Before I start, I will say that this review contains HEAVY spoilers so if you haven’t seen the movie, I would go see it then come read this. Or just read this and don’t complain when I ruin the movie for you. I had the fortune of seeing The Last Jedi (TLJ) opening night and I have seen it twice since so the excitement from those may have biased my opinions; however, they are my opinions still.
The newest installment of the most beloved movie franchise of all time may just be the best installment. The Last Jedi is a gripping ride from start to finish that doesn’t stay too close to the plot of the original trilogy like The Force Awakens does. The movie picks up exactly where The Force Awakens finishes with General Hux (Domhnall Gleason) chasing after the remnants of the Resistance and General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) while Rey (Daisy Ridley) trains to learn the ways of the Force under the exiled Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) gives one of, if not the, best performance in any Star Wars film portraying the character arc, that was so lacking in the first movie, of the villain. Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke) plays a CGI character the way only Serkis can. We’re even introduced to a couple new characters that have a pretty big impact in the story in Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern).
With every great movie, there are some downfalls. One of the downfall’s for me was some character development. With the emergence of new characters, and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron getting significantly more screen time, John Boyega’s Finn just didn’t work for me the way he did in The Force Awakens. I thought Finn was just lacking in a true storyline and really, there isn’t much more you could do with his character after TFA. I love John Boyega as an actor and loved him as Finn in TFA, but I think that’s where his character should have ended for multiple reasons. First, who survives a lightsaber strike up the back? If anything he should at least be paralyzed, not piloting a ship on Crait. Second, it would make Kylo Ren’s character so much more hated if he killed not only the legend Han Solo, but the new fan favorite in Finn as well. And finally, what more can you do with the character? He’s already undergone the arc of switching from the dark to light side. He’s already faced off with his former leader, Captain Phasma. And he’s already tried to fight Ren and lost. I just think that the better solution would’ve been to have Ren kill him at the end of TFA, however, that was Abrams’ decision and not Johnson’s so it’s hard to put that as a mark against Johnson himself.
Another thing I really didn’t like was the way Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) was portrayed. After being basically a non factor in TFA, my hopes for Phasma were high coming into TLJ, especially after seeing a couple of the trailers. However, it turns out that what we saw in the trailers was the entirety of Phasma’s screen time, which is extremely disappointing. It seems as if Phasma is this trilogy’s Boba Fett and that is a true shame. Now I could be wrong, and Phasma could return in Episode 9, however, given her state when we see last in TLJ, I highly doubt she will be making an appearance in 9 unless she has some hidden jetpack we don’t know about. I loved Christie playing Phasma and really was hoping for more emphasis to be put on the character that is really cool to look at and has such a prominent part in Hollywood Studios’ Star Wars attractions, and to not get that was a huge letdown.
I also took exception with the whole Leia in space scene. I understand that Leia has the Force since her father was Anakin, and we’re shown that in Empire Strikes Back. However, nobody, Jedi or not, can be thrown from a space ship into space with no protective equipment on, and just float back to another ship. That’s not how that works (also, I told you there were lots of spoilers). I just can’t get over the fact they made her invincible like that. I know I may catch some grief for this, but after Fisher’s tragic death in December 2016, Johnson and crew could’ve very easily gone back and edited that scene to make that be her death scene. That would’ve given a clear transition of power to Holdo, who in turn would give it to Dameron. It also would’ve given more suspense as to whether Kylo would’ve switched sides given that it was the First Order Ties that shot the ship, not him. I know Fisher’s death was unexpected, but wouldn’t that be much more simpler than starting Episode 9 with a funeral or saying “Leia has died.” in the opening crawl? I sure think so.
The last thing I wasn’t too crazy about was the end. The whole movie Kylo is built up as this ultimate villain finally becoming similar to his grandfather, Darth Vader. Then, Luke Skywalker makes him look extremely foolish on Crait by having him attack Luke while Luke is a Force Ghosting. I just didn’t appreciate how one scene can just diminish a whole film’s worth of build up. Why couldn’t Luke actually show up, then disappear right as Kylo was going to strike him down the way Obi Wan did with Vader? I just think that would’ve been better for both characters, however I understand Johnson wanting to give Luke one last look at the twin suns before he passes.
Now, it may seem like there was a lot to not like about the movie, but really, there wasn’t. I’m just nit-picking at this point. However, there was plenty to love about this movie like the fight scenes, the scenes with Kylo and Rey, Luke’s character, the opening space scene, and Canto Bight. Of course, I won’t dive into all of that, but I will talk about some of the things I liked most in the movie.
I absolutely 100000% LOVE what Johnson and Driver did with Kylo Ren. I found myself mouth agape at some of the scenes involving him and I truly believe that Driver deserves an Oscar for this performance. It was like Johnson took everything wrong with Ren’s character in TFA and fixed it in TLJ. From the opening where Snoke is belittling him to his Force scenes with Rey to him making the move nobody saw coming, Driver immediately gripped the audience and stole the show in the process. I found myself wanting to see more Kylo and Rey scenes than Rey and Luke scenes. The character of Kylo Ren has always had my attention in the films just because he really speaks to me personally, however, this version of Kylo was just impeccably amazing and the true villain this saga needed. He’s so complex that you don’t really know what he’s going to do next. Was he feeding Snoke the lies that he was going to kill Rey when the whole time it was Snoke he was after? Was his plan the whole time to team up with Rey only to get her to join him and rule the galaxy?Was his main goal to become Supreme Leader Ren so he bring The Knights of Ren back into the fold in Episode 9? I believe the answer to all of the questions is a “yes” However, that’s something the audience doesn’t see upon one viewing and it takes some time to come up with said theories and have reasoning behind them, which is one of the many reasons I love Ren’s character.
Since I’ve already hinted at it, I might as well go into it more. The best scene in any Star Wars movie is the Throne Room scene. This is the ultimate callback to Return of the Jedi in so many ways. Ren and Rey going in the elevator like Vader and Luke, Snoke showing Rey the Resistance ships being destroyed like the Emperor showed Luke, and the rooms look exactly the same (minus more red in Snoke’s). The scene itself makes the whole movie. The whole time Rey believes she can change Kylo, however that is (supposedly) just Snoke messing with Rey (and Kylo’s) head. Then Ren and Rey arrive and Snoke tries to flip Rey, fails, tortures her, and commands Kylo to “finish his training” and kill Rey. Snoke goes on a long tangent that is kind of takes the background because you’re so hooked on if Kylo is actually going to kill Rey and then he utters the line “now Kylo will kill his true enemy” in which the film takes a BEAUTIFUL cut to Kylo’s hand as he uses the Force to ignite his grandfather’s original lightsaber and push it through Snoke. The audience begins to clap and cheer. I gasp and utter some explicit words in pure shock. Then, he pulls the saber to him and Rey’s hand emerges as she catches it and them team up to take out the Praetorian guards to the chagrin of the audience. We see some of the craziest saber moves including some EPIC team up moves with Reylo. At this point, you believe Kylo is going to join the Resistance and complete his turn back to the Light, only to see Johnson insert one of the craziest turns in Star Wars history. Kylo reverses it and urges Rey to join him and forget everything, including the Jedi. As shes resists, Johnson reveals the ultimate middle finger to Abrams by finally revealing who Rey’s parents are: two nobodies who sold Rey for drinking money and are dead on Jakku. A lot of people are upset at this, and deservedly so, but I actually love it. I love that it was Kylo to unveil this fact, I love that it was the absolute hardest thing for Rey to hear, I love that it shook her to the core, and I love that Johnson put it in such a critical part of the movie. Rey declines, they engage in another Force fight, however, unlike TFA, it’s a draw, and Anakin’s lightsaber is split in two. Rey then mysteriously escapes and thus concludes the best scene.
If the Throne Room is the best scene, then Holdo’s sacrifice is the most visually stunning. While all of that is going on on Snoke’s ship, the Resistance is trying to escape to Crait with the First Order firing upon their escape ships. At this point, the only person left on the original ship is Vice Admiral Holdo, who up to now, I was convinced was a double agent. She then pulls a miraculous stunt and comes up with the idea of going to lightspeed through the First Order fleet, a suicide mission. As she makes the jump, the film goes silent and black and white, oddly enough, some AMC theaters had to issue a warning before the film specifically for this scene. We see the fleet decimated, plenty of explosions, and all in silence and black and white. I applaud Johnson for this scene. He could’ve gone so many different ways, loud booms, tons of color, screaming voices, insane visuals. But instead, he went with silence and no color, a huge risk that paid off tremendously.
The last thing I’m going to into that I really liked was Luke’s character. This is obviously a big one because it was the main point of the entire movie. Before TFA, the last time we see Skywalker was on Endor celebrating with the Ewoks, Han, Chewie, and Leia. In the time between then and TFA, a lot of crap has happened to Luke. He witnessed the divorce of his two closest friends, he started a Jedi training temple, had his nephew turn against him and destroy his whole work. So when we see Luke in TLJ, he is broken, done with the Jedi, and has no desire to help train Rey. A lot of people have been complaining about the version of Luke (including Hamill himself) but really would you not feel the same if all of that happened to you? And don’t say no other Jedi would do that because look at Yoda and Obi Wan in Revenge of the Sith. Yoda even says he must go into exile after failing and Obi Wan does the same thing exiling himself to Tatooine. So to me, this is a new Luke, but he’s not all that new. Remember who we’re talking about here: the same guy who consistently complained on Dagobah, who wanted nothing to do with the Jedi in the first place, who was only going with Obi Wan to save the pretty princess who happened to be his sister. Luke isn’t the all time hero guys, so it’s not that far fetched to think he would just turn it all off if he doesn’t get his way. Now ultimately, he changes his mind with the help of R2-D2 and trains Rey, but even then he is reluctant in doing so and wants nothing to do with the Jedi. It’s not until he receives a visit from a certain green Force Ghost that he becomes fully invested in the cause. I appreciate the nostalgic touch of adding Yoda in the movie along with a great scene with Luke and Leia.
Overall, this movie was phenomenal. The fact that it was a Star Wars movie makes it that much better, but it really was a first of it’s kind. Something we’ve never seen before, and for the majority, weren’t quite ready for. Whether you liked it or not,the movie deserves kudos for being a Star Wars movie and keeping you guessing at every turn, something Star Wars has never really been good at. From character development to character introduction to all the new things and amazing camera shots, this film really does have it all. I know there is a vast majority of people saying this movie is the exact opposite of everything I’m writing now, but I would tell them to give it another try. Watching it a second time opened my eyes even more to things I didn’t realize in the first showing. There’s a ton of things that are easily missed that play a huge role in the film. I would also recommend getting the film book itself and reading it because there are some pretty important plot points in there as well. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a film that revolutionizes the franchise and changes it forever, and it’s a film that should be appreciated by all.
At the end of movie reviews involving films in a franchise, I like to rank the franchise films including the one I just reviewed. Overall, I gave The Last Jedi the honor of 5 of 5 stars, something only one other movie has achieved: The Lion King. Lion King is still my all time favorite movie, but The Last Jedi is easily my second favorite of all time. So here’s my official Star Wars film rankings:
- Episode 8: The Last Jedi
- Episode 7: The Force Awakens
- Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back
- Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith
- Episode 6: Return of the Jedi
- Episode 2: Attack of the Clones
- Episode 4: A New Hope
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
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