Here it is. We've been for a Star Wars since...well, last year. But, a continuation from The Force Awakens a few years ago. When it opened, I did expect to be a big opening and a big profit because The Force Awakens was not just a movie, it was an event. Heck, you can consider every Star Wars movie an event, if the results succeed or fail. After any episode of this saga, you are left with questions. Now, after watching The Last Jedi twice (which I rarely do because my initial experience is my review), I had to process what this movie was about and if the choices were sane or logical made by the characters and also by the director, Rian Johnson. Despite some issues with the movie, this eighth installment of the episodic saga is an ambitious entry that will cause some discussions and debates for a while.
THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW and I will be as vague as possible with the plot.
The First Order is planning to seize military control of the galaxy as General Leia (Carrie Fisher) are having a team of Resistance fighters being evacuated as Supreme Leader Snoke's (Andy Serkis) ships are coming for them. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is being told that in spite of killing his father, there is a chance that he may turn into the Light Side of the Force. Although Kylo protests, Snoke does not have faith in him.
We leave off where Rey (Daisy Ridley) hands the lightsaber to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on the planet, Acht-To where Chewbacca and R2-D2 are waiting down below. He accepts his lightsaber but tosses it. Rey follows Luke as she is confused but he does not want to see her. The First Order are still on the movie as the Resistance are still taking heavy casualties and damage as Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is on the move. Finn (John Boyega) wakes up from his coma as he wants to make a difference as the ship is badly damaged that they cannot make a hyper jump.
It is all I can reveal about the plot because I want to be fair with the people reading this review. Again, it is going to be difficult to process what Rian Johnson crafted this whole movie. My expectations were pretty good but not as high as I was with The Force Awakens. I believed that this was going to be another retread of The Empire Strikes Back. And, that, it is not. This movie takes some chances with the characters and the plot in order to propel the mystery surrounding its characters and the storylines forward. I have to be honest I did not expect many events to take place like I saw twice.
Let's start with the performances first. I think Daisy Ridley is still compelling as Rey because one of my criticisms from the last movie is that even though she was a truly fleshed out character, I felt like Rey's ability to do everything was a bit too convenient. I cannot say if it fully answers my criticism but there is a gate way to some hope to her character as it will restore balance to the Force and primarily the galaxy. To me, Mark Hamill gives his best performance of the whole saga as we pay close attention to his decisions and to his emotions in some scenes as he was telling the story he wanted to be alone in that isolated planet that I cannot give away. Oscar Isaac had more to do here as his character becomes more adventurous. Without giving anything away, Adam Driver portrays the most complex character as he still becomes confused of what side he is loyal to and he makes the boldest decision in probably the saga. John Boyega is still energetic as always but his character always gets into trouble in this movie for some reason. It is definitely emotional to see Carrie Fisher display her last performance on-screen as her untimely and tragic death impacted everyone. She is awesome as she exudes some powerful and quiet, raw emotion reminiscent of her character as a young, strong-willed Leia from the original trilogy.
I had two major problems with the movie that sort of took away my enjoyment and I will be as indefinite as possible. Finn's storyline was poorly done and I was disappointed by that because I felt like Finn was integral to the central storyline in the last movie and here, he felt like a character that needed more scenes in a throwaway subplot with unnecessary humor to show him become more awesome and to show him have a duel with Captain Phasma (it is in the trailer). The execution was fine and it had a positive light but most of that storyline felt like fluff to me. Kelly Marie Tran portrays a new character that teams up with Finn and she has heart but I felt like her character was not developed so well or was used well.
Another problem I had with it and it is reminiscent to my criticism to Rian Johnson's Looper is its pacing. I thought the first act opened with such awesome action that it grasped me into the storyline and the visual effects. The pacing slows down in the middle as I felt like that 10 minutes of the movie needed to be removed or needed to be tightened as the main narrative becomes abandoned and we are paying attention to Johnson's style of filmmaking. Then, we are back with the main event regarding its central storyline in the third act which has some of the best moments in Star Wars history.
Again, this is the most compelling and most ambitious movie since The Empire Strikes Back and I applaud Rian Johnson for it. He has a keen eye for not just the storylines but themes, subtle symbolism and some of the characters. It becomes a bit of a mess in the middle but blends all of the ingenious intrigue in the last act beautifully with suspense in its great action sequences. Some of the shots in this movie are quite magnificent with the help of cinematographer, Steve Yedlin. I felt that there was some poetry. It is still going to take some time and more viewings to process of how the movie was structured and where Episode IX will go from this movie because I have no clue.
The Last Jedi takes chances with its narrative that will please or divide some fans, however, I have never expected to be more riveted by how complex most of the movie was when I thought about it long and hard. It is also great to have a discussion about this movie with fellow friends into finding pieces of the puzzle that does not make or may be missing in your mind. It is understandable. Time will tell if this could be a classic Star Wars movie. Hey, some sci-fi movies have become classics over time after its initial run.
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