Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)



Movie Title: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Year Released: 2017

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 2h 32min

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Director: Rian Johnson

Writer: Rian Johnson

Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Joonas Suotamo

Review: Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) peaceful and solitary existence gets upended when he encounters Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young woman who shows strong signs of the Force. Her desire to learn the ways of the Jedi forces Luke to make a decision that changes their lives forever. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) lead the First Order in an all-out assault against Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the Resistance for supremacy of the galaxy.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi is the second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. I have a love/hate relationship with this movie for several reasons. For starters, on pure entertainment value alone, this movie delivers. If you're someone who is new to the Star Wars universe who isn't as enamored with the narrative of this saga as a whole, then you will probably enjoy this film. There are breathtaking aerial battles and brilliantly choreographed lightsaber duels. Not to mention, there are some truly shocking plot developments that are a joy to watch unfold. Luke Skywalker is back and featured prominently in this film, which will assuredly make most casual fans giddy. On the same token, this is exactly where the film begins to lose the most die-hard fans.

Every movie that comes before Last Jedi paints Luke Skywalker as an empathetic, hopeful soul who always seeks to bring out the good in people. Not only that, but Luke is a character that is always looking to gain valuable Jedi knowledge and strengthen his bond with the force and the Jedi who have paved the way before him. At the end of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, we see Rey present Luke with his old lightsaber. One might assume that in accordance with everything we know about Luke, that he is going to have some type of emotional reaction to seeing his lightsaber for the first time in years. Instead, this movie begins with Luke literally taking the lightsaber and lackadaisically throwing it off a cliff without a care in the world. We also see Luke expelling his nephew, Kylo Ren, from the Jedi Order while also contemplating murdering him because he felt that he was being corrupted. This is definitely not the same Luke who sensed there was still good in his father, Darth Vader, and did everything in his power to redeem him.

I also didn't like how Rian Johnson seemingly abandoned some of the plot established by J.J. Abrams in Force Awakens. Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) was in the film for about 30 seconds, and the Knights of Ren were not built upon whatsoever. Finn (John Boyega), who was built as one of the primary male leads in this trilogy in Force Awakens, was seemingly relegated to a side quest that had little bearing on the rest of the story. It honestly felt like Johnson didn't know what to do with him.

This film, while wildly entertaining, just felt like a lackluster disaster littered with plot holes and inconsistencies. Nostalgia aside, there are a lot of problems with this movie that most Star Wars die-hard will be sure to sniff out.

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: According to director Rian Johnson, the Porgs were the result of puffins being native to Skellig Michael, the island where the Ahch-To scenes were filmed. They were unable to move them as they are a protected species and it would have been too time consuming and expensive to edit them out, so Johnson decided to create a new indigenous species and simply CGI over the puffins.


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