Rian Johnson andMark Hamillhave addressed some of the criticism and backlash againstThe Last Jedi. While a successful movie, it’s no secret at this point that Johnson made something rather divisive choices amongst theStar Warsfanbase. That’s led to a lot of vocal commentary from fans, both for and against the movie. Now the director, as well as the man behind Luke Skywalker, have opened up a bit about the criticisms surroundingThe Last Jedi.
Speaking recently in an interview, asThe Last Jedijust arrived on Blu-ray last week, Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill got a bit candid, though respectful, when discussing the movie, which currently has a very favorable 91 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, juxtaposed with a very poor 47 percent audience score. That’s just one indicator, but the point is, people have a lot of intense feelings about this movie. Johnson was asked whether or not any fans have managed to point out any reasonable criticisms. While the director plainly says he wouldn’t change anything, he acknowledges that these criticisms are largely fair. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“The thing is though, ‘no’ in terms of, ‘Oh wow, they’re right, I shouldn’t have done that,’ but ‘fair’ in terms of every single Star Wars thing that comes out, every fan has stuff they love, stuff they hate about it.Every movie has its lovers and its haters. Every single one going back to the originals.”
Indeed,Star Warscreates passion. Over the years, thatpassion has proved to run the gamutfrom unabashed love to poisonous hatred. WhileThe Empire Strikes Back, for example, is largely considered to be the greatestStar Warsmovie ever made, Mark Hamill says that if social media had existed when the movie was released, people would have complained about many aspects of it at the time.
“We were so lucky therewasn’t social media when Empire Strikes Back came out. In those days you really had to take a lot of effort and sit down and say, ‘Dear Mr. Hamill, why did you turn Harrison Ford into a coffee table? the hand getting cut off, we lost and dad Vader. This is not right.’ Now, it’s wallop and send. It’s so easy. Pure hatred can be delivered directly to your home in a nanosecond.”
Mark Hamill goes one step further, perhaps trolling the haters in a way only a true Jedi can accomplish.
“We were happy to ruin people’s childhoods. They have such an investment in it, you know? They feel they have asense of ownership, and I totally get that. I feel the same way. Things don’t always go the way I like them, either.”
Star Warsmovies require time to truly digest. Depending on what happens inStar Wars 9next year, we may look uponThe Last Jedimore or less favorably. Rian Johnson put a positive spin on all of this by saying, “That’s also the other side of the coin of what’s great about Star Wars fans… Everyone is so passionate about it.” Time may yet be more kind toThe Last Jediwith age. But who knows? This news comes to us courtesy ofCNN.
