Rian Johnson STILL can't catch a break when it comes to STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. While critics loved his take on STAR WARS lore, fans had a more polarizing reaction and some of them believe that THE RISE OF SKYWALKER suffered because that film had to "fix" perceived wrongs done by THE LAST JEDI. Since it's STAR WARS, THE LAST JEDI made money but it's still a sore subject for fans and apparently for people who work within the STAR WARS universe because Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer has some pointed words for the director.
Sam Witwer commented on THE LAST JEDI while streaming Star Wars: Battlefront II on Twitch. While Witwer is complimentary about the project as a film, he doesn't seem to think it's an adequate STAR WARS movie:
"Last Jedi, to me, felt like a movie made by a guy who hadn't quite done his homework. 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. 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."
Witwer, who voiced Darth Maul on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, makes a fairly articulate point but it's a point that seems impossible to argue because all of this is really subjective. I know people that loved what Rian Johnson did with THE LAST JEDI because he took chances and didn't exactly follow the formula while others felt like Witwer did and believe he didn't make a proper STAR WARS film. What I've learned over the years is that the STAR WARS fanbase is VERY hard to please so there's always going to be some kind of criticism about choices that are made. To be fair to Witwer, he's not the only person in the STAR WARS universe that has had things to say about THE LAST JEDI. J.J. Abrams & John Boyega haven't exactly been subtle about their feelings while a more biting criticism came from FORCE AWAKENS editor Mary Jo Markey who argued that THE LAST JEDI "consciously undid" its predecessor. I'm not a fan of THE LAST JEDI or THE RISE OF SKYWALKER for that matter, but my criticism of JEDI has nothing to do with choices Johnson made. In fact, the film is competently made and Johnson earned points in my book for stepping out of the STAR WARS box a bit. My issue with the film had to do with pacing and my general lack of connecting with any of the new characters. If anything, Johnson gave us a STAR WARS film that will be the subject of debate for years to come and I think that's saying something.
Do YOU agree with Witwer's comments?