The Last Jedi #3 Review

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The Last Jedi #3 continues the film adaptation, but with only minor alterations.

This review includes plot points for The Last Jedi #3.

The Last Jedi #3

Writer: Gary Whitta | Artist: Michael Walsh | Colorist: Mike Spicer | Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham | Cover Artist: Phil Noto | Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman | Editor: Mark Paniccia

In The Last Jedi #2, the adaptation of the film of the same name continued and offered enough alterations and additions to create a very successful adaptation. The story continues in The Last Jedi #3, however, in this issue, the alterations from the source film are relatively minor and few in number. Regardless, Gary Whitta’s writing and Michael Walsh’s art combine for a successful adaptation of last December’s film. As with the reviews for The Last Jedi #1 and #2, this review primarily focuses on the differences between the film and the adaptation. The Last Jedi #3 concentraters on Finn and Rose’s adventure to Canto Bight and Rey’s interactions with Luke and Kylo on Ahch-To.

Freeze Frame on Canto Bight

As in the film, Rose and Finn headed to Canto Bight on a mission to find the Master Code Breaker needed to rescue the Resistance Fleet. The experience of the viewer is different in each medium. In the movie, many of the scenes in Canto Bight pass by in a blur. The audience has precious few moments when either the camera isn’t moving, or the action is a blur (e.g. when the fathiers stampede through the city).

In contrast, The Last Jedi #3 presents the story in the medium of comics, and although the panels portray motion, the details are much more apparent on the screen. When Rose and Finn arrive in the casino, the reader has an opportunity to examine each of the gamblers. In contrast, the movie moved rapidly through the crowd and only offered brief glimpses of the casino’s patrons. Similarly, when Rose and Finn make their escape on the fathiers, many more details of the city are apparent in the panels of the comic. Which is better? It is difficult to say. While the comic offers a better opportunity to soak up the details, the film better demonstrated the destruction wrought by the fathiers during their escape.

Canto Bight is the Worst

The film’s effort to paint Canto Bight in an unfavorable light was largely confined to Rose’s observations about the source of wealth of its patrons and the treatment of the fathiers. The Last Jedi #3 focuses on these things as well, but it adds one brief scene that exhibits a less than pleasant outlook on the casino city. In three quick panels, a “gentleman” and other patrons of the casino confront Rose and ask whether she is in the right place. Rose loses her cool at this question before Finn restrains her.

Not to overstate the depth or importance of these panels, but they do help. Canto Bight’s reputation as a place of decadence for the corrupt and wealthy is largely established by Rose’s statements to that effect to Finn in the film. The reputation seems slightly unearned there. The blatant discrimination present in the adaptation is just enough to add a touch of disgust. Much like DJ: Most Wanted, this issue helps establish the unpleasant side of Canto Bight.

Luke’s Inner Dialogue

The Last Jedi #3 continues the inner dialogue of Luke Skywalker present in the previous two issues of the series. First, the issue shares Luke’s thoughts while watching Rey train against the boulder on the cliff. He notes that her form is impressive, but he also notes how she is driven by her emotions, and that path “leads to only one destination.” Luke then predicts she will slip and destroy the boulder she spars against. The reaction of the caretakers on the island is missing.

Later in the issue, Luke reflects on what his isolation has cost him. The true cost was not the disconnection from the Force. Indeed, it was disconnecting from those he loved the most. He admits to himself he abandoned them out of selfish pity. In that moment, he senses Leia’s condition through the Force.

Luke’s inner thoughts fill a gap present in the movie. In the film, Rey senses that Luke isolated himself from the Force. Only later he is suddenly wielding it when he confronts Rey as she communes with Kylo through the Force. Granted, some audience members might realize what happened, but the presentation from the adaptation demonstrates his inner turmoil and resolve much more clearly and is much more effective.

Final Thoughts on The Last Jedi #3

The third issue of the adaptation follows the script of the film much more closely than the previous two issues. However, the adaptation is still compelling overall. The additional panels featuring the discrimination Rose suffers at the hands of the casino patrons on Canto Bight and the Luke’s inner monologue both enhance some of the weaker moments of the film. In addition, the adaptation has largely ignored the porgs and the Caretakers of Ahch-To. That might disappoint some, but they were never key to the story of The Last Jedi in the first place. Their omission preserves room for more important elements of the story.