Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review

After J.J. Abrams set up questions in "The Force Awakens," does Rian Johnson answer any in "The Last Jedi?"

The eight episode of the Star Wars saga is written/directed by Rian Johnson and features the return Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Andy Serkis, Carrie Fisher, and a talking Mark Hamill to name a few. Actors Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro join the cast as new characters, some of whose names have been so far undisclosed.

If you saw the marketing for "The Last Jedi," and saw the darker tone it was trying to set up, don't sweat it. "The Last Jedi" shirks from going to such a place. There is, however, a lot of martyrdoms and "The Last Jedi" may be the saltiest Star Wars movie. Most of it is courtesy of Oscar Isaac. Even with all that, take the family. This is a great film to see with them. For details of how family-friendly it is, check out the Kids-In-Mind article.

The thing I love about these three new Star Wars films, is that there's a continuous sense of fresh life being brought to the saga. I haven't seen Rian Johnson's other work, but I don't need to in order to see that he made it in his own fresh and exiting vision for this installment in the Star Wars saga. He brings his own ideas, but time will tell if they are done justice. The themes that come from the story are incredibly thought-provoking. Not since "Empire," has a Star Wars film gone in such a direction. His direction with the characters were interesting. There were too many characters, and I'll point out who could've been axed, but the main characters were not mistreated.

Rey

Since Rey's debut in "The Force Awakens," people seem to have been criticizing Lucasfilm for pushing Star Wars in a more female-oriented direction. Though it was supposed to be a team film, Felicity Jones's Jyn was the main character in Rogue One. There has been a series of shorts airing on all the Disney channels called "Forces of Destiny," where it focuses on all the female characters in the Star Wars saga. Although it seemed great at first with Rey, critics and audiences have not seemed to like it. I think it's great that they're doing this. After all, we've had two trilogies focus on male heroes. A change in lead is refreshing and I'm glad Lucasfilm is going in this direction. I would just hope that they don't go too overboard with it.

Since I have that mindset, I loved what Lucasfilm did with Rey in this movie. Daisy Ridley continues to play a interesting and complex character in Rey. She's even better than in The Force Awakens, because we learn so much more about her personality and who she is as an individual. The actress has great chemistry with her piers. She doesn't have much time to work with John Boyega or Oscar Issac. It's really only Mark Hamill and Adam Driver she shares screen time with the most. Her dynamic with those two actors are oddly engaging, especially when it came to Mark Hamill. Now for every great thing about the character, I was somewhat disappointed with how they explained certain parts of her backstory and "The Last Jedi" seems to bring up more questions about the character than it answers.

We do learn about her parentage, but the way it was included was forced and the way the subject was approached was completely unattached to the previous subject. I do applaud them for not going the typical route and having the parentage part be a minor detail in the larger scope of the character. It was interesting, but the reveal didn't feel exciting. We still don't know why she has such a strong connection with the Force. Seeing as that was a huge criticism of "The Force Awakens," that she was accused of being a "Mary Sue," I wonder why that wasn't explained further than it was.

Luke

He wasn't a perfect character and I did have a few issues with Luke, but I largely loved Luke. This might be the best we have since the character in any of his appearances. While he was great in the original trilogy, the Luke presented in "The Last Jedi" is a more conflicted and hopeless character than we have ever seen him. We see him less of the perfect symbol of heroism and he is actually revealed to have made questionable decisions since we last saw him in "Return of the Jedi."

Rian Johnson took this character to interesting places. While those were places that Mark Hamill didn't approve of, it made for a better, more thought-provoking narrative that Hamill absolutely nailed. The very sight of Luke back in the Star Wars universe, brought a tear to my eye. The fact that I hadn't seen him in quite a while made getting re-acquainted with the character immediately enjoyable. There's something about seeing Hamill back in this world, that makes you feel right at home. Like it was a place that you finally found after so long of searching.

The only problems I had with Luke, was that he didn't have an amazing lightsaber battle. Before Rey, Luke was the character that was shown to have had a deep connection with the Force. To see him not use it, especially with progression of today's CGI, was saddening. The other, was that for the first few moments of his screen time, he was channeling Yoda from his first minutes of "Empire Strikes Back," in his initial unwillingness to teach Rey. It didn't get the plot off to a great start, but it did eventually get moving and I loved Mark Hamill as Luke.

The Resistance

While I loved certain members of the Resistance, I think as a whole, they weren't a functional team of people. There was always someone doing something irrational, or there was a serious lack of communication between them. They weren't a cohesive and collective unit. Despite that, each of them had their moments.

"The Last Jedi" was tough for me to watch at times. Not because it was bad, but because of Carrie Fisher. Of course, the fact that she had passed weighed in on my experience while watching her as Leia. Part of me assumed that the filmmakers would kill her off Leia, but they did not do that and I am glad they decided not to.

What makes her passing even sadder, is that Rian Johnson did some great things with Leia. She does things in this movie that we had only been hinted before. To see those things included, made me almost cry, because I know that we won't see that from the character again. That may not have made me to cry, but there was one scene in particular, where I bawled my eyes out, because the circumstances in the movie had created a feeling of closure. It was a moment where it seemed like the movie was acknowledging her passing. I am so happy that that moment was in the film and the actors involved deserve major props.

Carrie Fisher went out on a high note with he final performance as Princess/General Leia. I'm thankful that Lucasfilm and company didn't kill her off, but it presents a small problem for Lucasfilm going forward. Will she just get written off? Lucasfilm have said that she won't be digitally-restored, similar to that of Peter Cushing's Tarkin in Rogue One, so I am curious to how she is dealt with in Episode IX.

Not exactly a fan, but when I heard that Laura Dern would be joining the Star Wars universe, I thought it was neat. After all, she heightened another blockbuster film called Jurassic Park, so why couldn't she here? Little did I know, Laura Dern would go on to play a dull and boring character for the most of her screen time.

There's absolutely no reason for this character to be in this movie. One would have thought that giving Laura Dern an interesting role would be great. Instead, she's downgraded to playing one of those characters who, in the eyes of one of the heroes, is an irresponsible and selfish excuse for a leader. She does have one purpose and it is rather a message to gain from this overall film, but that's about it. Although...

Laura Dern's character has a moment in this movie that is one of the greatest moments in the entire Star Wars saga. Those of you that have already seen the film, should know what I am talking about and would likely agree with me. In my opinion, that moment could and should make any "Top Ten Star Wars moments" list. For that, I give the character and the film a pass. Plus, she wasn't as terrible as Benicio Del Toro.

It is no secret that Poe was shortchanged in "The Force Awakens." He was largely nonexistent in that movie. With that, I thought that, given Luke was returning and Rey demanded a lot of time, Poe would again receive the short end of the stick.

To my surprise, Poe not only got more screen time, but had a great storyline to go along with it. I thought I wouldn't be like Poe taking up time in this film, yet I did and Oscar Issac deserved it. After the previous film, I was curious to know more about Poe, beyond his piloting skills, but I did not think that he would get his own subplot. Not to mention, a subplot that would actually flow with the rest of the film. To my surprise, this storyline flowed better with the rest of the film than Finn and Rose's mini-adventure. The set-up is as good as the payoff and neither gets bogged down, even with all the things that are happening. It helped that the Resistance, as a whole, were essentially "parked" for a large duration of the film. There wasn't any place to go, or anything to see. It was a simple dive into Poe's character and I quite enjoyed it.

Now for Rose and Finn. I cobble them together, because the majority of their screen time is them together on a mini-mission. 

Though it does have a meaning at the very end of the film, this mission that the two go on, felt like an above-average short film. The other things that were happening were so good, that every time it would cut back to these two, I'd try to find what the meaning behind this was. It certainly wasn't just to develop Rose's character, although that made the time spent, feel less like a waste. It also wasn't for this brief "animal cruelty is bad" message that is plucked into this film for some odd reason. There wasn't much good that came out of this subplot. Admittedly, it did expand the galaxy and there was a neat message tied to those who profit from war. That, and the surprise at the very end made me give it an excuse, but while it wasn't a total waste, I would have liked for it to be shorter than it ended up being.

As for Kelly Marie Tran, who plays new addition Rose Tico, I wasn't quite sure about her to begin with. She, like Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, seemed like one of those stereotypical characters that would be a thorn in another character's side, but that initial thought quickly dissolved. After that first impression, I became engaged with how relatable and she turned out being. Of the characters in this movie, I thought she was my third favorite, only behind Luke and Rey. There's a few surprises to this character and I loved every bit.

Finn, the first character we saw when this new trilogy began, is the last member of the Resistance that I talk about. We are only at the second film and he's not doing much with himself. I liked him in "The Force Awakens," but that was because he had something to do.

In "The Last Jedi," Finn seemed like he didn't have a purpose in this movie. He did make a great companion to Rose, but there wasn't anything that he was doing himself. The interesting point of view that Finn has, once being a stormtrooper, might've helped the character in the situations he finds himself in this film. While he does use some of that knowledge to beat the First Order, the character has nothing to do beyond that. His arch wasn't improved upon. it was simply him serving as a tool, albeit very useful tool, for the Resistance to use against the First Order.

The First Order

The First Order fared much better than the Resistance. They did seem like once huge force of evil against the protagonists. Granted, they were doing the same old things you'd expect they'd be doing. It's always them hunting down those that oppose them. That continues here and while I couldn't have expected them to change the formula, some part of me wanted something a bit different. They aren't in the film much, but those of you that want to hear about Hux and Phasma, I've got nothing great to say about them. Both characters are a joke and one, after being thrown in the literal trash, is thrown in the proverbial trash. The real great characters in this department were Ben and Snoke.

One huge point that I enjoyed about this movie, is that the "Light versus Dark Side" conflict, which has been a staple of this saga from the beginning, is much more thought-provoking. Rian Johnson blurred the lines a bit for both Rey and Ben. They are both two characters attracted to both sides of the coin and it makes for an interesting discussion that the film handles with ease.

The seeds were planted for the character in the previous film and are brought to a point in this. Ben Solo is a much more interesting character in this movie. We finally see him choose what kind of person he wants to be.

Now that I have gotten over the fact that Ben killed his father, Han, that allowed me to become more enamored with the character. I watched "The Force Awakens" again before I went to see "The Last Jedi" and one of the things I was able to understand more, was Ben's inner turmoil of having to choose the light or dark side of the force. Adam Driver showed off some amazing acting in that film and that increased tenfold here. There's such a more richer performance given by Driver. He truly feels like a fleshed-out character.

For the majority of his time in "The Force Awakens," we saw him throwing temper-tantrums. The filmmakers have wiped that out almost entirely. There a lot of twists that happens around Ben before the movie gets us to a certain point, where he comes into his own. I was on the edge of my seat, so engaged in what was going on, that it is a testament to how well the character is written and portrayed. Every time I thought I had predicted what was about to happen, the opposite happens and I did not see any of them coming.

I would be lying if I didn't say that I was disappointed with the way Snoke was handled. Once I was beginning to fully understand who Snoke was, the movie cuts his time in this film short. I was sad to see that done to this character, especially since he was built up to be the big bad villain in "The Force Awakens." I can understand why that was done to the character, but as a fan of Andy Serkis and his work, I was expecting more from the character.

I don't need to tell you that Andy Serkis was great in his always-impressive ability to act via motion-capture, because it's obvious at this point that Serkis can do now wrong, even if his character doesn't have much to do. He's had such a great year in 2017 and I hope that he really gets that Best Actor nomination for War for the Planet of the Apes. The man is a master in this art form and saying that a motion-capture role can't be recognized for an acting award because it is altered through a computer, is like saying that any actor can't be recognized because the clothing, makeup, or hairstyling wasn't done on their own.

Score

Before I get deep into the score for this movie, I want you to know that I always enjoy the score for each Star Wars film. Each of them serve their installment well and John Williams doesn't fail with any of them. I even thought Michael Giacchino's score for Rogue One was a breath of fresh air from the typical style that is incorporated in every score John Williams composes.

This is his eighth Star Wars score and, while he does elevate the excitement and overall quality of the film, it doesn't build upon or add to the already-existing library of Star Wars music. "The Last Jedi" is one of those Star Wars films where the score is simply fine. There isn't anything new to it, other than a few remixes of the same themes from "The Force Awakens."

There's no standout track either. In most of the Star Wars scores, there was always one Star Wars track that stood above the rest. For the first film, it was the entire score and the following sequels added something to the template. "Empire Strikes Back" had "The Imperial March" and "Yoda's Theme," "The Phantom Menace" had "Duel of the Fates," "Revenge of the Sith" had "Battle of the Heroes," and "The Force Awakens" added great themes for Rey, Ben, the First Order, and the Resistance. "The Last Jedi" joins "Return of the Jedi" and "Attack of the Clones" as the Star Wars scores that didn't offer much in terms of new and exciting pieces of music.

Grade: B+

At first, I didn't like it as much as "The Force Awakens," but as I have thought about it more and more, I actually like "The Last Jedi" better. While "The Force Awakens" is the more completed of the films, "The Last Jedi" took the saga in a more interesting direction. The two feel disjointed when you watch them together. That's probably due to the visions of the different directors. I enjoyed Rian Johnson's take on the saga more than J.J. Abrams's. Both films are great. I liked, not loved, both, but "The Last Jedi" is the better of the two. I am curious as to where this trilogy goes in Episode IX, but first, we have "Solo: A Star Wars Story" coming our way this May.

I highly recommend that you see this movie. Make sure you watch all the previous Star Wars movies before you see this. It'll help having those films fresh in your mind and will increase the experience. I didn't see it in 3D, because I don't think it is absolutely necessary to get the full theatrical experience. Just go to a theater near you and have a great time.

Conclusion

So this is my review of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Since it made so much money its opening weekend, I presume that some of you have already seen this movie. If you have, tell me what you thought of this film. What did you think of my review? If you haven't seen this film yet, do you still plan to? Write those thoughts in the comments section below, be sure to let me know what film you want me to review next, and share this with your friends and/or family. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.