A Reasonable Discussion of The Last Jedi - Part 4

            So then we get to the island and we at last get to see what Luke and Rey do after staring at each other for an eternity.  This is where Rian and JJ's visions become clearly not in sync.  The two of them are not standing the same distance from one another and there's a different tone.  And then, of course, Luke tosses the lightsaber over his shoulder.  And, I'll just say it...

            I don't hate this... at least not entirely.

            The problem with it, of course, is that Luke is so flippant about it.  For one thing, this saber has a history to it that Luke would at least have a reverence for, even if he's lost his own spirit.  And at the very least, he's going to be confused as to how it was recovered.  This was the saber that was lost along with his hand in Bespin.  JJ Abrams passed the buck on how it was recovered, and now it's being passed on once again.  It's lazy writing by people who just don't care.

            The biggest problem with this is that it's once again a humorous moment that diffuses later drama.  They purchased a cheap laugh at the price of important character development; and one must ask him or herself, what's more important for this character arc?

            So why do I not hate this moment as much as so many rabid Star Wars fans?  It's because I get the basic idea of what Rian Johnson was going for with Luke, and with all due respect to Mark Hamill and many others, I think it's a good idea... in theory.

            Remember that JJ Abrams set up a very difficult scenario.  He made it that Luke had secluded himself on an island, then he did what he always does and passed it on to someone else to figure out why.  Johnson had to make a reason, and having it such that he's lost all hope is a good one.  His character literally represents hope, so the theme that runs through his story arc should be all about hope.  In this case, it's the loss of hope, and it's up to the new lead character to help him get it back.

            I can't think of any better way to personify that than to have him disregard the lightsaber.  It's a good way to introduce that dramatic arc.  BUT... there are better ways to do it than to have him flippantly toss it over his shoulder.  He could ask her where she got it, hand it back to her, even shout at her for not leaving him alone.  And if they wanted him to throw it away, have him turn and chuck it in anger.  Make it clear this isn't a joke to him, but that he's truly turned away from this life.

            Aside from this misstep, my favorite scenes of the movie are on the island.  Hamill's performance is incredible, and the character development is most interesting during this time.  The best character interactions are either between Luke and Rey, or Rey and Kylo.  I even like the pogs and Chewbacca's interaction with them is adorable.  And of course the scene with Luke and R2 is enough to bring a nostalgic tear to the eye.
            I even like where he drinks milk from the beast.  I know, that's heresy to say, but here's why I like that.  Again, going with the idea that Luke has lost hope, nothing shows more vividly how far he's fallen than seeing him drink from the tit of a beast.  Is it the Luke we used to love?  No!  That's the point.  He's lost his hope and his dignity and is wishing to die alone.  That creates the obstacle Rey has to overcome; to bring back the spirit of the most optimistic man in the galaxy.

            And at last Rey's character arc is able to do something.  Abrams weakened the drama with her by making her too powerful, but Johnson grabbed onto the story about her not knowing her heritage or understanding why the force is so strong with her.  She explores this through her conversations with Luke, her interaction with Kylo, and in that wonderful mirror sequence in the cave.  It's obscure and we don't yet know what it means, but it was a very creative way to slowly reveal the mystery of her only character arc thus far.

            It's also an example of what is done right on the island.  There have been a lot of complaints that Luke doesn't train Rey on the island, and this is valid in that Rey should not yet have full control over her powers as she's not received any real, formal teaching.  But you also don't want this movie to just be a copy of Empire, so it shouldn't be just a rehash of him teaching her what Yoda taught him.

            Alas, there are other things they do wrong, which we'll get to later.