I'm
sure I’ll have multiple posts of spoilers about this movie. I kept trying to start by talking about the returning
characters from the original films, but it keeps coming back to Lando Calrissian,
so I'm going to talk about him.
Lando
isn’t one of my favorite characters of the original series but he was definitely
one of my favorites in the sequel trilogy.
The
reason is that he embodies what I think most of us old fans wanted out of returning
characters.
His
moments in the planning scenes, encouraging everyone and pointing out how they succeeded
in the old days, by grabbing onto scant hopes based on design flaws and saving
the day “together” all highlighted what made the original films special to all
of us.
It
was fitting that no one answered the call for help broadcast by the “new gang”
in The Last Jedi but sending Lando out in person with Chewie in the Millennium Falcon was able to inspire the
entire galaxy to rise up and join the resistance in the fight against tyranny. Bringing
back Wedge with him was the icing on the cake. If I may don my Captain
Continuity hat for a moment, we all get a little slower as we age, therefore
Wedge wouldn’t be the level of fighter pilot he used to be, but his reflexes
would still be top notch enough to be an excellent gunner.
But
I think the key reason that made me happy was every scene he’s in, he looks
absolutely thrilled to be there. Han Luke and Leia were all full of angst, grief
and regrets. Billy Dee Williams looks
like he’s having an absolute ball jumping back into the Falcon and running
around the galaxy fighting evil with the new kids every moment he’s on screen. IT was an infectious mood that led me to
cheer him on in every scene.
I
know there are deleted scenes about how Lando’s infant daughter was conscripted
into the first order and that’s what the scene with him talking to Jannah at the
end of the film is supposed to imply. However, given that he is the most like
his original character out of all the Rebel Heroes, I’m just as happy thinking
that at eighty-two years old, Lando is still tooling around the galaxy, saving
the day, and hitting on anything that moves.
No comments:
Post a Comment