12 Critical Responses To 2017 Films That Make No Sense
1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Film:
The hugely anticipated eighth episode of the beloved Star Wars saga, no-one knew how this one would go before its release.
The Response:
Many have been very positive, but there has been an overwhelming backlash against the movie online. Its discarding of the many fan theories from The Force Awakens, plot twists, different story and the presentation of certain characters have divided many.
Why They Got It Wrong:
The Last Jedi is legitimately one of the best movies of the year. Everything - the acting, emotion, direction, action, story - it's all near-flawless. The backlash it has received doesn't do the film justice.
The Force Awakens faced a backlash for being too similar to A New Hope, yet now TLJ is being trashed for subverting expectations. TFA and Rogue One were endlessly bashed for being a nostalgia-fest but now TLJ is being panned for ruining people's childhoods by moving away from the older films.
The film actually moves the story forward in a fascinating way as well as honoring the franchise's core themes and ideas. It is unsettling to see it move away from previous franchise material at first, but that doesn't make it a bad film. It should be judged on its own merits and not constantly compared to the Original Trilogy which, let's face it, can't ever really be imitated or topped.
It would be wonderful if, like The Empire Strikes Back, this saw a critical re-appraisal but only time will tell.