Movie Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I review Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie.

I was intrigued by Keith Knight's theory about how the First Order was able to track the Resistance through hyperspace. But this was a risky strategy given that the Resistance fighter pilots have a high attrition rate (close to 100% by the end of the movie).

The main tension in the movie is between direct action (Poe Dameron and Finn) and survival (Leia Organa and Vice Admiral Holdo). This is the quandary that affects all guerrilla groups. Direct action attracts new members and supporters while harming the oppressors. This entails retaliation which threatens the survival of the group. The movie closes on the importance of political action over military action.

Direct military action had been successful for the Resistance and Rebel Alliance in the past. Then they were strong enough to tackle the enemy in open battle to either prevail, or to retreat in good order. Now, the losses in personnel and materiel has become critical and harder to replace. The First Order can easily win any battle of attrition. This is demonstrated in the movie as the First Order is able to recover from the losses of two (2) of the largest ships and several Star Destroyers, and force the resistance to escape on a single ship.

This materiel and personnel advantage of the First Order discourages forces in the Outer Rim from coming to the aid of Leia's group on Crait. There is the known cruelty of the reprisals by the First Order. People would make the rational decision to keep their heads down, and bend with the prevailing wind. DJ exemplifies this by striking a deal with the First Order and escaping to live another day.

Yet the movie closes on a very important point: political education. Three (3) children are re-enacting the heroic stand by Luke Skywalker on Crait. It is through their mythologising that the Resistance grows. Trotsky once wrote that the success of the October Revolution came about through the dedication of single Party workers scattered throughout the Russian Army, factories, villages, etc. They did not attack the State, but rather they patiently educated their fellows on Socialism and Capitalism.

The Resistance will not grow until it grasps the necessity of political action over military action. And it must grow if it is defeat the First Order in open combat.