I think that we should not forget the proper role of inference in understanding films. Often in films the message is indirect. Things are conveyed subtly thought subtext and implication. And I think the same is true in some respect with TLJ.
So allow me to let you in to my way of thinking. . .
Let's take Luke for instance: He's grown old and cynical. So we have to ask ourselves WHY he has become this way. There must be a reason, after all.
So what do we know about Luke's situation? We know that he fought a war and defeated the Empire, but that the Empire was able to collect itself and regroup under the banner of the First Order. The First Order has grown very powerful and has hunted the Rebellion almost to extinction. This is the point in the story that we're dropped into with The Last Jedi, the moment at which the Rebellion could literally be snuffed out because they are so small and weak.
You have to think that this series of events has had a serious effect on Luke. He risked his life fighting against the Empire when he was young, even losing a hand in the process. But what did it really achieve? Not much it seems. The victory was short-lived. The Empire wasn't really defeated and the war has continued all of these many years. This has to have frustrated Luke and perhaps even made him feel impotent. He's seen friends die on the front lines of battle, and for what? Just so that the fighting can continue and more can die?
And what else do we know? We know that he established a Jedi Temple. At one point he felt the dark side growing in his disciple Kylo Ren--who is also his nephew--and he was on the verge of murdering him in his sleep, but when Kylo woke up all Luke saw "were the eyes of a scared boy whose master had failed him." They then fought and Kylo burned down the temple, taking some of the remaining disciples and murdering the rest.
All that Luke had worked to build was now gone. Destroyed. His life's work has literally gone up in flames. As a Jedi master, and as an uncle to Kylo, he was a failure. Luke clearly feels excessive guilt for this. If he had made a different decision in that moment then it's entirely possible that Kylo would never have turned, his other disciples would not have been murdered and his Jedi temple would still be flourishing.
So when you consider all this, and you see the end result of who Luke is in The Last Jedi, do you really think he's not a layered character? Can you not see exactly how and why Luke went from the baby-faced, upbeat kid we see in the OT to the grizzled, cynical old man we find in TLJ? Does it not make sense?
That's a good story you told. And that's what the movie SHOULD HAVE addressed.
An amount of inference in film is normal, and essential for the sake of pacing, tone, and time. I don't need every scene spelled out and acted out.
But the amount of inference you're asking me to accept is incredible. To me, it's like Rian made this film without thinking about the audience.
I came to the theater to watch a movie, not imagine the life a character had from the pieces of a puzzle I was given.
But your example with Luke...we haven't seen this character on screen in like..what..30 years?
In TFA we hear mention of him. The resistance wants to find him to help them. There's this secret map that he left, we find his light saber, and that light saber seems to have some sort of connection to Rey, and then we end the movie with this grand scene of Rey looking into Luke's, offering his light saber to him.
Luke seems like a pretty big deal character here.
Fast forward to TLJ...what exactly does Luke do? What do we learn?
Why does he think the Jedi should end? Why didn't he try to save his nephew like he did his father? What are his motivations? Why does he even bother to come back in the end? Maybe he was tired of war and battle...but the audience shouldn't have to guess why a hero with the importance that a guy like Luke has is sitting on the sidelines.
This family makes no sense. Luke is not just giving up on being a hero, he is giving up on his family. His twin sister and nephew.
Why does Ren hate his parents so much? Leia and Han...beloved characters. What could make a son hate them? What kind of relationship did they ever have? Leia seems completely at peace about having to kill her son.
This movie says A LOT of things, but does nothing to actually show or explain the motivations of the characters.
Why someone would kill their father
Why a hero like Luke isolated himself on an island...these are questions that make no sense to leave to inference. They should be answered directly
As i am writing this, i think it's my problem with the entire movie and characters. It's soulless. No one really talks about their feelings or motivations. They just react to whatever happens to them, but don't seem to have any motivation to do anything but stay alive
Again, i don't NEED to have everything explained step by step...but the reason why people fall in love with characters is because they TALK AND DO stuff. What memorable lines, moments,and scenes between characters did we have in this movie that weren't CGI explosions and battles?
