The fact that The Force Awakens is an unabashed remake of A New Hope is actually why I'm so enamored with it. And it was Rey, the first big-screen female Jedi, who took my hand and led me there. It was The Force Awakens that got me back into Star Wars, that made me feel like I could claim my place in the fandom. Abrams, a filmmaker whose approach to storytelling and commitment to empowered female characters I fervently admire. Feeling alienated, I drifted away from the fandom for a while – but then the sequel trilogy was announced, and it was revealed that the newest saga film would be directed and co-written by none other than J.J.
Until it became not only trendy to hate the prequels with vicious intensity, but expected. I was instilled with a healthy amount of respect and even an inherited love for the original films, especially A New Hope, but I was always a prequels girl through and through. I'm a millennial Star Wars fan, and as such, I grew up on the prequels, not the original trilogy. I rarely re-watch movies – there are too many out there I haven't already seen – but I gravitate towards The Force Awakens whenever I need a Star Wars-related pick-me-up, and it brings me joy every time.
The Force Awakens, on the other hand, is my happy place. In this situation, I'm attempting to separate the art from the artist.) My reaction to The Last Jedi in no way detracts from my respect for him and from what he feels he accomplished. (Full disclosure: From following his interviews and his presence online, I believe that Rian Johnson is a kind and humble human being as well as a passionate and insightful filmmaker. Regardless of who her parents were, Rey is important – to me, to little girls, to female Star Wars fans everywhere – but through misguided humor, cheap dialogue, and a narrative structure that prioritizes certain Skywalkers, The Last Jedi unforgivably downplays her significance, and downplays everything I've come to cherish about J.J. My problem with The Last Jedi is not that it subverts the status quo by challenging traditional Star Wars narratives, but that it does this in a way that feels like it's sneering at anyone who actually enjoyed any elements of past movies, including its own predecessor, The Force Awakens. The movie tears fans' hopes and expectations to shreds – and it does so gleefully. There's a fine line between self-aware comedy and satire, and The Last Jedi dips precariously towards the latter.
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