes the death of Snoke (another stupid moment, cool or not).

Which reveals the further problem of no one being in charge of these things. There's no controlling vision. You can say what you want about Lucas and the prequels or whatever, but, logically and plot-wise, all of his movies work together. He knew what he was doing and had a vision for getting there. The new movies, despite being completely entertaining, are beginning to feel piecemeal... because they are. This is something that Disney needs to get a grip on before the franchise begins to drift apart. They need to actually take a good look at what Marvel has done in keeping all of their movies moving forward within a unified vision.

I suppose I feel about the whole thing the way Mark Hamill put it when he said he didn't agree with any of the choices Johnson had Luke make but, after all, it's just a movie. That and, despite the enjoyment factor of Force Awakens and Last Jedi, I would much rather have seen what Lucas had intended to do with these than watch clashing egos slowly erode the franchise.

Rebels: "Always Two There Are" (Ep. 2.05)

"You're like a broken protocol droid!"

Ooh... A haunted house story! Well, you know, derelict space craft/station story. I don't remember them doing one of these before. Of course, Rebels hasn't done one of these before, but I don't remember one from Clone Wars, either. I think the closest we've had to the feel of the beginning of this episode is Luke's visit to Dagobah. If someone had said, "I feel like...," I wouldn't have been surprised. It was an appropriately creeping beginning for a visit to an abandoned Republic space station.

It's good to have Rex in the series; he's a good foil to Kanan. I hope he stays around for a while.

Mostly, though, the episode is about introducing us to the new Inquisitor. Excuse me, two Inquisitors. The image of the new Inquisitor from last episode is appropriately imposing, but, as it turns out, Fifth Brother is just the muscle; Seventh Sister is the real creep fest, here, and it works to introduce these two in this episode.

BUT!

The show has yet to tackle any of the more complex philosophical issues that Clone Wars often took on. Rebels has become more enjoyable as they've deepened the personal relationships, etc, but it hasn't really taken on any questions beyond the difference between good and evil. It seems like there will be a lot of that as Ezra has more individual contact with characters like the Inquisitors. So, yes, I'm liking Rebels more than I did, but it still lacks the depth and complexity of The Clone Wars. But more on that next time...

Clone Wars -- "Voices" (Ep. 6.11)

-- Madness can sometimes be the path to truth.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

[Well, actually, considering that we're into season six, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Sometimes the way we answer questions is to merely remove the question one step back. This is the problem with, say, crediting aliens for creating life on Earth, or, at least, human life. The question then gets pushed back to, "Well, who created the aliens?" It's a poor way to answer a question, basically, a cop out. I feel like that's what they're doing in this arc with the question, "How do Jedi talk from the dead?"

I also feel like this is a question that doesn't need to be answered, not in any concrete way. I mean, how do the Jedi do anything? The Force. It's a mystery to those of us (all of us) who aren't Jedi. Just leave the answer at that. It doesn't need an answer.

Having said that, I think this is a really great episode and an important arc. Top 10 for sure, probably top five.
Yes, I'm biased because it focuses on Yoda, a character who really, despite always being around, hasn't received enough attention throughout the series. Just casually thinking back, I can only think of one other arc that focused on Yoda as a character.

There is a thing I like very much about this episode: It highlights the way in which people, even Jedi, are unable to think outside of the boxes they've put themselves in. When Yoda is troubled and brings his question to the Jedi Council, most of the Jedi but Ki Adi Mundi in particular, dismiss what Yoda is saying as something that is impossible. They've already decided their answers on the subject because they're certain they already have all the answers. Ki Adi Mundi goes so far as to assert that Yoda must be under the influence of the Dark Side and, mostly, the other council members don't reject that notion.

Which, of course, means Yoda has to rely on Anakin for help, seemingly the only Jedi other than Yoda who doesn't get trapped in dogma. Which isn't really a great thing for Anakin in the end, but being trapped in dogma isn't a good thing for the Jedi, either, considering what's in store for them.

Anyway... This is another of those arcs that real Star Wars fans should watch. Which is not to imply that you are not a real fan if you don't watch it, but, if your interest in Star Wars goes beyond the movies, this is an arc you should see.

Oh, one last thing...
There is a question that everyone asks (I use "everyone" loosely.): Why Dagobah?
Why did Yoda choose, of all places, to exile himself on Dagobah? This episode gives some insight into that.

Rebels: "Path of the Jedi" (Ep. 1.9)

"Why must you be Jedi?"

Kanan is forced with a difficult decision after the events of "Gathering Forces." Has Ezra touched on the Dark Side? Has he stepped onto the path? Is Ezra still capable of becoming a Jedi? Kanan needs to know. He needs a Jedi Temple...

So he has Ezra find him one. Through communing with the Force.

And, then, Ezra has an experience very reminiscent of Luke's experience in The Tree on Dagobah.

On the one hand, it's all very cool. It's a good episode in that respect and brings up a lot of questions (like "What has Kanan been doing since the Purge?") that I hope we get to see answered. Ezra's experience in the Temple is well done and is very revealing about him as a character. It's a great step forward for the show and it definitely has my attention (and approval) at this point. Although still obviously geared for kids, it has stepped above being merely a "kids' show."

On the other hand, there are some things I find annoying in a more global sense. What we know about Star Wars in general is that Anakin was the most powerful Jedi ever, even more powerful than Yoda. That is, until Luke was born, and Luke is supposed to be even more powerful than Anakin (even though no one ever took his midi-chlorian count), but what we're seeing from Ezra is stuff that goes way beyond Anakin or Luke. Stuff that makes Kanan fearful of his ability to teach Ezra.

From a global story perspective, you are driven to do this kind of thing, because the natural inclination is to take things to the next level, not show things you've shown before, but I think you can do that without making each new character the most powerful ever. So I hope that's not what they're doing, but it does look like it's headed that direction.

Still, taken in the context of this one show, it's very good, and I am, now, looking forward to each new episode we have time to watch.