The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker's role in "The Last Jedi": Did you like it?

[falcon44nkc]

No. I didn’t like it at all and I feel heartbroken. I’m fine that he died at the end, but I’m devastated that they tainted his character. Luke didn’t even know his father but didn’t stop believing in him. Yes, there was the moment fear when he attacked Vader but that was when his friends and the rebellion were in real-time danger and he controlled himself.

As others have pointed out, Kylo is a boy he knew from birth and would have had a bond with. He was the son of his sister and best friend. He grew up with Kylo. Even if he looked into Kylo and saw darkness, I do not believe that the Luke we knew would – even for a second – think about killing him when Kylo hadn’t even acted on any of these feelings yet. Darth had murdered people and Luke didn’t give up on the father he didn’t even know.

It also isn’t in Luke’s character to abandon his family and the rebellion. Especially as they are quickly being mascaraed.

I would have been OK with Luke failing, but it needed to have been in line with his character. Luke was the light of OT – loyal, eager to help, also seeing the best in people. It breaks my heart that they sent off his character in this way.

And people keep saying that this movie is strikingly different that the Star Wars from before. But how? Obi One Kenobi failed in his teaching of Anakin and then went to live as a hermit after he became Darth. And Yoda became a hermit too. So this is still another version of that story.

Star War has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old and I feel betrayed and heartbroken.

 

[FunkMiller]

I loved what they did with Luke. All knowing, all powerful, all wise mentor Luke would have been boring. It also wouldn’t have given Hamill that much to do. I think making him flawed and riven by mistakes was a very interesting choice.

I totally get how hardcore fans would have preferred Luke to be more original trilogy-like, but I was fine with it.

...and that ending twist with him at the base was marvellous.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I'm conflicted. I enjoyed him while I was watching it, but thinking about it afterward, I'm not sure. [BLACKOUT]I don't like that he just stayed exiled the whole time.[/BLACKOUT]

I will say that Hamill gave the performance of his career.

 

[Mjölnir]

Like I have said before, Luke was always a flawed hero. He abandoned his training, was nearly turned to the dark side, and made all kinds of mistakes in the OT. This idea that Luke should now be a flawless mentor who is all wise like Yoda, just doesn't ring true for me. Luke was never a "Yoda" and the fact he finally is able to face his failures and do what he does in the end makes for a more heroic arc for me then Luke just being this perfect master Jedi would have. Plus, like others have said, Hamill really has never been better in these movies as he is here.

He's always been flawed, but now they created flaws for him that goes against the one aspect he always showed in all previous films, and the aspect that's behind everything he does in the climax.

To me it becomes worse to create flaws out of changing his core traits when there actually were flaws in place to build upon.

 

[Spider-Fan]

He's always been flawed, but now they created flaws for him that goes against the one aspect he always showed in all previous films, and the aspect that's behind everything he does in the climax.

To me it becomes worse to create flaws out of changing his core traits when there actually were flaws in place to build upon.

What fundamental aspect are you referring to?

 

[MahvelBaby!]

Yes mostly because of how little of it played out how I expected it too, and I felt really emotional and moved in his final scene in this film.

 

[falcon44nkc]

I loved what they did with Luke. All knowing, all powerful, all wise mentor Luke would have been boring. It also wouldn’t have given Hamill that much to do. I think making him flawed and riven by mistakes was a very interesting choice.

I totally get how hardcore fans would have preferred Luke to be more original trilogy-like, but I was fine with it.

...and that ending twist with him at the base was marvellous.

I'm OK with a flawed Luke who makes mistakes. But his flaws/mistakes should have stayed withing his character. This mistake of having an impulse to kill his unarmed nephew who hadn't acted on dark feelings yet was very out of character.

 

[FunkMiller]

I'm OK with a flawed Luke who makes mistakes. But his flaws/mistakes should have stayed withing his character. This mistake of having an impulse to kill his unarmed nephew who hadn't acted on dark feelings yet was very out of character.

Really? Luke nearly succumbs to the dark side in ROTJ. Only Vader stops him killing The Emperor with his light sabre. He fears Ben will become like Palpatine. Luke isn’t beyond striking down an unarmed person if they’re a threat.

Why have folks decide Luke is whiter than white, and always in control, when he never was?

 

[Greens]

The whole thing about Luke being flawed and things not going the way you expect/flawed is legitimate, but I've seen people bring up the fact that these movies are supposed to be escapism. People deal with enough **** in their day to day lives, why do they need to see Luke Skywalker reduced to a cynical ass as well? Yeah, life is a huge grey area, but does Star Wars need to be?

Keep in mind I'm not siding with either viewpoint, but I think both have legitimacy behind them.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I'm OK with a flawed Luke who makes mistakes. But his flaws/mistakes should have stayed withing his character. This mistake of having an impulse to kill his unarmed nephew who hadn't acted on dark feelings yet was very out of character.

I disagree. Luke the mentor was not the Luke that saved Vader. Now he had students to look after and a dream of a new Jedi order. The sith were gone now, and in Kylo he saw the potential for the darkside to rise back to prominance. Also, unlike Vader, he saw no light in Kylo. Kylo was beyond saving, and Luke knew it even then. Further, even after that impulse to protect his new students and order came out, he immediately regretted it and was not going to act on it. Things just got out of his control quickly when Kylo woke up.

People change over time. The Luke in ROTJ is not the same Luke in TLJ, who was not the same Luke who was in the tent that night. Being a mentor/protector of these kids makes him almost like a parent (giving Luke new priorities), and his children were possibly under threat. I think the mistake we're all making is assuming the Luke of ROTJ would be the same person.

 

[FunkMiller]

The whole thing about Luke being flawed and things not going the way you expect/flawed is legitimate, but I've seen people bring up the fact that these movies are supposed to be escapism. People deal with enough **** in their day to day lives, why do they need to see Luke Skywalker reduced to a cynical ass as well? Yeah, life is a huge grey area, but does Star Wars need to be?

Keep in mind I'm not siding with either viewpoint, but I think both have legitimacy behind them.

If they hadn’t had his redemptive sacrifice at the end of the film, the ‘flawed Luke’ arc wouldn’t have worked, but they did, so it did.

Again, that whole end sequence ending with him fading away has so much more impact, given where they took the character prior to it.

 

[Havok83]

No. He looked awful and I found him irritating

 

[falcon44nkc]

Really? Luke nearly succumbs to the dark side in ROTJ. Only Vader stops him killing The Emperor with his light sabre. He fears Ben will become like Palpatine. Luke isn’t beyond striking down an unarmed person if they’re a threat.

Why have folks decide Luke is whiter than white, and always in control, when he never was?

I think there is a big difference. In the Kylo situation, Luke would have had a bond with this boy. He was the son of his sister and best friend and would have been a part of his life growing up. Kylo hadn’t acted on any of his dark feelings yet. And was sleeping.

In the Vader/Emperor situation his friends were in immediate danger. It wasn’t a someday we might to do something bad thing. And, Darth turned to the light side and saved Luke from the emperor. Darth had done evil things yet chose light at the end. This experience would have taught look like there is the possibility for redemption in everyone.

So I find it hard to shallow that 30 years later, he would have the impulse to kill Kylo before Kylo had even done anything.

Flawed I’m OK with, but this is just so out of character for Luke. I think there could have been a way to have Luke make a mistake/be flawed that still fit with who is is.

 

[Mjölnir]

Really? Luke nearly succumbs to the dark side in ROTJ. Only Vader stops him killing The Emperor with his light sabre. He fears Ben will become like Palpatine. Luke isn’t beyond striking down an unarmed person if they’re a threat.

Why have folks decide Luke is whiter than white, and always in control, when he never was?

There is no light in Palpatine, that's why Luke tries to strike him down. And don't forget Palpatine's power and skill in luring people towards the dark. That was heavy at play, influencing Luke.

And Luke literally says that he thought Ben could be a new Vader, not a new Palpatine. Vader, the genocidal Lord of the Sith, whom Luke had barely met, and still would die before giving up on the light within him.

And Ben, the kid Luke helped raise, is the most light filled dark side force user ever, and at the time he hadn't even turned to the dark side. Ben has also been on the verge of going back to the light side without any help whatsoever even after his fall. Yet he's beyond saving because too much darkness, while Vader wasn't?

To know that Luke went through all that with Vader and then try to pass it off that Luke would have an instant feeling of murdering a far more salvageable person is just terrible writing. Way worse than the Holdo plot hole, etc.

 

[Brother Jack]

I understood Luke's betrayal of Kylo as a moment of weakness that a man with the immense pressure of rebuilding the entire Jedi order on his shoulders might make. Everything was riding on him, the apparent fate of the entire galaxy. I don't think Ben Solo's turn, and the destruction of the new temple, would have worked if there had not been a tangible and severe failure on Luke's part. And I don't know what substitute would have been as impactful.

 

[Greens]

And Ben, the kid Luke helped raise, is the most light filled dark side force user ever, and at the time he hadn't even turned to the dark side. Ben has been on the verge of going back to the light side without any help whatsoever. Yet he's beyond saving but Vader wasn't?

To know that Luke went through all that with Vader and then try to pass it off that Luke would have an instant feeling of murdering a far more salvageable person is just terrible writing. Way worse than the Holdo plot hole, etc.

Yeah Ben being beyond saving is bull. Even in this film we see how conflicted he is. He hesitates to shoot down Leia's ship.

One of Vader's first acts was to kill a bunch of children.

 

[FunkMiller]

Eh, it’s all part of presenting Luke as a flawed individual for the purposes of his story arc, so I have no issues with it.

And lest we forget - it was a momentary and fleeting thought that he surpressed as soon as he’d had it. It was bad timing that Ben woke up at just the moment of Luke’s weakness. Luke wouldn’t have struck a killing blow. That is made quite obvious.

 

[danoyse]

And Ben, the kid Luke helped raise, is the most light filled dark side force user ever,

At no point in either movie was Ben described as "the most light filled dark side force user". Just because he has nice parents doesn't mean anything about his grasp of the Force.

Way worse than the Holdo plot hole, etc.

That wasn't a plot hole either.

 

[Greens]

I don't think Ben Solo's turn, and the destruction of the new temple, would have worked if there had not been a tangible and severe failure on Luke's part. And I don't know what substitute would have been as impactful.

I think the story most of us expected would have been better. Luke does notice a darkness rising in Ben throughout his training but he still believes in his light side. One day, after years of manipulation from Snoke and Luke trying to forge a destiny FOR him that he doesn't want, Ben snaps and destroys the temple before Luke could do anything about it. You could have a part where Ben initially doesn't want to kill his fellow pupils but Snoke basically forces him to do so because there is no turning back now. That's the final straw, Ben has crossed over to the dark side. Luke blames himself and vows never to train a Jedi again.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I loved it.

The idea is that no one is perfect and even the heroes we put high on a pedastal are flawed, scared and weak.

A big reason people take a backseat role in life is they assume the great heroes of history didn't have the same problems and weaknesses but they all do. So we shouldn't be afraid to become heroes ourselves.

Luke is deeply ashamed for even thinking of hurting Kylo. And the capacity for feeling shame has to be one of the biggest differences between the light and the dark side.

I used to beat up a kid in elementary school but one day I cried in shame. I've been living by the golden rule ever since. Had I not had that moment of shame and reflection my life might've went down a much darker path.

 

[FunkMiller]

I loved it.

The idea is that no one is perfect and even the heroes we put high on a pedastal are flawed, scared and weak.

A big reason people take a backseat role in life is they assume the great heroes of history didn't have the same problems and weaknesses but they all do. So we shouldn't be afraid to become heroes ourselves.

Luke is deeply ashamed for even thinking of hurting Kylo. And the capacity for feeling shame has to be one of the biggest differences between the light and the dark side.

I used to beat up a kid in elementary school but one day I cried in shame. I've been living by the golden rule ever since. Had I not had that moment of shame and reflection my life might've went down a much darker path.

Exactly. This Luke is a human Luke. One prone to failings of character - even if they are just fleeting. That’s like all the rest of us. This felt way more interesting to me than if we had just got ‘Obi Wan Lukobi’ in this film. I like your use of the word shame here to describe Luke’s feelings. That’s an uncomfortable emotion to feel, and to see your heroes feel, which may account for some of the distaste around how they handled Luke’s character.

 

[danoyse]

Yeah Ben being beyond saving is bull. Even in this film we see how conflicted he is. He hesitates to shoot down Leia's ship.

One of Vader's first acts was to kill a bunch of children.

And then when he is free of Snoke, with Rey at his side ready to become an ally...and he chooses to let everything destroy itself, including the fleet his mother is with.

He's gone. He had choices, and he made them.

 

[danoyse]

Exactly. This Luke is a human Luke. One prone to failings of character - even if they are just fleeting. That’s like all the rest of us. This felt way more interesting to me than if we had just got ‘Obi Wan Lukobi’ in this film. I like your use of the word shame here to describe Luke’s feelings. That’s an uncomfortable emotion to feel, and to see your heroes feel, which may account for some of the distaste around how they handled Luke’s character.

Yep, even Luke got caught up in his own legend that night. He couldn't kill Ben just because it was a terrible thing to do, he couldn't bring himself to do it because he was the mighty Luke Skywalker. How could he?

And yet, he was right about Ben. Just like he saw the light in Vader, he saw the dark in Ben.

 

[Mjölnir]

At no point in either movie was Ben described as "the most light filled dark side force user". Just because he has nice parents doesn't mean anything about his grasp of the Force.

So exactly what do you think something like the scene with Kylo sitting and pleading for help to the Vader mask so he can stay on the dark and not be drawn to the light means? But sure, show me the dark side force users that had more light in them than Kylo does.

Yep, even Luke got caught up in his own legend that night. He couldn't kill Ben just because it was a terrible thing to do, he couldn't bring himself to do it because he was the mighty Luke Skywalker. How could he?

And yet, he was right about Ben. Just like he saw the light in Vader, he saw the dark in Ben.

He wasn't right about Ben, TLJ even has Rey straight up telling us that he was wrong.

 

[Spider-Fan]

So exactly what do you think something like the scene with Kylo sitting and pleading for help to the Vader mask so he can stay on the dark and not be drawn to the light means? But sure, show me the dark side force users that had more light in them than Kylo does.

Once again, we're getting caught up in words vs action. Kylo says he struggles with light, but his actual actions show a greater tendency towards evil than light. Don't make me quote BB again!!!