Episode 8 is so slight it feels more like Episode 7.5, and that’s a big problem for the trilogy

Movie trilogies can be categorised into two distinct groups.

In the first are those that consist of three self-contained stories that are only loosely connected, and usually weren’t originally intended to be trilogies at all. Examples include:

• The Toy Story trilogy
• The Dark Knight trilogy
• The Godfather trilogy
• The Dollars trilogy
• Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy
• Star Trek II – IV

The second kind is arguably rarer, in which the films were either conceived as a single story spanning three movies right from the beginning, or were refactored as such immediately after the first film became a hit:

• The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• The Hobbit trilogy
• The original Star Wars trilogy
• The Star Wars prequel trilogy
• The Matrix trilogy
• The Back to the Future trilogy

It is inconceivable to imagine that the new Star Wars trilogy (if it is a trilogy – more on that later) wasn’t also intended to be the latter. The problem is that Episode 8 achieves the mind-boggling feat of being so slight that hardly anything of any consequence actually happens, while simultaneously wrapping up all the loose ends, leaving the last film nowhere to go.

But hey, that’s not Rian Johnson’s problem.

On the one hand The Last Jedi feels utterly perfunctory – a big budget dvd extra on the The Force Awakens disk – yet it ends on a note conclusive enough to wrap up the entire saga.

We’re forced to ask: did this story really need to be told at all? And now that it has been, is there still a need for Episode 9? Weird.

It’s the equivalent of Rian Johnson using up a saga movie to show us the story of Han, Luke and Leia running into the bounty hunter on Ord Mantell. It’s a minor adventure that would’ve worked better as a one-liner from Poe, in the midst of our heroes getting on with the real story:

Poe: “I dunno General Leia, this plan is risky. Remember when we were holed up in that base during the Battle of Crait? We were lucky to make it out alive.”

Leia: “You mean, we were lucky Rey rescued us. She’s going to be a fine Jedi someday, I can feel it. She reminds me of my brother.”

It is background colour, not the main event.

While it’s true that the events of The Empire Strikes Back did little to advance the larger-plot of the Rebels fighting the Empire, it’s crystal clear why we absolutely needed to see them. Empire showed us the critical moments that defined the central characters and their relationships. We see Leia & Han’s spark of attraction blossom into a love affair; the ‘Mary Sue’-esque Luke Skywalker learned the price of failure as he is left beaten and maimed by his father; secrets are revealed and there is betrayal and loss.

By contrast, in Episode 8 we discover absolutely nothing about our protagonists, and the plot barely advances at all. Sad to say, in terms of the saga, Episode 8 is skippable.

It entirely fails as the middle entry in a trilogy even in the most basic of terms of setting up the next movie. I would’ve given Johnson credit for breaking all the rules of structuring a narrative, if it wasn’t for the fact that he knew he was walking away from the mess he created. This shit is someone else’s problem to figure out: specifically, it’s J.J. Abrams’ problem. Again.

Breaking the Rules

We only have to look at the famous examples cited above to see what the middle film of a connected trilogy is supposed accomplish. It boils down to this: put our heroes through the wringer – leave them at their lowest ebb – but with the faintest glimmer of hope that they can still achieve their goals (which should be crystal clear to to us by now).

Lord of the Rings: Will Frodo reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring before he’s caught?

The Hobbit: Can Bilbo and his friends slay the mighty dragon and restore the Dwarves to their homeland?

Star Wars: Can Luke defeat Darth Vader and the Emperor? Will Han Solo be rescued from Jabba the Hut? Can the Rebel Alliance finally overthrow the Galactic Empire? Will Han and Leia get together at last? Is Darth Vader really Luke’s father?

The Matrix: Can Neo destroy the Matrix and free all the trapped slaves, while also saving Zion?

Back to the Future: Can Marty McFly rescue Doc Brown from the Old West and restore the timeline to its proper order?

The Accursed Prequels: Will George Lucas write a convincing line of dialogue?

In each example there are clear problems, clear stakes and clear goals. As audience-members we need to know what happens next, and how the story gets resolved. (Or in the case of the prequels, we just need it to be over.)

Now let’s look at where The Last Jedi leaves us: Rey is strong with the Force and is destined to become a Jedi. But then, we already knew that at the end of Episode 7. Finn’s situation is the same: just like at the end of Episode 7 we understand that he has chosen to fight against the First Order. We’ve also found out more about Poe, rather too much actually. Inexplicably it seems he is going to be the new leader of the Goodies. His opposite number Ben Solo has similarly usurped the throne to be the new leader of the Baddies. Girl-power.

So what is there left to be done in the Star Wars universe that necessitates yet another movie? Do we need to check in on the Ewoks? Does a second Starkiller Base need blowing up?

There are also no romantic tensions left to be resolved (at least, I dearly hope so for all our sakes. Let’s just pretend the icky romantic ‘tension’ so awkwardly hinted at in Episode 8 never happened.). Nor are there any doubts about whether Rey will become a Jedi – she continues to connect with the Force as easily in Episode 8 as she did in Episode 7. Not to mention that – one way or another – our beloved original trilogy heroes are all dead now (or just forgotten).

All that’s left is to get to the big battle where the Resistance (“Rebels”?) defeats the First Order (“Empire”?). Except, that’s definitely not going to happen folks, because Disney still has a few hundred Star Wars movies to get through.

So, what is Episode 9 actually going to be about? Beats me. Episode 8 is so flimsy I actually can’t think of any way a satisfying trilogy can be made out of this mess, just by bolting on another film. There’s just too much heavy lifting required.

Good luck J.J. – but something tells me we’ll all be back again in a couple of years for Episode 10.