June/July Live Magazine 2018

And then... Star Wars The Last Jedi hit theatres in
December 2017. It was the eighth instalment in
the main series and followed on directly from The
Force Awakens. Anticipation was at fever pitch,
speculation reigned with The Force Awakens
leaving many questions that fans desperately
required answers to. I myself was one of them. I
was there at a midnight screening of the film, my
head full of expectations and my own little theories
waiting to see the epic next instalment of my
favourite franchise. I left the cinema at three in the
morning not really knowing what to think or what
to say. The Last Jedi took every fan expectation
and savagely slapped them aside. This movie was
playing by no ones rules. On a second viewing I
responded more favourably. I actually liked the
way the movie toyed with my expectations. It took
a darker approach. It shattered our conceptions
of the Force, what is and what would be. The
movie is by no means perfect featuring some poor
attempts at humour and one wildly dumb subplot
involving a casino, but, whatever, it’s Star Wars.
There were far worse sins in the prequel trilogy.
But then it started. The waves of vicious fan
backlash. This movie made people mad! Despite
acclaim from the critics fans turned against it.
There were calls to have Kathleen Kennedy the
head of Lucasfilm fired. Rian Johnson the director
received death threats. Some of the actors in
the film removed all traces of their social media
profiles after being threatened and bullied by fans.
It just became an ugly poisonous mess. Fans can
be utterly horrible. Behaviour on display that was
truly revolting. It was only a movie...