**SPOILERS AHEAD**
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has been in cinemas for a month now, and debate continue to swirl around the movie, which is probably the finest compliment it could receive.
Many longtime fans of the franchise were left severely disappointed by writer/director Rian Johnson‘s movie, which declared that Rey’s parents doesn’t matter, nudged the lines of what it means to use the Force, and most crucially of all, killed off Luke Skywalker. Indeed, the Jedi master we meet in ‘The Last Jedi’ is far from the young hero of the original trilogy. Cynical and weary, he now believes the Jedi and the mythology around it are more of a threat than an asset to the Rebellion. And for those of us that like the film, that’s precisely what makes ‘The Last Jedi’ so enjoyable.
There have been many defenders and detractors of the movie, and the latest to step into the fray is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In a piece for Medium, the actor makes clear his professional relationship with Johnson which has included lead roles in “Brick” and “Looper,” and cameos in “The Brothers Bloom” and ‘The Last Jedi.’ However, he only saw the completed film recently, and was spurred to share his thoughts after seeing divisive reaction online.
In short, Gordon-Levitt believes that the depiction of Luke is a natural progression for the character. Essentially, he’s forty years old, and so it only makes sense that his relationship to the Force and his outlook in general are quite different than when he was a young Jedi. Here are some excerpts from Gordon-Levitt’s piece:
Leaving Luke unchanged would have been a huge missed opportunity. Think about how rare this is. A trilogy of movies is made with a young protagonist played by an actor in his 20s. Then, no fewer than 40 YEARS LATER (A New Hope came out in 1977) this actor gets to play the same character as an older man. I don’t know how many times that has ever happened in the history of movies. Has it ever happened?
This gives the filmmaker and the actor an extraordinary opportunity to tell a story about one of the most universal truths in human experience — getting older. We all get older, and those of us who are lucky enough to survive our youth all face the joys, the terrors, the puzzles, the pitfalls, the surprises, and the inevitabilities that come along with doing so. Re-meeting our beloved protagonist decades after we last saw him, only to learn that the passing years have changed some of his most fundamental qualities, I’ll admit, it’s almost hard to see. But in that glaring contrast between the Luke of old and the new Old Luke, The Last Jedi offers a uniquely fascinating portrayal of a man’s life marching inescapably forward.
Time changes us. Go talk to anybody in their sixties and ask if they feel very different than they did in their twenties. The look on their face will almost surely speak volumes. As do so many such looks from Mark Hamill in what I feel is a beautifully nuanced and heartfelt performance….
….To me, this is a story about not losing faith: faith in the outside world, faith in your allies as well as your enemies, in the future as well as the past, in the next generation that will take your place, and yes, faith in your own damn self. Luke has made mistakes that had terrible consequences, and his regret is so strong that he wants to give up. We need to see that despair, hidden under a crusty front of indifference, so that when he finally decides to put himself out there and make the ultimate sacrifice, it means something. It means more than just stalling the First Order to let the remainder of the Resistance escape. Our protagonist has arrived at the end of his journey. He’s re-found his faith, both in the past and the future of the Jedi Order, and even more importantly, in himself. Again, it’s in that glaring contrast between a journey’s beginnings and its end where we find a story’s meaning.
It’s a great perspective on the film, and if you don’t agree with Gordon-Levitt, he’s cool with that. But he reminds you that, “This isn’t politics or sports. The fruit is in the subjectivity.” Damn, right.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is now playing everywhere. Give it a second or third viewing!
They fundamentally changed the character. Both Johnson’s response and this response misses the point of the complaints aganist the film. Yes people change and they get older and they fuck up and they make mistakes, but deciding to MURDER your NEPHEW in his sleep, is a cowardly act. How the hell can so many people have read that script and missed that? Luke Skywaker thought to kill a child, his own blood relation, in his sleep. It’s too cowardly, it’s too indefensible.
I mean are the people living in Hollywood that far removed from reality they can’t see why people would be offened by that choice?
At the end of the day Johnson and company seem ignorant of how filipant the movie is, the mythology is extremely important to people and it just seems like all involved are just rushing through these films, getting them to screen as fast as they can without any BS filter, so they can rake in the dough.
He didn’t try to kill his nephew in his sleep- he contemplated doing it and then decided not to. Big difference. Plus, as an actual lifelong fan of Star Wars (I was ten when New Hope came out), I am perfectly happy with this plot development and would have been just as happy if he had actually tried to kill him. So please don’t presume to speak on behalf of all SW fans.
Be careful when you speak, you might reveal too much about yourself.
“He contemplated” do you contemplate killing your significant other, your kids, your nieces and or nephews? Like legit go into their rooms while they are sleeping, and think should I or shouldn’t I?
If you do, go seek help. The idea that it is in any way shape or form excusable to “contemplate” murdering people is mental and speak volumes about your own moral compass.
I mean you actually wrote “Big Difference” like it is not insane for anyone to stand over a sleeping child and debate if one should or shouldn’t kill them.
It cannot be, it should not be shocking to anyone involved in making TLJ, that, that development has rubbed a good many peope the wrong way.
I’m laughing, but your response escalated way too quickly.
Buddy: “I disagree with your opinion, and personally found that I liked the film.”
Miles Dyson: “You murderer”
Conversations about fictional made up things really do bring out the best in people.
Where did I say he was a murderer? I’m certain I called into question is moral compass but not sure where you are reading me calling him a murderer.
It’s hyperbole. You’re engaging in film critique. Critique the film.
Don’t go around questioning the moral compass or accusing people of “contemplate killing your significant other, your kids, your nieces and or nephews” of people that disagree with your opinion.
He almost killed his own father in Episode VI. But he didn’t! The same way he almost killed his nephew, but he wouldn’t! And this choice was taken before Ben woke up.
Are you sure those are equally comparable things? A masked mad man who chopped Lukes hand off, built a super weapon that could destroy planets, and who was trying to control the galaxy through a terror campaign of murder and subjecation of star systems, and his nephew who he suspected was going to the dark side of the force. I guess my english isn’t up to this argument. If you think a duel to the death between Luke and Darth Vader is equivelent to Luke trying to kill his nephew in his sleep are the same thing, then yeah, you’re seeing pizza and I’m seeing teriyaki tenders. We are looking at too totally different menus.
Luke saw Ben’s future and he surely saw the murders he was about to make (… among others, his own father…!). So we can safely assume it was almost like the same evil he was about to destroy. And we know he was too warm-hearted to make this decision finally. The point is, he’s not like someone who would such a thing. There might have been a conflict in him but the Light Side won.
‘ I don’t know how many times that has ever happened in the history of movies. Has it ever happened?’ Maybe not 40 years exactly, but… Bladerunner 2049, The Color of Money, Star Trek 2009…
He’s so right! I totally agree with him in every way. It would unreal and fake to see an unchanged Jedi Master Luke…This was the best choice by Rian by far!!!
I have to completely disagree. The fact is, I have heard tons of people make the “unchanged” argument for Luke and it is not an argument at all. I have literally read thousands of reviews and I don’t recall a single one upset that Luke hadn’t changed. No one wanted to see an unchanged Luke.
Now, people did want to see a Luke who had spent his time learning and growing. They wanted to see a Luke who gain a better understanding of the force than the previous jedi. They wanted to see him become the Grand Mater of the Jedi where he understood that there was no dark or light side of the force, but it was all the same force. That is NOT an unchanged Luke.
Now, you may not like that idea and that is fine. Just stop trying to make an argument against the side that doesn’t like the direction of Luke that does not exist.
Alternate title for article: Director’s friend, and employee, tries to convince you the movie was not that crappy.