Source: https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/film...skywalker-character-to-a-critical-fan-2590624
Finish what Luke started if old
Rian Johnson (the last Jedi) defends his vision of Luke Skywalker to a critical fan
- Thread starter DiipuSurotu
- Start date
Source: https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/film...skywalker-character-to-a-critical-fan-2590624
Finish what Luke started if old
At some point, the kids who grew up with SW forgot about the human character arcs and just considered them to be plot devices and action figures. Hell, i'm half convinced that's the reason you see comments like "Man the Mandalorian sure FEELS like SW" despite having very little in terms of characterization and themes compared to all the scenes where Mando goes pew pew.
Rian Johnson was kind to pull his punch when he easily shattered that dude's delusions. Class act.
Also more evidence that TLJ "criticism" was mainly driven by conservative people trying to radicalize "normies" by using incredibly bad faith argumentation
Except the person Rian is disagreeing with doesn't want Luke to progress, he wants him to just be a static hero who freezes in time at the end of ROTJ.
Character arcs don't have to solely go in one direction.
It's almost like...people change *drastically* over three decades, you know? I barely feel like the same person I was 5-10 years ago. I can't imagine how different I'll be in another 20 or 30. Worldviews shift, especially when you've been exiled for so damn long.
Progress doesn't mean gaining immunity from mistakes, it means learning from mistakes, sometimes repeating them, but always standing back up.
Briefly and instinctively considering murdering your nephew in his sleep because your well established prophetic abilities told you that he would bring destruction and death to untold millions, including those you love, and then feeling complete shame over that consideration and believing it to be your greatest failure.*
Fixed it for you.
I see this "Well all the crazies might dislike TLJ but my personal reasons are valid unlike theirs" sentiment a lot.
i think we can all just take a step back and really let this sink in.
'not rian's luke' is the twitter handle by the way
That rant reads like 9 paragraphs of Luke isn't allowed to change, and should be perfect because he finished his character arc.
The fact that the self-proclaimed fan would say something as ludicrous as "self-control is not a skill that decreases over time; it is a skill that INCREASES with time," like human beings level up in a linear fashion and self-control is a fucking stat, shows Rian is right.
shocking
The fact that the self-proclaimed fan would say something as ludicrous as "self-control is not a skill that decreases over time; it is a skill that INCREASES with time," like human beings level up in a linear fashion and self-control is a fucking stat, shows Rian is right.
shocking
That is not what fucking happened, I don't know what's wrong with you people. Stop watching movies on fast forward or however it is you're doing things that makes you miss basic things about the story.
Almost like reacted in fear to his nephew's nazi manifesto or something, and then immediately hated himself for doing so
Lukes changes made me love the character, and i didn't really like him before. It made him more human, having flaws, and going through some shit. Best thing about TLJ was Luke!
Luke opting to murder his nephew, the son of his sister and friend, in his sleep, even for a second, is just... too insane to contemplate.
The fact over all 3 films we never got to fully see the actual downfall of Luke's Academy just makes it worse.
But despite this I think the way Luke was handled in TLJ was mostly okay.
The fact over all 3 films we never got to fully see the actual downfall of Luke's Academy just makes it worse.
But despite this I think the way Luke was handled in TLJ was mostly okay.
growth is poorly represented by a progress bar that gets filled and marked as done.
I think its not the fact that luke still has flaws and doesnt do everything perfectly, its not we see this man jump so quickly to trying kill his nephew and than disappears completely to let the galaxy burn lol
I don't think this is fair. I love TLJ but it's perfectly reasonable to dislike it even though some real shitheads also dislike it.
Yeah, but this usually devolves into the whole disliking TLJ means you're alt-right shit.
You serious with this distorted summary? Luke ignited the saber for a second after seeing the darkness in Kylo, and instantly regretted it. Kylo's version of the scene shows Luke with murder in his eyes, but Kylo is an unreliable narrator. Luke's version clarifies that he was tempted for the briefest moment, but Kylo woke up and instantly attacked.
Maybe watch the movie again before trying to claim the false version of the scene was the real one.
Honestly, the title of "Undermined the Entire Star Wars Franchise" makes me roll my eyes so far in the back of my head I can see my brain.
Luke's arc was the single strongest aspect of that movie. TLJ has some definite issues, but Luke isn't one of them. People again not able to distinguish "I don't like thing" with "this thing is objectively awful," leading to an eye-rolling "let me create an essay on why this is objectively the worst thing ever."
Luke's arc was the single strongest aspect of that movie. TLJ has some definite issues, but Luke isn't one of them. People again not able to distinguish "I don't like thing" with "this thing is objectively awful," leading to an eye-rolling "let me create an essay on why this is objectively the worst thing ever."
"Hey he saw a prophecy thats make it ok for the guy who believed in his mass murderer dad until the very end to stand in his nephews bedroom with a gun on his head."
But my flaws and edges.
But my flaws and edges.
The thing is, I get Rian, but eventhough it had been 35 years since the last time we saw Luke, TLJ was the very first time we saw Luke properly since RoTJ and the first time in a film. As such it seemed like a major and unreasonable shift, because the "recurring wounds and flaws" Rian talks about is not something we ever see. Instead it goes Luke learning > Luke triumphing > Luke wounded & disgruntled.
It's not only that moment. After that he tries to just run away and avoid his problems for years rather than correcting his mitakes. The problem with TLJ Luke is that by that point he isn't an "hero" anymore. Even in a classical definition of the term, heroes might be flawed but they had a drive or ambition pushing them forward that's obviously missing from TLJ Luke until right before his death.
Yes, that might make him "human", "normal", but Star Wars isn't focused on Mr.Joe, the problems of his retail store and his family drama. It's absolutely not the place to break down a former main hero like that.
The man who would have given up his own life to redeem Darth Vader of all people is not the Jedi who would try to kill his nephew, so it's still a wash for me.
I honestly wonder what it was about that particular argument that prompted him to respond. Like, it's the same drivel that's been repeated a hundred times by now. Straw that broke the camels back?
Edit: Fucking hell, his argument is even worse than the usual drek. Luke didn't fulfill his character arc by becoming a robot who has mastery over his emotions. He did it because he chose empathy and idealism over cynicism. Obiwan and Yoda AND Vader and the Emperor all encouraged Luke to end Vader, except Vader and Palpatine wanted him to do so in hatred so he can fall to the dark side. But according to Obiwan and Yoda, Luke killing Vader dispassionately would have been the ideal solution.
But what Luke chose to do was put his trust in Vader, that his father would see the horribleness of what was happening and choose to join him in the light. That Vader would turn away from Palpatine to save his son. That's what made Luke win, not his 'mastery of his emotions'. Fucking crock of shit.
Edit: Fucking hell, his argument is even worse than the usual drek. Luke didn't fulfill his character arc by becoming a robot who has mastery over his emotions. He did it because he chose empathy and idealism over cynicism. Obiwan and Yoda AND Vader and the Emperor all encouraged Luke to end Vader, except Vader and Palpatine wanted him to do so in hatred so he can fall to the dark side. But according to Obiwan and Yoda, Luke killing Vader dispassionately would have been the ideal solution.
But what Luke chose to do was put his trust in Vader, that his father would see the horribleness of what was happening and choose to join him in the light. That Vader would turn away from Palpatine to save his son. That's what made Luke win, not his 'mastery of his emotions'. Fucking crock of shit.
Bad faith nonsense. You're doing your POV no favors by intentionally misrepresenting the plot.
If you want characters to progress then they can't be static. People are not static.
If anything SW is EXACTLY the right franchise to do something like that because there are people like you who exist and think "Well SW can't do that"
I will never not love Yoda sounding like a relative of Marge Simpson.