Star Wars: The Last Jedi looks like it was made by a director who didn’t do his homework? That’s what one actor thinks.

What? There’s someone online with an opinion about a Star Wars movie? And that movie is The Last Jedi? Stop the presses, everyone! We don’t get opinions on the Rian Johnson-directed movie, so we have to take a moment to get this down. Condescending attitude aside, it really is interesting how everyone under the sun has an opinion about this movie. Even more shocking is how many fans are willing to dismiss lovers as non-Star Wars fans.

This trend continues with Sam Witwer. You may not know the name, but if you’ve been watching the Star Wars animated series, you know his voice. He plays the one and only Darth Maul. This was a character who was casually thrown aside in the Prequel Trilogy before he ended up having a second life during the Clone Wars. Anyway, Witwer had some choice words about The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.

“Last Jedi, to me, felt like a movie made by a guy who hadn’t quite done his homework.” He explained in a Twitch Stream. “I think Rian Johnson’s a talented guy, but Bruce Lee didn’t develop Jeet Kune Do without learning Kung Fu first. You can’t reinvent Star Wars without knowing Star Wars first and he didn’t — for me — make a compelling argument for why Luke didn’t go and help his sister.”

I have to respectfully disagree there. If you’ve been following Rian Johnson for any extended period of time, you know that he knows the mythology. However, rather than just simply keep the franchise on the rails, I think he attempted to do some bold things. I also disagree with the idea that Luke Skywalker needs to be this altruistic hero. People change over time, and no matter what happened decades ago, things don’t stay the same. 

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Johnson himself said it best when he said people aren’t video game characters. When you gain an arc, it’s not something that’s kept without a struggle. People relapse and fall victim to temptation all the time. In many ways, I look at the Skywalker family as a family of alcoholics. There’s a genetic component to their addiction. They may overcome this predisposition to the Dark Side, but it’s not a one-time struggle. It’s an eternal one. Rather than put himself amid temptation any longer, Luke thought it best to remove himself from the line of fire altogether. I don’t think that’s out of character, given the history of his family.

I say all this knowing that this is just one theory about alcoholism, so please don’t take it personally. But thought it could be an interesting parallel.

Regardless, Witwer made it clear this was all his opinion. 

“This is just my opinion, guys,” he added. “There were a lot of things in The Last Jedi I found compelling in a Rian Johnson filmmaker point of view. They just didn’t fit into Star Wars. I don’t think he did his Star Wars homework. The themes, what it’s about, what the characters are about. But as a standalone film, if I don’t know what the Jedi are or who Luke is or what he represents, I think there’s some compelling things in there. If that’s meaningful to you, that’s awesome.”

Where do you fall in this conversation? Do you agree with Sam Witwer about Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi looking like it came from a filmmaker not having done his homework? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Sam Witwer (via CBR)