Star Wars: The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson (Looper) and stars Daisy Ridley (Murder on the Orient Express), John Boyega (Detroit), and Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service). It tells the continued story of the Resistance's fight against the First Order, as well as Rey discovering her place within the force with the help of Luke Skywalker.
The return of the Star Wars franchise in December has been a quite the new Christmas tradition. While The Force Awakens was great, Rogue One was bit of a misstep, so my expectations were slightly lower but none the less still incredibly high. And Rian Johnson behind the lens was an incredibly exciting prospect. The man behind the three of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, as well as the 2012 film Looper, taking the reigns of an episode hopefully meant something new and refreshing.
One of my favorite parts of the new film was the expansion on the mythos within the film franchise. From a deeper dive into an exploration of the Force to new species and races of aliens and animals, The Last Jedi expands on a galaxy far, far away a lot more than previous installments had. Although more seasoned Star Wars fans may have already been privy to many of the new things, as a viewer of only the movies it was interesting to learn more about this part of the universe.
As with any Star Wars movie, the special effects are some of the best. From space battles to island training, each visual on screen makes the viewer feel as if they are actually there to experience it. And the battle on the salt mining planet was some of the best visual effects that I have ever seen.
Many in the cast gave standout performances. Adam Driver as Kylo Ren delivered an incredibly complex character. His arc throughout these first two movies has been fantastic storytelling and it is exciting to see where the third film will take him. Carrie Fischer delivers a poignant performance in a role tinged by real life tragedy. Hamil's real return as Luke gives an almost completely new take on the character. The 30 years in movie since Luke last appearing has really changed the character and his outlook on life. This is not the Luke you may have been expecting, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
But The Last Jedi is not without its far share of problems. Perhaps the biggest being the pacing of the film. Clocking in at almost 2 hours and 30 minutes, the first hour has moments that screech the movie to a standstill. Thirty minutes could have been seemingly cut with ease. I specifically know of one storyline that did nothing to the overall arch of the story but for spoiler sake will not mention exactly what happened.
Whereas the new characters from the last film continued to impress with their energy and emotional layers, the new characters introduced this time around were less than stellar. Laura Dern felt completely unnecessary as Vice Admiral Holdo, almost as if there to suck the fun out of our heroes. Kelly Maria Tran was fun as Rose, but the decisions she makes are inconsequential and her character is trivial with regards to the action of the movie as a whole. Benicio Del Toro was at least trying something interesting with his codebreaker DJ, but again the choices he makes seem to go against character again and again.
Another problem I had with the movie was the overall tone. Each subplot seemed to have a different tone. Some deeply dramatic with world altering implications. Others comedic to the point of slapstick. Many movies are able to use the two to its full advantage, but The Last Jedi switches between the two at a moments notice leading to jarring moments.
Although many actors are giving outstanding performances, the top of the notch special effects, and the interesting possibilities of the expanded mythos, The Last Jedi ultimately feels like a steppingstone in-between two movies rather than a standalone film. It almost feels unfair to judge it without the knowledge of what is coming next.
When to watch it?
Dollar Theater (or maybe wait until Episode IX comes out)
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