This is a mess, born in a messy time, i suppose.
A lot is already being written about how much failed in terms of keeping the internal coherence of the franchise, the interest in the old characters, and what is perceived as the "depth" of the story. I'd like to comment on two things:
Every Star Wars film is one of the most important films ever. It doesn't mean it's a good or a bad film. But so many people all invest time and passion into the thing, that whatever comes out is influential. The first film (ep.IV) was completed extended backwards and beyond, the universe drilled, explored, (i)matured. It has become sort of a cycle of stories that live in the collective consciousness of the society, as reflected by its pop culture. Of the 9 films so far (counting Rogue One), I personally don't think there's more than 2 that actually matter as cinema, and probably none has the ability to change how you think visually (how you dream?), but they do reflect how society sees itself, their collective urges and voids. So this disaster of a film does it: broken pieces of narrative, of broken souls looking for hope, and never being able to find it, running away from the dark side while always being caught up with. Old idols, burnt and wasted, failing to fulfil their last step in the story.
Myth and Irony. Here are some thoughts. I believe that irony destroys myth, at least the kind of marvel hero irony that has invaded films since Iron Man. That's the cheapest kind of irony, the one used in this film. Myth is a powerful depictions of abstraction, Urges and Voids represented through Story-telling. Irony is, in myth, the ultimate boon, the mirror placed in front of our eyes. Myth, as synthesized by Campbell (using a Jungian lens), formed the basis of the whole thing, at the beginning. That thing about force that surrounds us and penetrates us. The hero completing epic cycles. The franchise made the story more complex, and intersected several cycles, several circles. Yoda, Obi-wan, Anakin, Luke, Kilo, Rey... This new trilogy was to be the last stages of Luke's cycle, the returning of the hero, passing what he has learned. The previous film replaced the environment at the heart of that, because they used the guy who wrote the best Star Wars film. But here they gave writing and directing (!) to someone who has no clue. So the cycles are only superficially shown, mechanically, kind of "painting by numbers", and the irony is displaced to the dialogues, inner jokes, winks at the older films. So this is basically television with an infinite budget. Everybody knows it, i think. We know even Hamill is not so happy with what was done to Luke. We know this director only landed on the job because Kennedy fought with every other possibility. We know JJ Abrams will direct the next one, but apparently Kasdan won't write it. Who will take the boon now? Who will pass on knowledge? Who will teach new kids with the potencial to become Jedis? I really think they should burn this temple and see what grows under it. But this is Disney, so the dark side has already won.
A lot is already being written about how much failed in terms of keeping the internal coherence of the franchise, the interest in the old characters, and what is perceived as the "depth" of the story. I'd like to comment on two things:
Every Star Wars film is one of the most important films ever. It doesn't mean it's a good or a bad film. But so many people all invest time and passion into the thing, that whatever comes out is influential. The first film (ep.IV) was completed extended backwards and beyond, the universe drilled, explored, (i)matured. It has become sort of a cycle of stories that live in the collective consciousness of the society, as reflected by its pop culture. Of the 9 films so far (counting Rogue One), I personally don't think there's more than 2 that actually matter as cinema, and probably none has the ability to change how you think visually (how you dream?), but they do reflect how society sees itself, their collective urges and voids. So this disaster of a film does it: broken pieces of narrative, of broken souls looking for hope, and never being able to find it, running away from the dark side while always being caught up with. Old idols, burnt and wasted, failing to fulfil their last step in the story.
Myth and Irony. Here are some thoughts. I believe that irony destroys myth, at least the kind of marvel hero irony that has invaded films since Iron Man. That's the cheapest kind of irony, the one used in this film. Myth is a powerful depictions of abstraction, Urges and Voids represented through Story-telling. Irony is, in myth, the ultimate boon, the mirror placed in front of our eyes. Myth, as synthesized by Campbell (using a Jungian lens), formed the basis of the whole thing, at the beginning. That thing about force that surrounds us and penetrates us. The hero completing epic cycles. The franchise made the story more complex, and intersected several cycles, several circles. Yoda, Obi-wan, Anakin, Luke, Kilo, Rey... This new trilogy was to be the last stages of Luke's cycle, the returning of the hero, passing what he has learned. The previous film replaced the environment at the heart of that, because they used the guy who wrote the best Star Wars film. But here they gave writing and directing (!) to someone who has no clue. So the cycles are only superficially shown, mechanically, kind of "painting by numbers", and the irony is displaced to the dialogues, inner jokes, winks at the older films. So this is basically television with an infinite budget. Everybody knows it, i think. We know even Hamill is not so happy with what was done to Luke. We know this director only landed on the job because Kennedy fought with every other possibility. We know JJ Abrams will direct the next one, but apparently Kasdan won't write it. Who will take the boon now? Who will pass on knowledge? Who will teach new kids with the potencial to become Jedis? I really think they should burn this temple and see what grows under it. But this is Disney, so the dark side has already won.