NOCTILUCA January 2018

CULTURE Appleton, Wisconsin January 2018 Volume XXIII

Issue III Page 10

Spoiler Alert: Two students review ‘The Last Jedi’ Star Wars: Lacking in some plot aspects but overall a massive hit Not only a huge success but a worthy tribute to Carrie Fischer

By Anna Schwarts

By Logan Gaertner

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opened as a massive hit, as Star Wars always does. The movie centers on the Resistance, headed by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), fleeing to safety, pursued by the First Order. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) has located Luke Skywalk- er (Mark Hamill) and urges him to train her in the ways of the Force so that they can face Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). The main storyline cen- ters on the Resistance. Led by General Leia Or- gana, they are locked in a slow-motion chase with the First Order. When ex- amined closely, this nar- rative does not make a whole lot of sense. There seemed to be several ap- parent ways around the issue at hand, and they were ignored as a result of miscommunication. The character arcs within the story, however, are not quite as halfhearted. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) finds himself toe-to-toe with new character Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern). Finn’s (John Boye- ga) arc, however, is not quite as successful. He is shipped off to a distant planet for the obligatory bar scene with newcomer Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), who functions well as a single character but is shoehorned into a lack- luster relationship. Their storyline is, in a word, un- necessary. Possibly the most dis- puted aspect of the film is the return of Luke Sky- walker- but not as the hero we remember. The Last Jedi’s Luke is cynical and world-weary, a far cry from the innocent farm

boy of the original trilogy. Fans have been outraged by this transformation, but it is not as far-fetched as one might think. His decision to isolate himself is similar to the one made by Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Characters such as this are put on pedes- tals, viewed as legends and held to standards of blamelessness. The Last Jedi shows Luke as he is: human. Rey spends the ma- jority of the movie with Kylo Ren, whose soul re- mains conflicted. Ridley and Driver have fantastic chemistry, additionally, their arc, and Luke’s, sub- verts the mythology of the whole franchise by step- ping away from the clear- cut definitions of Jedi vs. Sith That being said, Kylo’s will-he, won’t-he attitude has become very tired. Hopefully Episode IX will see him as either light or dark. It is in the final battle of the movie that the cin- ematography truly shines- speeders cut through the snow-white surface and leave jet-streams of red minerals behind them, and the Millennium Fal- con darts through a cave of bloodred crystals.The movie’s largest problem is undoubtedly its differ- entiation from everything set up in The ForceAwak- ens. The two are clearly the visions of different di- rectors: JJ Abrams’ loose ends from Episode VII are thrown out the win- dow. With Abrams com- ing back to direct Episode IX, only time will tell how he deals with this erasure of what he clearly meant to be overarching themes for the whole trilogy. The movie is anchored by strong performances

but props must be given to Carrie Fisher. Her fi- nal turn as Princess Leia is beautifully nuanced, and her reunion with Luke near the end of the movie truly met the hopes of fans. The real tragedy, however, is that her character is not given the farewell she deserves.

former lightsaber to the man himself (fantasti- cally portrayed by Mark Hamill). The film ex- plores Rey’s struggle with the force, Luke Skywalker’s struggle with himself, Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) struggle with his place in the gal- axy, and the Resistance’s struggle to escape the clutches of the nefari- ous First Order! “StarWars: The Last Jedi” throws away the Star Wars formula and everything an audi- ence member would have expected. This film turned Star Wars on its head, and it did so in the best possible way! New characters are explored more, iconic and familiar characters are looked at from all different angles, all while a beautifully directed and epic adventure en- sues. Mark Hamill is the best he has ever been as Luke Sky- walker. Seeing a hero that some of us have known since child- hood emotionally vul- nerable is heartbreak- ing to see, but also very intriguing and plays for a very satisfying story arc for the character. Car- rie Fisher saved her best performance for last as General Leia. Leia has so many highlight mo- ments in The Last Jedi (quite frankly, the entire film has so many high- light moments from ev- eryone). All of the newly introduced characters: Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), and DJ (Benicio Del Toro) bring some fun, interesting,

and charming new char- acters to the Star Wars playground. There is not a weak link in this film at all as far as performances go; everyone is truly fan- tastic in their roles. The action sequences (all lightsaber, space battle, and ground battle related) are some of the best in the saga, as is the humor and cinematogra- phy. So many jaw drop- ping, perfectly framed, glorious shots. The uni- verse building presented with all of the new plan- ets and landscapes are also really interesting and fun. The score composed by movie music master John Williams, is a great mix of familiar and new themes. Speaking of themes, a lot of them are presented here. Character struggles and symbolism are in the forefront with “The Last Jedi” and they are some of the film’s greatest strengths. The movie has very lit- tle in terms of negativity. One scene in particular with some wonky CGI and some beats of hu- mor don’t quite work like the others. There’s also a few non “Star Warsy” elements that just feel out of place from everything else in the movie, and the pacing does lull at times; fortunately, there aren’t any glaring errors that ruin the movie. In “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Luke Skywalker says this is not going to go the way you think...keep that in mind as you watch this unique, beautiful, shock- ing, emotional, unpre- dictable film that stands next to “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back” as one of the best Star Wars movies ever!

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” back in 2015 was a massive hit! Mak- ing over $200 million in just its opening weekend, and being the 3rd most financially successful movie of all time with $2 billion worldwide is no small feat; not to men- tion, it was also widely

Fisher was meant to be the centerpiece of Epi- sode IX, and her absence will be felt. Any way they attempt to write such an iconic character out of the story will be unsatis- factory. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” delivered on many accounts- and con- fused, disappointed, and infuriated on many oth- ers. Whether or not it was the sequel people expect- ed, things have certainly been shaken up, and the Star Wars universe is go- ing where it is never gone before.

well received both by fans and critics alike, so its sequel, “The Last Jedi,” was anticipated to be a fantastic follow up. And now that the movie has been released in the United States, is that level of hype fulfilled? The answer to that mil- lion dollar question: ab- solutely! “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” picks up right af- ter we see Rey (played incredibly well by Daisy Ridley) hand- ing Luke Skywalker’s

Chill songs for Winter 2018

By Amara Neitzke Music can cure the winter blues. Here’s my playlist for the winter months of 2018: 1. “Someone That Loves You” by HONNE ft. Izzy Bizu 2. “Dark Red” by Steve Lacy 3. “Can I Kick It?” by ATribe Called Quest

4. “Zebra” by Beach House 5. “Flowers” by Willow

12. “Junk Food Chimney” by Ezra Bell 13. “Freshly Laundered Linen” by Boom Forest ft, Phox 14. “Sweet Creature” by Harry Styles 15. “Better Than” by Lake Street Drive 16. “What Do I Know?” by Ed Sheeran 17. “Driving To Hawaii” by Summer Salt 18. “Be About You” by Winston Surfshirt

6. “Hostage” by Billie Eilish 7. “Holocene” by Bon Iver 8. “Half About Being a Woman” by Caro- line Smith 9. “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo 10. “Watch Me” by Jaden Smith 11. “I Believe in Love” by Yellow Days

Photo courtesy of Amara Neitzke