Here were are in 2022. Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out in late 2017 yet even now I see people tweeting about it. Sadly, a lot of what I see is trolling. TLJ defenders seem to enjoy posting positive comments about the movie and/or its director because they know it will trigger a negative response from passionate fans who disliked the movie. I am tired of expressing my opinion about it. If you haven't heard, I have been keeping an ongoing list of all the things that ticked me off about TLJ here: https://whalerjacket.blogspot.com/2018/06/tlj-what-went-wrong.html More than 300 reasons.
But I'm tired of it. So here it is. My final rebuttal to all the TLJ defenders out there. I will post a link to this blog entry whenever I don't have the time or motivation to express my strong opinion about this movie.
I believe Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the worst Star Wars movie ever made, maybe even the worst movie ever made when you consider the size and scope of the series of which it was supposed to be a part and the possibly irreparable damage it caused to its fan base. It can be considered a franchise-killer. And not just any franchise: STAR WARS! Arguably the biggest movie franchise of all time in the history of cinema.
But that's not what this entry is about. In the link above you will find my exhaustive list of reasons why I hated that movie if you so desire to hear my ramblings about it.
No, this blog entry is about proving TLJ was a failure. You can agree or disagree about its plot, character decisions, etc. That's not what this is about.
What everybody should agree with is that Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a failure.
Let's first discuss the Prequel Trilogy which had its share of issues from bad dialogue to bad characters (Jar Jar comes to mind immediately) to bad special effects. Despite all the problems, Star Wars fans generally accepted these movies as part of the saga. Then The Force Awakens came out and it had its share of problems. Some say it was a rehash of the original. Some were upset Han was killed therefore guaranteeing we would never see the "big three" share the screen again. Many others were disappointed that Extended Universe material was not used. Despite all this, it was generally accepted as part of the saga.
I for one liked The Force Awakens. I didn't absolutely love it, but it felt like Star Wars. I was excited to find out more about Rey's lineage. I was excited to discover who Snoke and the Knights of Ren were. I was excited to see Finn grow...possibly into a Jedi! I was excited to see Luke return as a a full-fledged Jedi master. Surely he'd train Rey. Maybe he'd even train Finn. Surely he would wield his green saber in the next movie!
Yes, I accepted it as a Star Wars movie. Nowhere near a perfect movie. Lots of flaws. But I enjoyed the heck out of it and couldn't wait for Episode 8. I think most others agreed. Even if they weren't huge fans of The Force Awakens, they accepted it as Star Wars canon and were interested to see where the story would be taken in the next movie.
Then The Last Jedi came along.
You can say what you want about TLJ, good or bad. There will be disagreements all over the board. But what everyone CAN agree on is that the movie divided its fan base. Even now on Twitter you will find TLJ defenders and haters arguing about it. So is that what Disney wanted? To divide the fan base of the greatest film franchise in movie history? I think we can all agree that Disney did not. They were hoping for a universally loved (or at least universally accepted) trilogy that would be cherished liked the first two trilogies. That obviously did not happen.
So The Last Jedi failed to keep the fans united. It divided the fan base instead of keeping it together.
Let's talk about merchandising next. I have collected Star Wars merchandise since I was a young kid. Even as an adult when the prequel trilogy was released I shelled out hundreds, probably even thousands of dollars on Star Wars "stuff." I have all the movies on VHS...and DVD...and BluRay. I have nine Force FX lightsabers. Countless items of clothing including a deluxe Jedi robe. I have three huge plastic tubs filled with unopened Star Wars collector's items. Loads of action figures, books, games, posters, mugs...you get the idea. When the Force Awakens was released, I jumped in head first. Kylo Ren action figures, Halloween costumes for my kids, a BB-8 cookie jar, the visual dictionary, etc. I was all in.
Then The Last Jedi came along.
I stopped buying Star Wars merchandise altogether. I found it hard to even purchase original and prequel trilogy items because TLJ left such a bad taste in my mouth. Everything Star Wars felt tainted. Different. And it wasn't just me. Star Wars toys and other merchandise didn't sell like it did for The Force Awakens or prequel trilogy. How many people out there actually went out and bought a Rose Tico action figure? No? How about a Holdo figure? No? How about a DJ figure? No? I am sure some of you reading this said "yes," but you are in the minority. The toys did not sell well as there wasn't as much interest in the sequel trilogy characters.
So The Last Jedi failed from a merchandising perspective.
Let's move on to the Box Office. The Force Awakens was at one point the highest grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office and second all time at the world wide box office.
Then The Last Jedi came along.
At first glance, The Last Jedi was a success. It currently ranks in the top 20 on the list of all time highest grossing box office hits. But I contend that it did not make as much money as it could have. I paid to see The Force Awakens three times in the theater. You would probably have to pay ME a considerable sum of money to get me to sit through The Last Jedi again in a theater. And I am not alone. Disney lost out on countless repeat viewings because of the choices it (and Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy) made with the film. Let's face it. If you were a Star Wars fan, you were going to pay to see The Last Jedi, no matter what you heard about it. Let's face it, you may have even gone a second time, even if you did not like it, hoping that it would sit with you better the second time. So the movie was going to make its money no matter what. But what I find the most telling is the box office return of the Rise of Skywalker. TROS ranks much lower on the list of all time highest grossing movies. Those box office numbers suggest to me that TLJ killed a lot of the enthusiasm for the final movie. I did not want to even see it. The only reason I went is because my brother paid for my ticket and I was willing to view it out of morbid curiosity and to spend time with my brother who was visiting from out of state. I had zero interest to see it as a Star Wars fan. Zero. It also seemed to kill the enthusiasm for Solo: A Star Wars Story which is widely regarded as the first Star Wars flop. STAR WARS films should NEVER flop!
So The Last Jedi did not meet expectations at the box office and contributed to the lack of enthusiasm for the following two Star Wars movies.
The bottom line: whether you liked or disliked The Last Jedi, I think we can all agree that it was a failure. It was not universally accepted like the Original Trilogy or the Sequel Trilogy. It was not a merchandising success. It has created tension among fans. What other Star Wars director routinely posts things slamming those who disagreed with his choices? Even years after the movie was released? I am looking at you Rian Johnson. All he had to do was say something like "I am really sorry there were some who disagreed with my choices for The Last Jedi. I made what I thought would be a well-received movie. I hope over time Star Wars fans will learn to appreciate it as much as I do." Something like that. It's called being classy and graceful. Rian Johnson has been anything but that when addressing the reactions of those who did not like TLJ.
If you disagree that TLJ was a failure: Then you must call it a success, the opposite of a failure. So you think a movie that divides the fan base so dramatically could be considered a success? A movie that turns off life-long Star Wars fans (like myself) from the saga is a success? A movie that all but kills the merchandising of the brand is a success? A movie that diminishes enthusiasm for future entries in the SW universe is a success? If this is what you believe, I will not try to change your mind. I will respectfully disagree. I will respect your opinion so please respect mine. I honestly wish I could have liked the The Last Jedi and I am jealous of you if you do. Even today, it's hard to go a single day without thinking about the damage it did and the joy it took from my life.
I can only shake my head...and write long-winded blog entries.
