THE LAST JEDI: A FAN BASE DIVIDED
As the most divisive Star Wars movie to date, The Last Jedi currently sits at a 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. For those not familiar with the movie review site, this means that less than half of the 171,769 (and counting) audience reviewers gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars or above.
One user says “This is a smug, charmless mess of a movie that sets new lows for screenwriting arrogance and incompetence.” Compared to the other reviews, this one is generous.
Interestingly enough, Rotten Tomatoes also gives an aggregate for all of the professional movie critics’ scores, and The Last Jedi’s is a “Certified Fresh” 90%. It has legitimate faults, like plot holes, out of place comedy, and poorly written characters, but the critics clearly think that these faults don’t ultimately detract from the overall experience. Their summary on Rotten Tomatoes reads “Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga's rich legacy while adding some surprising twists -- and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for.” Maybe whoever wrote that summary didn’t read the audience reviews.
Such a disparity between critics and fans is common when it comes to beloved franchises like Star Wars. For example, the recently released Justice League was panned by critics. It currently sits at a 40% critic score, but a 77% audience score. Suicide Squad has a 26% critic score and a 60% audience score. Man of Steel has a 55% critic score and a 75% audience score. You get the picture. Fans of the ever-popular superhero and sci-fi genres usually look past a movie’s faults, but not in the case of the Last Jedi. While Rotten Tomatoes is by no means the end-all-be-all for a movie’s quality, it still provides a fairly accurate representation of the audience’s opinion.
So why do Star Wars fans seem to hate this movie more than anyone else? Without spoiling anything, The Last Jedi changed quite a bit about classic characters like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. It seems several moments just didn’t quite land with Star Wars fans, as they changed so much about the Star Wars universe that we all know and love. However, as The Last Jedi received backlash for changing Star Wars too much, The Force Awakens received similar backlash for being too much like the old movies. I believe this is a classic case of not being able to please the entirety of a passionate fan base. Everyone has their own ideas and desires for their favorite characters and their favorite franchise, so when one man has the power to write and direct a Star Wars movie, it’s bound to disappoint some fans. However, I think people should commend Disney for letting Rian Johnson write and direct. Studios far too often leave the writing process up to a committee, resulting in a meticulously crafted and manipulative product that only attempts to please everyone and maximize profit. As far as we know, Disney let Johnson share his vision, unmuddled by producers or studio hands forcing fan service and stifling any risk-taking.
I worry that if the original Star Wars was released today instead of 1977, it would be dead on arrival, ripped apart by the internet before giving its unique and bold vision a chance. The Last Jedi did not ruin Star Wars. It isn’t the best Star Wars movie, either, nor should anyone expect it to be. It seems that the fans have become increasingly unable to appreciate average or good movies. If the newest movie doesn’t surpass their already unreasonably high expectations, it must be the worst movie ever conceived. The Last Jedi has problems, just like any movie, but in the end, it’s a fun fantasy adventure, and a good addition to the Star Wars saga. If you enjoyed it, that’s perfectly fine. If you didn’t enjoy it, that’s fine too, but the vitriol and toxicity surrounding this film is unwarranted and frankly, disappointing.
