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It can't be denied that the original Star Wars trilogy is one of the most iconic cornerstones of filmmaking -- an ambitious mixing pot of space-blasting action, alien cultures, and mythological nuances that has captivated so many audiences for years. The namesake suffered something of a stall, however, with George Lucas' flawed prequel trilogy, which, with the exception of Revenge of the Sith, couldn't live up to the reputation of the original trilogy. In a bizarre twist of fate, Disney of all companies purchased the rights to "Star Wars", beginning work on a new trilogy with other movies to come in the subsequent weeks. 2015's The Force Awakens, handled by J.J. Abrams, while perhaps too much of a copycat of A New Hope, was nonetheless breezy, flashy, and entertaining -- a great love-letter to the trilogy (with the exception of one character death). The subsequently released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was arguably even better: a thrilling tale which was arguably everything the prequels should have been.
The Last Jedi, however, proved to be a different beast altogether. Unlike predecessor The Force Awakens, this one is helmed by Rian Johnson. (J.J. Abrams serves as executive producer.) Naturally, expectations for this were going to be sky-high no matter what, and regardless of how the movie turned out there were always going to be naysayers who will say nay. The Force Awakens had a lot of detractors, despite being highly reviewed by critics. The Last Jedi suffered the same outcome, arguably even more so. Critics greeted the film with rave reviews, and of course the film performed well at the box office, selling about $600 million domestically, but it sparked a huge and rather nasty debate on how this film compares to the original trilogy, and whether this newest chapter charts the series in a bold new direction or if it derails it like the prequels did. (Some are even dubbing The Last Jedi the nadir of the franchise.)
I personally find the latter a very questionable claim, as I didn't particularly enjoy the prequels all that much -- Attack of the Clones was the weak link. The Last Jedi is nowhere near that territory -- the performances by everyone involved are terrific and the dialogue is thankfully devoid of any laughable, groanworthy lines. There isn't any winceworthy love story either. Which isn't to say that The Last Jedi is flawless.
Picking up from where the last movie left off, Rey (Daisy Ridley) meets Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on planet Ach-To, but the latter is reluctant to help out on account of a tragedy that he blames himself for. Meanwhile General Leia (the late Carrie Fisher) tries to evacuate the Resistance from Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his First Order, while hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaacs) disagrees. Meanwhile former Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) tries to take the situation into his own hands. All of this makes The Last Jedi the longest of any "Star Wars" movie, clocking in at a whopping 153 minutes. For the most part it moves along at a breathless pace, but the second quarter of the movie stalls a bitwhen our heroes take an unexpected detour to Canto Bight, a newly fashioned casino city planet. Although visually intriguing and rich with interesting ideas, this sequence could have used some trimming.
The only really jarring scene for me is where General Leia is literally blown out into space when a photon torpedo smashes her starship, and she somehow uses the Force to pull herself back on board. Despite the idea of showing Leia's own powers, this moment is handled clumsily, more along the lines of Superman than anything else. Considering that Fisher tragically died just after completing work on the film, it probably would have been better to have her killed off at that point instead of surviving. Or more ideally, just cut that space stunt to the character in a hospital bed.
Then there's the handling of Supreme Chancellor Snoke (Andy Serkis), a shadowy, bald crone who appears to be the brains behind the whole operation. Surprisingly, however, we get to know very little about him, and he's unexpectedly discarded halfway through. Although at the same time it does provide an interesting twist to how we think the story is going to turn out, it is a bit of a surprise that we don't know who he is or where he came from. On a similar note, some of the film's newer characters, notably a self-appointed codebreaker, DJ, and a female commander who temporarily takes Leia's place on the Rebel ship feel a tad underdeveloped as well. Perhaps the most interesting newcomer is Rose Tico, a girl who teams up with Finn on his mission to take down Snoke's ship. Although many have found her character bothersome, she actually comes across as a very strong, competent character, and the chemistry between her and Finn is very solid.
Despite my quibbles, there's a lot going for The Last Jedi. The dynamic between Luke, Rey, and Kylo Ren is compellingly presented and all around engrossing, thanks to the skillful acting of all three performers involved. Hamill, in particular, deserves a shout-out. Although Luke here is portrayed as a depressed, demoralized hermit who initially refuses to have anything to do with the Force, Hamill succeeds in making this incarnation very three-dimensional and sincere. He gets to have an especially epic moment at the end of the movie (no spoilers for what it is). The man is a genius at voice acting, but as an actor he's very underrated, and this is arguably his best work as Luke yet. Ridley, Boyega, Isaacs, the late Fisher, and especially Driver as the emotionally conflicted Ren are all at the top of their game as well. Kelly Marie Tran also does an outstanding job of making Rose a very likable, compelling character to root for under all circumstances. She didn't even deserve half of the scathing backlash she got for this role. One can say that her potential hookup with Finn toward the end of the movie feels forced and uncertain, but that is in no way the actress' fault.
The cinematography is also deserving of a shout-out; this is probably the best shot of the Star Wars movies, with a lot of iconic moments that rival any in the series. One very poignant scene toward the end in which Luke gazes off at the binary sunset on the island, in particular, is a fitting callback to A New Hope. The visual effects are top notch, as well, without being overly showy or upstaging the actors. The prequels had gone overboard with this problem, seeming to overload CG-effects for the sake of it. Here the filmmakers find a respectful balance between using practical effects and digital effects when necessary. This makes The Last Jedi feel less artificial for it.
Perhaps the thing that struck with me most about The Last Jedi is how daring and bold this newest entry is. Aside from showing familiar faces in a different light, it also makes the controversial choice of deconstructing some of the tropes that fans have come to expect from Star Wars, therefore charting a new direction for the series. For some who feel the franchise may grow stale with every entry, this change of pace is in some ways refreshing, but others have been miffed by it. This also very well be the darkest and bleakest Star Wars entry yet -- there's a high body count in this movie, and one spectacularly staged kamikaze attack (with a brief pause of silence for good effect) is something that we haven't seen in Star Wars before.
All in all, The Last Jedi may seem in some ways like a step down from The Force Awakens, for me it is only a marginal one. It still manages, overall, to be an interesting and provocative entry to the Star Wars saga, totally undeserving of the backlash it has received from disgruntled fans. Only a couple of moments that hold it back from true greatness, but otherwise, grossly underrated.
It can't be denied that the original Star Wars trilogy is one of the most iconic cornerstones of filmmaking -- an ambitious mixing pot of space-blasting action, alien cultures, and mythological nuances that has captivated so many audiences for years. The namesake suffered something of a stall, however, with George Lucas' flawed prequel trilogy, which, with the exception of Revenge of the Sith, couldn't live up to the reputation of the original trilogy. In a bizarre twist of fate, Disney of all companies purchased the rights to "Star Wars", beginning work on a new trilogy with other movies to come in the subsequent weeks. 2015's The Force Awakens, handled by J.J. Abrams, while perhaps too much of a copycat of A New Hope, was nonetheless breezy, flashy, and entertaining -- a great love-letter to the trilogy (with the exception of one character death). The subsequently released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was arguably even better: a thrilling tale which was arguably everything the prequels should have been.
The Last Jedi, however, proved to be a different beast altogether. Unlike predecessor The Force Awakens, this one is helmed by Rian Johnson. (J.J. Abrams serves as executive producer.) Naturally, expectations for this were going to be sky-high no matter what, and regardless of how the movie turned out there were always going to be naysayers who will say nay. The Force Awakens had a lot of detractors, despite being highly reviewed by critics. The Last Jedi suffered the same outcome, arguably even more so. Critics greeted the film with rave reviews, and of course the film performed well at the box office, selling about $600 million domestically, but it sparked a huge and rather nasty debate on how this film compares to the original trilogy, and whether this newest chapter charts the series in a bold new direction or if it derails it like the prequels did. (Some are even dubbing The Last Jedi the nadir of the franchise.)
I personally find the latter a very questionable claim, as I didn't particularly enjoy the prequels all that much -- Attack of the Clones was the weak link. The Last Jedi is nowhere near that territory -- the performances by everyone involved are terrific and the dialogue is thankfully devoid of any laughable, groanworthy lines. There isn't any winceworthy love story either. Which isn't to say that The Last Jedi is flawless.
Picking up from where the last movie left off, Rey (Daisy Ridley) meets Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on planet Ach-To, but the latter is reluctant to help out on account of a tragedy that he blames himself for. Meanwhile General Leia (the late Carrie Fisher) tries to evacuate the Resistance from Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his First Order, while hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaacs) disagrees. Meanwhile former Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) tries to take the situation into his own hands. All of this makes The Last Jedi the longest of any "Star Wars" movie, clocking in at a whopping 153 minutes. For the most part it moves along at a breathless pace, but the second quarter of the movie stalls a bitwhen our heroes take an unexpected detour to Canto Bight, a newly fashioned casino city planet. Although visually intriguing and rich with interesting ideas, this sequence could have used some trimming.
The only really jarring scene for me is where General Leia is literally blown out into space when a photon torpedo smashes her starship, and she somehow uses the Force to pull herself back on board. Despite the idea of showing Leia's own powers, this moment is handled clumsily, more along the lines of Superman than anything else. Considering that Fisher tragically died just after completing work on the film, it probably would have been better to have her killed off at that point instead of surviving. Or more ideally, just cut that space stunt to the character in a hospital bed.
Then there's the handling of Supreme Chancellor Snoke (Andy Serkis), a shadowy, bald crone who appears to be the brains behind the whole operation. Surprisingly, however, we get to know very little about him, and he's unexpectedly discarded halfway through. Although at the same time it does provide an interesting twist to how we think the story is going to turn out, it is a bit of a surprise that we don't know who he is or where he came from. On a similar note, some of the film's newer characters, notably a self-appointed codebreaker, DJ, and a female commander who temporarily takes Leia's place on the Rebel ship feel a tad underdeveloped as well. Perhaps the most interesting newcomer is Rose Tico, a girl who teams up with Finn on his mission to take down Snoke's ship. Although many have found her character bothersome, she actually comes across as a very strong, competent character, and the chemistry between her and Finn is very solid.
Despite my quibbles, there's a lot going for The Last Jedi. The dynamic between Luke, Rey, and Kylo Ren is compellingly presented and all around engrossing, thanks to the skillful acting of all three performers involved. Hamill, in particular, deserves a shout-out. Although Luke here is portrayed as a depressed, demoralized hermit who initially refuses to have anything to do with the Force, Hamill succeeds in making this incarnation very three-dimensional and sincere. He gets to have an especially epic moment at the end of the movie (no spoilers for what it is). The man is a genius at voice acting, but as an actor he's very underrated, and this is arguably his best work as Luke yet. Ridley, Boyega, Isaacs, the late Fisher, and especially Driver as the emotionally conflicted Ren are all at the top of their game as well. Kelly Marie Tran also does an outstanding job of making Rose a very likable, compelling character to root for under all circumstances. She didn't even deserve half of the scathing backlash she got for this role. One can say that her potential hookup with Finn toward the end of the movie feels forced and uncertain, but that is in no way the actress' fault.
The cinematography is also deserving of a shout-out; this is probably the best shot of the Star Wars movies, with a lot of iconic moments that rival any in the series. One very poignant scene toward the end in which Luke gazes off at the binary sunset on the island, in particular, is a fitting callback to A New Hope. The visual effects are top notch, as well, without being overly showy or upstaging the actors. The prequels had gone overboard with this problem, seeming to overload CG-effects for the sake of it. Here the filmmakers find a respectful balance between using practical effects and digital effects when necessary. This makes The Last Jedi feel less artificial for it.
Perhaps the thing that struck with me most about The Last Jedi is how daring and bold this newest entry is. Aside from showing familiar faces in a different light, it also makes the controversial choice of deconstructing some of the tropes that fans have come to expect from Star Wars, therefore charting a new direction for the series. For some who feel the franchise may grow stale with every entry, this change of pace is in some ways refreshing, but others have been miffed by it. This also very well be the darkest and bleakest Star Wars entry yet -- there's a high body count in this movie, and one spectacularly staged kamikaze attack (with a brief pause of silence for good effect) is something that we haven't seen in Star Wars before.
All in all, The Last Jedi may seem in some ways like a step down from The Force Awakens, for me it is only a marginal one. It still manages, overall, to be an interesting and provocative entry to the Star Wars saga, totally undeserving of the backlash it has received from disgruntled fans. Only a couple of moments that hold it back from true greatness, but otherwise, grossly underrated.