Realistic ? ..., maybe , but it’s a sci-fi fantasy franchise , characters are meant to overcome their shortcomings in an expedited ‘ unrealistic ‘ fashion . Cause you know... , it’s a movie .
I get what you’re saying , but after watching TFA I don’t recall anyone mentioning why exactly Luke went ‘ walkabout ‘ ..., it was all RJ’s concept of the character ( as in reasons why ) that shows up on screen that leaves the bad taste lingering .
Especially for a character that’s sacrificed and shown to be strongly family and friends orientated in previous films , wallowing in self pity even after hearing what’s occurred during his absence , and still refuses to offer assistance of any kind until the very end !?..., that’s unrealistic . IMHO.
Ged
I think it's less a question of "realism" vs. "fantasy" and more just a matter of drama. Luke's flaw is something he's demonstrated in the past (as opposed to something that just pops up out of nowhere, like "Luke failed to train Ben because he kept viciously thrashing him with a switch" or whatever), and it's something that basically acts as
the pivotal moment that sets the events of the new films in action (at least with respect to the OT characters and Ben himself. It's unclear whether without Ben, the FO would be doing as well as it's doing).
Sure, some people say "But he defeated that side of himself." I think that's open to question, though, and I don't have a problem with Luke having this as his flaw. Basically, if Luke is going to have any flaw -- especially one that sets things in motion -- better that it be his recklessness and fixation with the future, however briefly it may rise up to affect him. From that moment, the rest of the movie flows and makes sense, but if you can't accept that moment, then none of the rest of it works. It's the dramatic fulcrum on which the rest of Luke's arc (and Leia's, and Han's and Chewie's, and Ben/Kylo's) turns.
I don't see it as "unrealistic." Nor do I see it as inappropriate in a fantasy context. Not all characters are required to overcome all of their flaws, especially if the presence of those flaws creates drama that they and other characters must work to resolve.
What I do see it as, though, is a shift in direction from what a lot of fans expected would happen.
I've said this before, but for better or worse, I think a lot of fans just look at Luke as ROTJ-Luke...and that's it. That's who he's supposed to be. He did his growing in the OT, and at the end, he's ROTJ-Luke, the end, now and forever. The old EU novels basically played into this. They didn't really show Luke change, as much as "Here's another set of adventures that ROTJ-Luke got into. Here are some other things that happened to him." But otherwise, Luke remained unchanged. Plus, you know, you've got people re-watching the OT for the past 30-odd years and never seeing anything that would suggest anything other than ROTJ-Luke is what happens.
I think for those folks, it would be fine for ROTJ-Luke to have a bad thing happen and go into hiding, but the bad thing would have to be, like, "Oh no, Mara Jade died" or "He had a Force Vision that his involvement in the coming conflict would destroy the galaxy" or whatever, and that -- once discovered by another character -- he'd be the same kind of stoic, serene character he'd always been. I actually don't think they'd have been happier with Luke turning into some gruff ass-kicker, either, who finds out about the problems in the galaxy, says "Let me get my sabre" and goes off to slice and dice FO Stormtroopers. They'd probably have complained just as much about how Luke was betraying his old character, etc.
The thing is...that doesn't leave you much dramatic room. To the contrary, it's dramatically really shallow. It's more like "Rey shows up. Stuff happens. Luke sacrifices himself. Roll credits." That was basically how most of the EU operated, with characters never changing/growing, and instead just having stuff happen to them. Instead, with TLJ you actually get an exploration of the character and how he evolved over time, which in turn created drama for other characters as well as himself, which propels the story.
Except for that originally that's not where they were heading.
Nowhere mostly, but the hints are in the opposite direction. Stuff that's been brought up. Holy Jedi spot, full Jedi robes....
I haven't investigated this stuff at all, mostly because I have no real reason to, but I'm curious as to what -- other than Luke's costume and his facial expression -- people look to to prove that the story was dramatically changed? I mean, I gather JJ said that Rian didn't use a lot of his ideas, but other than that what do we really know about the other direction Luke was supposed to go? Anything concrete? What are the sources for that info? I'm being serious here, not trying to be snarky or dismissive. I find this stuff interesting, in the same way that I still want to get a copy of Rinzler's The Star Wars comic.