Released: December 2017
Rated PG-13
Director: Rian Johnson
Run Time: 152 Minutes
Distributor: Disney/Lucasfilm
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Science Fiction
Cast:
Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker
Daisy Ridley: Rey
Adam Driver: Kylo Ren
John Boyega: Finn
Oscar Isaac: Poe Dameron
Carrie Fisher: Leia Organa
Andy Serkis: Supreme Leader Snoke
Domhnall Gleeson: General Hux
Laura Dern: Vice Admiral Holdo
Benicio Del Toro: DJ
As a huge Star Wars fan, I’ll be the first to tell you that the live-action movies have had their ups and downs. The Original Trilogy is considered by many, myself included, to be the penultimate Star Wars films. No film is perfect, but the Original Trilogy is almost as close to perfection as you can get. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest films ever made. For most people, the Prequel Trilogy is definitely the low-point of the franchise. I tend to be more forgiving than most when it comes to the prequels, but they are definitely the weakest entries in the entire saga, with Revenge of the Sith being the exception. When it was announced that new trilogy of movies was being made, people were cautious but optimistic, because George Lucas gave up control of the franchise and his company to Disney. The Force Awakens was the first entry into the new trilogy and many people were fairly happy with it, including yours truly. It introduced new characters and a new series of villains, but it felt too similar to the original film from 1977. Now, we have Episode VIII. Is it any good? Let’s find out.
Picking up right after The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi starts with the evacuation of the Resistance base. The Resistance had just destroyed the Starkiller Base, so the insidious First Order is out for blood and has found the Resistance. At the same time, Rey has found Luke Skywalker on the lost planet of Ach’to, and seeks to be trained by the legendary Jedi Master. Meanwhile, the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke has become frustrated with his apprentice Kylo Ren. To go any further into the story would be to venture into spoiler territory, and I’m not going to do that. The story is really, really good and it feels like a natural progression from The Force Awakens. Sometimes it does feel like it borrows from Empire Strikes Back but it is definitely its own movie for sure. This is a very different kind of Star Wars film. It challenges you in a way that the franchise hasn’t done since Empire. It throws one surprise at you after another. I’ll be honest, I’m not very good at being surprised at ANYTHING these days. It’s one of the downsides of being a bit of a cynic, I guess. But there was more than one moment where I was caught off guard by some of the story elements. I didn’t think they had the balls to do the stuff that they did. The Force Awakens didn’t really take any risks and played it very safe. The Last Jedi takes some really huge risks in terms of the story and characters and that is not going to sit well with some people. The story is engaging from beginning to end. I loved the fact that the film took some serious risks. It’s about damn time.
The heart of any good story is the characters. The Original Trilogy gave us some of the most memorable characters in cinema history: Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and the Emperor just to name a few. These characters are at the very heart of what makes Star Wars so interesting. The Prequel Trilogy forgot that, but thankfully, this new trilogy gives some really strong new characters like Rey, Kylo Ren, and Poe Dameron. The writing for these characters is one of the strongest parts of these new films. In The Last Jedi, these characters are given a lot more to work with and more time to really develop. Mark Hamill returns as Luke Skywalker, a man who has been damaged by something that happened in the past. This is his best performance in years and it is very strong. He’s got a wicked sense of humor but there is also a lot of pain and anguish that you see in the character’s eyes. This is a guy that’s lost hope. Daisy Ridley is as plucky as ever as the young Rey, who is searching for someone who will show her what she is meant to do and to be. Oscar Isaac is given a lot more to do as the pilot Poe Dameron. John Boyega is fantastic as always as Finn, the former storm trooper. There are a couple of new characters that show up, namely Laura Dern’s Vice Admiral Holdo and Benicio Del Toro’s DJ. Ultimately, the new characters really don’t add anything new to what’s going on. They’re kind of forgettable. The focus here is definitely on Rey and Kylo Ren. Adam Driver is really good here, as his character is still struggling with the light and the dark, but his arc is very interesting. Again, I won’t get into spoilers. You have to see it for yourself. This was Carrie Fisher’s final performance before she died and it’s both heartbreaking and extraordinary at the same time. She’s always been a great actress and seeing her return as Leia was wonderful. Carrie’s death does cast a bit of a shadow over the film in some ways.
From a visual standpoint, this is one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen this year. It has this real grand scale that befits a Star Wars film. I saw this film in 3D and I have to say it was definitely worth it. The 3D really enhances the scale of the film. Star Wars has always been great about scale, and The Last Jedi is no exception. You really do get a sense of how much of a real threat that the First Order is by the size of their ships. Their Dreadnaught is an incredibly massive battleship designed to cause a lot of damage. But the real prize of the First Order’s fleet and their base of operations as well as Snoke’s flagship is The Supremacy. The Supremacy is the only Mega-class Star Destroyer in existence and is over 60 kilometers in length. It’s HUGE. It completely dwarfs the Resistance ships that it’s chasing. The set designs are also incredible. Snoke’s throne room is beautiful with the room being surrounded by red is fantastic. Not only do you get some really impressive sets, the film is also filmed on locations like in Sky Isle in Scotland. It’s incredibly stunning. Like The Force Awakens, we see the return of actual puppets and creature effects. The CGI is used to complement the practical effects and designs, although I will say that the Porgs are some of the cutest creatures I’ve seen in a Star Wars film.
The action sequences are some of the best that I’ve ever seen in this entire franchise. The space battles are awesome, particularly the opening battle against the dreadnaught. It’s something to behold. The action is incredibly well shot and staged and we can see everything that’s going on. Director Rian Johnson has a real gift for shooting action. Whether it’s the ground-based combat against storm-troopers or the aerial dogfights against Tie-Fighters, it’s really fun to watch, and the film is constantly at this real hectic pace. There are slow moments for character development and those moments are absolutely fantastic, but when the action starts again, it turns up the dial. It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s all complemented by a very solid score by the legendary John Williams, who, I believe is currently writing music for Episode IX.
There are a few nitpicks here and there, but they are mostly just that, nitpicks. There’s a subplot with Finn and a new character named Rose, where they have to find a particular person to crack into a First Order ship’s mainframe. It feels like it belongs in another film. As I said before, some of the characters aren’t as memorable as they could be.
I’ve been looking at some of the reactions from audiences around the country and some of the other critics. The Last Jedi could very well be the most divisive film in the entire saga. Some of these folks are not real happy with how some of their favorite characters have been treated, so to speak. Again, I won’t spoil anything. I can’t say as I blame some people for how they feel about what happens in the film. I’ll be honest, the film wasn’t what I was expecting. It was so much more, but I could see how some people would be disappointed in the direction that the film took. Some of the questions that people have been asking about since the previous film still haven’t been answered, and some of the answers we did get might not necessarily be satisfactory. There’s also the issue of Carrie Fisher’s death and how that’s going to affect the next film. Granted, it’s still two years away, but everybody is wondering how Lucasfilm is going to give Leia a proper send-off.
Overall, my expectations for The Last Jedi were not only met, but they were exceeded in almost every way. This film feels fresh and goes in a new direction. That’s something that’s been sorely missing from the film franchise since Return of the Jedi. It’s a movie that’s going to challenge you in certain ways and have you thinking about what you saw. I would imagine that in maybe a decade or so, the people that didn’t care for this film will revisit it and hopefully think it’s better than they originally thought. I loved the way the characters developed throughout the film and I certainly loved the action sequences as well. I’ll come right out and say it: I loved this movie. I’m going to go see it again, because I think it’s that damn good.
My Final Recommendation: May The Force Be With You. 9.5/10