The Last Jedi has suffered criticism from several angles. Plot holes and problematic writing are among the usual issues brought up by fans. We could also add how the Resistance was presented as not that smart in the movie. Here are 7 reasons that support that argument.
Table of Contents
1. Should Not Have Used B/SF-17 Heavy Bombers
A lead comment on this thread indicates how the Resistance should not have used the “fragile” MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombers, which have “terrible defenses.” This choice of ship reflects a lack of planning/thinking by the Resistance.
Intended to drop a payload of over 1,000 proton bombs, the B/SF-17 heavy bombers are cumbersome and slow moving. They are run with a five-person crew that includes a bombardier and two gunners. It could land a sizable blow, but in comparison to ships like Y-Wings (suggested above as an alternative), they lose maneuverability and the “combination starfighter and long-range bomber” that could have aided the Resistance (if they had been available).
Another fan from the above Reddit board adds that their inclusion may have stemmed from the creators being “so desperate to have a good guy underdog” that they had the Resistance use “outdated equipment like these bombers.”
2. Poe’s Irrational Attack on the Dreadnought
When Poe decided to attack the First Order’s Dreadnought, it can also be seen as not a wise move. He led this attack against Leia’s orders to him, decimating the fleet. Although the Fulminatrix was destroyed by the last surviving bomber, it reflected more of a quick-draw, irrational decision.
Poe’s irrational attack seems to be part of a larger problem with the Resistance. It “prides individuality almost too much,” losing ships and people to “action with the First Order.” Poe and Finn’s “harebrained scheme” results in much destruction to the Resistance’s fighting ability.
3. Holdo Keeping Her Plan Secret
The second plot hole in this video relays a reason why we could also see the Resistance as not that smart. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo kept her plan to evacuate the forces secret when she should have revealed it to Poe and others. Her holding back from them didn’t “really make sense” in the movie.
Another video includes Holdo as a part of the faltering high command (see more on the leadership below). At number 2 on the weaknesses of the Resistance (at 6:14), the High Command was destroyed, leaving commanders like Holdo as “not exactly a very inspiring leader.” Her “lack of communication and trust” led to a short-lived mutiny.
4. The Leaders Are Uninspiring
Coinciding with Holdo, we may have found the leaders to be uninspiring because they did not reflect much intelligent thinking. As a fan commented here, we may have found characters like Rey, Poe, and Finn to be “dull, preachy and generally unlikeable.”
Uninspiring leadership parallels presenting them as not that sharp. That deficiency probably had to do more with the writing and planning for the film, though. As fans have discussed, relying on the “Rebels vs. Empire” theme again, and even calling the Resistance “Rebels,” muddled the characters and left them unoriginal.
5. Leia Could Have Called Off the Attack
In the movie, Poe gets the blame for leading the attack against the First Order. Leia even slaps and demotes him. Yet, as this video indicates (at 11:20), Leia could have contacted the fleet and countermanded Poe’s attack order. It seems that Leia had not thought things through all the way.
This point circles back to debates over whether Poe’s attack was a good idea or not, with many fans defending the action. We have provided the negative viewpoint above with criticism of the attack. Whether or not the attack should have been called off is an enduring divide, but ultimately, it shows confusion with Resistance thinking and film planning.
6. The Canto Bight Mission
The Canto Bight mission also raises questions about Resistance intelligence. We could see it as a waste of time since they ultimately did not get a trusted codebreaker to disable the hyperspace tracker. DJ betrayed them for the right price.
Some articles have also examined the intended message of this part of the movie. Many are left wondering just what that message was supposed to be–was it about “haves vs. have-nots” or something along the lines of “commoditized suffering”? Either way, it diverted the plot away and reflected another case of misguided thinking.
7. Luke and Rey’s Clouded Decisions
Others made clouded decisions too. This article takes apart the jointly unsound decisions made by Luke and Rey that contribute to a fumbling Resistance.
Rey spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince Luke to help the Resistance, almost forgetting about the First Order problems. Luke vacillates between training Rey and leaving behind the Jedi forever.
In addition, Rey decided to be “dropped off” with Kylo and the First Order, while Luke sets the Jedi Temple aflame. Yet, he neglected to notice that the Jedi books had already been removed. We may see this as a comedy of thinking that plagues the Resistance.