Because The Last Jedi is, on paper, the middle chapter in Lucasfilm’s current Star Wars trilogy, writer-director Rian Johnson made a point of challenging his characters – both the old, and the new.
From the world-weary Luke Skywalker to Poe Dameron, the trigger-happy Resistance pilot with more brains than sense, Johnson’s space-faring adventure is a ballsy expansion of the Skywalker Saga, even if a vocal minority say otherwise.
Soon after its arrival on December 15th, the critical consensus deemed The Last Jedi to be a meticulously crafted sequel that helps accelerate Lucasfilm’s franchise toward a bright future, one in which the galaxy’s fate rests on the shoulders of Rey, not Luke. And that’s just it. With Luke Skywalker ostensibly out of the picture – barring a ghostly cameo in Episode IX – a small portion of fans rallied against Disney and, in particular, Rian Johnson for “ruining Star Wars.”
This campaign, if that’s what you want to call it, continues to fester online, and Johnson himself has once again weighed in via Twitter by saying the following:
The goal is never to divide or make people upset, but I do think the conversations that are happening were going to have to happen at some point if sw is going to grow, move forward and stay vital.
Wise words from Rian Johnson, who is likely referring to the vitriol polluting Rotten Tomatoes. As things stand, and after 300 reviews, The Last Jedi has earned a 92 percent on RT’s Tomatometer, but the audience score is a totally different story.
In only a week, the figure in question has stooped to a measly 54 percent, which is lower than even Justice League. That algorithm has allegedly been skewed by a so-called alt-right group hoping to dethrone Disney, but considering the sequel’s rip-roaring success, we’re not quite sure what they’ve actually achieved.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now gearing up for its second weekend, and with $538 million already in the bank, we imagine the Lucasfilm sequel won’t be too far away from that $1 billion figure once Christmas is over.
Published: Dec 22, 2017 11:04 am