Warwick Davis has become the latest Star Wars affiliate to weigh in on the backlash surrounding The Last Jedi.
Since its release and subsequent success back in December ($1.3 billion and counting), Rian Johnson’s sequel has been thrust into the eye of a digital maelstrom, leading to asinine Rotten Tomato campaigns – for the record, the movie aggregator has supposedly upped its defense in preparation for Black Panther – and online petitions calling for The Last Jedi to be struck from canon. No, really.
All of this has spawned heated debate online, and though Rian Johnson took a considerable amount of risks while creating The Last Jedi‘s story – Luke’s finale, Rey’s parentage…you name it – Warwick Davis is of the mindset that all movies are inherently divisive.
I wasn’t aware it had a divided opinion but all movies divide opinion – some people will like it, some people won’t. I’ll always love Star Wars. It’s a piece of entertainment, it’s not about making political statements. It’s just there for people to enjoy. You go in there and are supposed to lose yourself in the world the director has created. Star Wars has always been a great example of that – it’s pure escapism and you can forget the 21st century for a couple of hours. That was George Lucas’s philosophy with Star Wars – to make a fun adventure.
It’s almost as if – whisper it – film criticism is inherently subjective. Though critics and viewers may strive for an impartial critique, people will almost certainly bring their own set of expectations and pre-conceived beliefs into a screening, which can, in turn, influence their final opinion of a particular film.
And let’s face it, Warwick Davis is right in saying that all movies have an innate ability to divide opinion. He’s also a mainstay of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars saga, given his time with the franchise stretches all the way back to Return of the Jedi, where he played Ewok Wicket.
Davis cropped up in the casino sequence of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, too.