Now, let me say right up front that I enjoyed The Force Awakens. Sure, it was basically a rehash of A New Hope and had plenty of issues I could pick apart, but after the disappointment of the prequels I was satisfied with what I saw. I thought the ending set up Episode VII quite well and I was intrigued by where it could go. To say The Last Jedi fell flat is an understatement, and it did so in the opening scene. So let’s begin right there and see if we can’t clean up this train wreck of a franchise:
The Last Jedi
Rey stands, offering the lightsaber to Luke. He slowly extends his hand, and the lightsaber floats away from Rey into Luke’s grasp. He ignites it, then throws it spinning back at her. She cowers to duck and the saber stops in midair, pointed an inch from her face. Rey, terrified, waits for whatever will come next. The lightsaber is extinguished and turns around slowly in the air.
“Take it,” Luke says, “You have much to learn. Come.” Luke walks off. Rey retrieves the saber, which is still hanging in the air, and follows him.
In space, we are immediately thrust into the midst of a large-scale battle with First Order dogfighting Poe and his Resistance squadron. Heavy cruisers exchange shots and the battle is a standoff. From the command ship, General Wedge Antilles discusses the strategic matters with Ackbar and Leia (as a hologram; she’s on a base somewhere). They decide on a withdraw-in-strength to preserve their fleet and plan a counter offensive.
Luke explains to Rey why he has been in isolation. He’s been using the force to seek out force sensitive individuals across the universe. Whenever he senses one he sends a Guardian of the Whills (see Rogue One) to assess them as potential Jedi. Rey was one of these individuals. The old man Kylo Ren killed in the opening sequence of The Force Awakens was supposed to bring Rey to Luke in time. Luke explains that there are at least four others like her almost ready to bring to the island, but for now they’re being watched over in secrecy as Snoke is also seeking out potential Sith.
Luke then explains that Kylo Ren is only one of Snoke’s Sith apprentices. Kylo Ren is the most powerful one, but there are five others (the Knights of Ren), including two of Luke’s former Jedi trainees. Luke tells Rey they will need to confront the Knights of Ren before they become too powerful to stop. They will need to get Rey trained up, and fast. Rey mentions she beat Kylo Ren, and Luke laughs at her. He uses the force to lift her up over the rocky cliff, making the point that Kylo Ren is no Sith master, and she is not a Jedi yet.
Cut to a land battle with Finn and a number of former Republic and Resistance fighters fending off First Order ground assaults on Leia’s base. It’s clear they need to consolidate forces from across the galaxy because the Knights of Ren are easily picking off the isolated forces. Desperate for help from the Jedi, everyone asks where Luke and Rey are.
After a few scenes of training, Luke warns Rey that Kylo Ren will use any advantage to distract her, and he’s not to be trusted. Rey doubts her ability but Luke assures her the force is strong in her family. She asks how that could be. Narrating through flashbacks, Luke tells her that her grandfather was Obi-Wan.
“I knew your father, but not very well. He was…angry.”
“What about my mother? Did you know her as well?”
“I’m afraid not, your father left Tatooine before I did. His mother, Obi-Wan’s wife, was murdered when I was about your age. A number of ranchers, my uncle included set out to avenge her but Ben refused to join them.”
“Why not?”
“Revenge…it’s not the Jedi way.”
“But what about justice?”
“Perhaps he believed others would administer the justice better without him. Whatever his motivation, his refusal to join them caused his son to abandon the crazy old hermit — that’s what everyone took to calling him — in disgust. He had a different mission, though that is a whole other matter.”
“What could be more important than pursuing his own son?”
“Perhaps it would be better if he told you the rest of that himself.” Luke gestures to a holographic image of Ben sitting next to Rey.
Scene change. A counsel of Republic, Resistance, and other regional forces gather to form a new alliance and designate Ackbar the Supreme Allied Commander. The meeting is interrupted by a large scale bombardment, and the Knights of Ren land manage to kill several of the leaders and execute Ackbar. Amidst the battle, Leia displays Force powers that manage to allow troops and ships to escape.
Luke senses the battle, and tells Rey they cannot delay any longer.
Leia confronts the Knights of Ren, scoring several blows, but she draws them to her merely as a distraction, only concerned with allowing her forces to escape. Kylo Ren eventually stands in front of Leia, the other Sith waiting for him to strike her down. He lowers his saber and the others see this as weakness.
She calls out to him. “It’s okay, son. They can never hurt me.”
Another Sith ignites his lightsaber and runs Leia through, but she disappears with his saber stroke as Obi-Wan did with Darth Vader. Kylo Ren shouts, and the other knights mock him as they depart. Kylo Ren bends down and, from the pile of empty clothing, retrieves a ring with the symbol of the Jedi on it.
Luke feels her death via the Force. They arrive too late, with the base destroyed and fleet in disarray.
Cut to a scene in Snoke’s chambers, where Kylo Ren is being dressed down by Snoke and the other Sith. They sense a disturbance in the force.
Luke leads Rey through storm troopers, cutting them down as they make their way to Snoke’s chamber. Luke displays full Jedi mastery but has his hands full countering Snoke’s Sith powers while also fighting three Knights. Kylo Ren and another Sith overwhelm Rey, who proves unable to defend against them both. As she uses all of her strength to block both lightsaber blades, she pleads to Luke to help her, then calls for Obi-Wan, then for Leia.
Suddenly Kylo hears Leia’s voice. “You are a Jedi. And your father and I love you.”
Kylo pauses, looks to Luke, fighting the Sith, then Rey, about to be killed. He force pushes Rey away and she lays lays exhausted and confused. Kylo turns his blade on the Sith and fights against him. Luke kills two of the Sith and focuses his attention on Snoke. They clash force powers and the cave shakes, the rocks fall and the ceiling falls. Kylo uses the force to protect Rey, nearly unconscious and injured, from falling rocks. The two remaining Knights of Ren flee, and several younger Sith apprentices flee along with them in the chaos. Snoke is brought down to the ground and Luke appears to show mercy.
“The Jedi are weak,” Snoke laughs at him, “That is why the Jedi always lose in the end. They have no will to finish.”
Kylo comes up and slashes Snoke dead. “It is finished.”
“No,” Luke says. “But we will finish it.” He pats Kylo on the shoulder and moves to attend to Rey.
A large assortment of starships, junky fighters, and large cruisers are gathered in space. Inside one of the ships, an angry council of war is in session and Wedge Antilles attempts to garner the support of the various forces despairing their defeats.
One of the generals says, “How can we fight both the First Order and the Sith?”
“You don’t have to,” Luke says. “The Jedi will handle the Sith.” Luke stands between Rey and Ben Solo, all wearing traditional Jedi cloaks.
End Credits.
View previous Nerd Cuts:
The Nerd Cut: Avengers Endgame
The Nerd Cut: The Terminator Franchise
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