The Force is back! From filmmaker Rian Johnson who has done films such as Looper and The Brothers Bloom comes his latest film in the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Two years ago, when Disney brought back this franchise with Star Wars: The Force I was head over heels excited. I came away enjoying pretty much everything about The Force Awakens, and when I heard that Rian Johnson was doing the sequel I had nothing but high hopes for it. Before we go any further let’s look at and see what the plot of this film is about, and if you haven’t seen The Force Awakens then I recommend you watch that then come back and read this review. The events take place obviously after The Force Awakens where Rey played by actress Daisy Ridley starts to develop her newly found abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker played by Mark Hamill himself. Meanwhile, the Resistance is preparing to do battle with the First Order. So, was this one of the best Star Wars films in this saga? Only one way to find out!
To begin, I must give a ton of credit to director Rian Johnson for taking a lot of risk and making an ambitious Star Wars film. The risk that he took with this movie either didn’t work for some of the fans, and they have every right to believe in that because movies are subjective, or they did work, and he took this universe into a new direction. For me, I’m pretty much in the middle. There were somethings that absolutely worked for me that I loved, but there were somethings he did with this movie that I didn’t agree with whatsoever. But for now as a movie fan and a Star Wars fan I have nothing but respect for Rian Johnson for taking the risks that he did with this movie.
Alright, now we got that out of the way one of the things I did enjoyed about this movie was the cinematography from Steven Yedlin. He worked with Rian Johnson before on Looper, and I thought that movie was beautifully well shot and there is no exception with this movie. Every scene whether we were on the island with Rey and Luke, in space with Leia and the Resistance, or in a complete different planet just looked beautiful. As I was watching this movie I told my friend that was sitting next to me that I can’t wait for the Blu-ray to come out just, so I can freeze frame some of my favorite shots in this movie, screenshot them, and use it as the background on my laptop. Also, the visual effects were amazing to watch on the big screen! If there is one great thing you will get with a Star Wars movie, it’s fantastic visual effects. From the battles they had in space or other planets, to the lightsaber battle they were just beautiful and majestic to watch.
The cast were all great. Daisy Ridley as Rey was great once again, and was able to add a new layer to her character and just left me wanting to know more about her and where she’ll end up in the future. Her character and others are one of the main reasons why I can’t wait to see Episode IX in 2019. Adam Driver as Kylo Ren was way better in this movie than he was in The Force Awakens. One of the reasons as to why was because they finally gave him some character development in this movie. I felt in the last installment he was just a guy who wanted to be a bad guy for the sake of proving himself to his master. While in this we understand more about him, and what drives him to fully join the dark side. Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, one of the greatest pilots in the Resistance was awesome and funny. I was so glad he had more to do in this movie because there were a couple of times he just stole the show especially in the very beginning of the film. Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke I felt gave a great serviceable role, but nothing that really stood out. Finally, John Boyega is back playing Finn. I enjoyed his character development in The Force Awakens and was very curious where they would take him next in this movie. John Boyega did a good job with what he was given he was given, but I was not a fan with what they did with his character in this movie. But the biggest standouts had to come from the OG’s themselves Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher as Luke and Leia Skywalker.
Mark Hamill was awesome to watch as Luke Skywalker. He did such an amazing job of bringing this character that a lot of people grew up with back to life. This is clearly a much older and tired Luke Skywalker, but the way he played this character was so captivating that you couldn’t help but keep your eyes glued to the screen. As for Carrie Fisher, talk about a beautiful sendoff! She was just great the entire in the movie, and gave probably her greatest performance as this character since the very original Star Wars in 1977. There were a lot of surprises with her character in this movie and I loved every minute of them. It’s definitely going to be hard not seeing her in another Star Wars films, but bravo for the performance she gave us in this movie and for giving us the fans this beautiful lasting impression of her as this character. May the Force always be with her.
Now, if you have been following me you would know that I love a good score to a film when I hear it, and John Williams score was magical to listen to. I believe I enjoyed this score a bit more in this movie than The Force Awakens, and when you hear it to some of the emotional and action scenes in this movie you can’t help but be taken away by it. Finally, the comedy in this movie worked most of the time and was kind of surprised how much I really had a good time with the comedy because when I think of Star Wars I don’t think of anything related to comedy. But I must admit some of the jokes landed perfectly, and some of them didn’t which starts to lead me into some of the problems I did had with this film.
As great as the comedy was, there were times it was just a little too much and I wanted them to dial it back a bit. I also mentioned earlier I wasn’t a fan with what they did with Finn in this movie. I won’t spoil it for you, but all I will say he goes off on a mission with a friend named Rose played by actress Kelly Marie Tran, and I really didn’t care that much about it at all. I felt that part of the story was only incorporated into the film just as a mere plot device, and every time the story focused on them I wanted that scene to hurry up, so we could get back to Luke and Rey.
Also, wasn’t a fan of how they handled the character of Snoke at all. In The Force Awakens he’s hinted at as if he is the strongest person in the galaxy, almost as if he’s another emperor like in the original trilogy. I won’t say what they do with him all I can say is I felt they really missed a great opportunity with his character. The same goes for Captain Phasam played by actress Gwendoline Christie. I really don’t know why they even bothered bringing her character back in this movie because she was very underutilized in this one. Lastly, the story was a bit all over the place at times as if they just assume the fans either won’t notice or care. As I mentioned before this movie takes risks for example, the direction they took with Luke Skywalker was something I didn’t expect. I appreciate Rian Johnson for trying to do something different and unpredictable, but it just didn’t sit that well with me. This was more of a movie that had a ton of potential and had a lot of great moments, but in the end, I believe they missed a great deal of opportunities.
So, in conclusion this was an interesting movie to watch. Was it the worst Star Wars film in the saga or was it the best? That’s an answer only you can come up with for yourself and whatever answer you do come up with comment below, so we can discuss more about it. For me, this was a very good movie that I had a good time watching. I applaud director Rian Johnson for taking a ton risk with this and making probably one of the most ambitious Star Wars film we have seen so far. I thought the cinematography and the John Williams’ score were all fantastic to both watch and listen to. The cast all gave superb performances most especially from Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher who will be deeply missed, but will always be remembered.
As much as I enjoyed the comedy I did feel it was a little too much at times, wasn’t a fan with Finn’s development in this one, I felt they seriously underutilized both Snoke and Captain Phasma, and I had a bit of a problem with how they treated the character of Luke Skywalker. This is a very good film that I believe all fans of Star Wars should see for themselves, and maybe see it for a second time because they are a lot of stuff you have to digest with this movie. I know for sure that I will be seeing it for a second time, and probably even a third time. I just ask that when go watch this movie, leave your expectations at the door, and go in with an open-mind. This movie definitely has its share of issues, but for me the good outweigh the bad. Overall, I’m going to give Star Wars: The Last Jedi an A-!
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