375-2
Hasbro- Black Series: Luke Skywalker (ROTJ)
Rating of worst to best of the Star Wars movies continued; see reviews 215-2, 218-2, 221-2, 241-2, 245-2, 247-2, 266-2, 272-2, 293-2, 299-2, 321-2, 327-2, 348-2, 352-2 & 354-2 for the previous instalments:
6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The Bad- Even though The Last Jedi ranks pretty high on my list, there are still some things that I take issue with and they are certainly not unlike any other criticisms that I have heard. First issue I have was the timing of the events in the movie. Why they decided to pick up right where they left off, especially with a new director and writer makes no sense whatsoever. I realize that this would have changed the entire narrative of the story, but I would have been fine with this as I did not like the “slow chase” main story line. I’m not going to go into too much detail as I’m sure there were “reasons” for why they couldn’t just lightspeed closer to the rebel base, or another friendly system, but it just seems like a waste of time that literally went nowhere.
And speaking of a waste of time, the whole subplot with Finn and Rose to find the master code breaker could have been eliminated entirely. I suppose seeing a new “Star Wars” world is always interesting, but again, it had little impact on anything. However I did find it somewhat funny that their entire mission was sidelined by an overzealous resident upset with a parking violation. That said, I thought they would have introduced Lando as either the code breaker or to take over from Deejay, but I’m not sure Billy Dee was up to it at the time.
Additional to that, I feel that Poe, a character that I loved from The Force Awakens, was wasted. Not only did he come off as a terrible squad leader (responsible for the destruction of the entire bombing fleet), but also indirectly responsible for the death of even MORE resistance members by letting Rose and Finn go on their mission. The only thing I did like was his attempted mutiny, and even that he messed up.
And finally, speaking of Resistance members, Admiral Holdo should not have been a character in this movie. I have nothing against Laura Dern, but her inclusion and subsequent death in the movie was really jarring. Like why do we care about this character? Why should we care about her sacrifice? In my humble opinion I think it should have been Admiral Ackbar or maybe even Leia as it would have carried much more weight.
Time will tell how this move will age, especially with any new series coming out, but given how ROS did its best to regularize any “meaningful” change that Rian Johnsen tried to include to the Star Wars mythos I’m sure that it will just be forgotten as a blip in a massive, growing franchise.
Pros: Luke Skywalker from The Return of the Jedi, or just Jedi Luke for short, has been a favorite of mine since I saw him on screen all those years ago and it's pretty easy to see why. A badass all black outfit, one black glove covering a robotic hand and of course a game changing GREEN lightsaber that we had never seen before. Luckily Hasbro has done a good job in capturing these details for us fans. The figure also has an ok amount of articulation, his trademark green lightsaber and a switchable tunic panel that emulates his costume progression though the film: buttoned up to look formal, unbuttoned for MILLER time.
Cons: I kind of wish that Hasbro gave us a bit more accessories like extra fists or a cloak as seen at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. Additionally in this day and age, single jointed elbows are almost inexcusable. Lastly, and I’m not sure that this was a common issue of the day, but the plastic between the knee joints is super gummy and makes me worried that it will warp or break down over time. Good thing I do not play with my figures...
