‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘ is a controversial subject for many fans and Kevin Smith is sharing why he feels some viewers didn’t enjoy it. Director Rian Johnson has been going through a slew of Q&A’s and interviews where he has shared his goals for the film, but having to explain every little scene just shows how it didn’t resonate with some fans.
Smith may have given some of the best examples of why parts of the movie were misses, especially when it came to Mark Hamill returning as Luke Skywalker.
Here is what Smith said on his Fatman on Batman podcast:
“I think at the end of the day audience expectation plays into that. Like when, you know, you’re like ‘alright the next movie is going to be all about Luke and I’ve seen Luke in the trailer and I know exactly who Luke Skywalker is and now he looks like Obi-Wan so he’s going to be like this version of Obi-Wan,’ and then they give you a version of Luke that even Mark Hamill reportedly was like ‘I don’t know, is this really supposed to be Luke Skywalker? He’s not the one I remember.'”
With fandoms being bigger than ever these days and amplified by social media, this was difficult for many. It was even worse when so many have fond memories of Luke stretching back to their childhoods:
“Some people, it hit them the wrong way in a big way. I’ve seen, it’s not just people going like, ‘oh, I didn’t like it,’ when they don’t like it. It’s vitriolic, as if somebody f–cked up their childhood.”
This was even more noticeable in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ than ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. While you could argue it was because of what ended up happening with Luke Skywalker, there is another reason that stands out in Smith’s mind:
“With Force Awakens you get the nostalgia rush, like, maybe we weren’t as judgy about that movie as people are being about Last Jedi because like we’re going to give you, we’re going to make three Star Wars movies, here’s the first one and there ain’t a hint of Jar Jar in it, enjoy and so the audience is ‘oh god it’s f–cking back’ and now that they’ve had that moment the next one had a tall order because you lose the joy of surprise and like your childhood is back and sh-t and now you just have to tell a real story.”
While I’m in the group who quite enjoyed ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ outside of that entire Casino side plot, I do understand these frustrations. If you’re expecting a story to be one thing and get something else entirely, that can be easy to hold against a film like this. While I loved the twists, I know so many who didn’t and do understand their point of view.
Do you agree with Kevin Smith as to why ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ didn’t work for some fans? Share your thoughts below!
