‘The Last Jedi’ is a brilliant act of subversion
The greatest Jedi mind trick writer-director Rian Johnson employs in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is to engage in a brilliant act of subversion. Since the franchise debuted in 1977, Star Wars has always played well inside the lines, never really straying from the things that define it. Those lines were drawn in the Tatooine sand by Episodes IV to VI. The much-maligned prequel trilogy (Episodes I to III) played well, well within those lines.