**SPOILERS AHEAD**
The last time we saw a blockbuster that earned over $1.2 billion worldwide prove to be this divisive was “Jurassic World.” If “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was faulted for being too familiar, then “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is being criticized for being too different. From Rey’s parents (Kylo must be lying, they can’t be nobody!) to Luke’s powers (that’s not how the Force works!), diehard fans have a long list of things they’re unhappy about when it comes to Rian Johnson‘s film.
In his latest “Fatman On Batman” podcast, Kevin Smith reflects on what is driving the hate against the film, and makes a fairly keen observation that some might be reacting with so much intensity because ‘The Last Jedi’ simply isn’t the movie they thought it be (to quote Luke, “This is not going to go the way you think!”).
“I think at the end of the day, audience expectation plays into that,” Smith said. “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.’ ”
“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 fucked up their childhood.”
Indeed, you don’t have to look far to find someone who is deeply wounded about everything in ‘The Last Jedi.’ Smith suggests that perhaps after ‘The Force Awakens,’ which the low barrier to success where it simply had to be better than the prequels, the pendulum swung too far in other direction.
“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 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 fucking 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 shit and now you just have to tell a real story.”
Indeed, Johnson didn’t have the easiest task, but credit to the filmmaker for making the movie and telling the story he wanted. “Star Wars” can never truly move forward unless it lets go of the past. [via Uproxx]