Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Score:  A-

Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher
Running time: 152 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  The Last Jedi is the second film in the third Star Wars trilogy (still following?), following up the massive success of 2015's The Force Awakens.  Rey leads the way again as she continues to seek both her personal origins and her abilities in the Force; she's rejoined by Dark Side-counterpart Kylo Renn and, this time, a very welcome return for Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker.  Bold creative and narrative choices abound, as well as of course the franchise's spectacular action and visual effects, making for a great theater experience.


Following the destruction of their Starkiller Base, the menacing First Order military group pursues the scattered bands of Resistance across the galaxy.  They locate General Leia Organa (Fisher) with the core of the group, which manages to barely escape annihilation.  However, running on fumes, the Resistance fleet still faces peril as the First Order has somehow been able to track them wherever they flee.  Meanwhile, Rey (Ridley) arrives on Ahch-To, a remote planet where she finds Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Hamill).  Still confused and anxious about her ability to manipulate the Force, which she discovered just weeks prior, she begs Skywalker both to help her personally as well as to rejoin the fight against the First Order.  Luke, however, has become disenchanted with the ancient Jedi Order, and a physically distant figure - Dark Side-follower Kylo Renn (Driver) - stands between the two.  As the remnants of the Resistance struggle for survival, the fate of the galaxy rests once more on the courage and faith of just a few individuals.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi features much of the same primary cast as its predecessor, although it highlights a few different ones, both new and familiar.  Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, is the lead again, although not as clearly as in The Force Awakens.  Ridley continues to do very well in the role, building on her previous work as a strong, courageous and instinctively good heroine, who is also vulnerable through her inexperience and difficulty understanding others' less pure intentions.  Partly due to her reduced screen time, she is a bit overshadowed here, though.  Mark Hamill reprises his role, thirty-plus years later, of Luke Skywalker, and does so exceedingly well.  He is a believably evolved version of that passionate young hero of long, long ago; similarly reclusive to Alec Guinness's Obi-Wan, but with Luke's distinctive flame burning just below the surface.  Adam Driver continues to improve as the new Big Bad of the Star Wars universe; still not the looming presence of Darth Vader, but he has nailed down Kylo Renn's contemptuous, rage-filled, yet still very human role.  Oscar Isaac gets a bigger part this time as Resistance hotshot pilot Poe Dameron.  His acting is just fine, but the character himself is struggling to overcome cliche.  Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa also gets a bigger role.  Her return has been the most startling and uncomfortable for me, both in her role and her performance (I acknowledge this is at least a little sexist, but it was my honest reaction), but I'm coming around to it.

The Last Jedi is a well-made but inevitably flawed film, not just another gargantuan blockbuster action film but a distinct new entry in the world's most famous film franchise that will be debated for years to come.  It can be difficult to know where to start talking about a film like this, particularly for Star Wars fans (like me).  Here are the basics: it is, of course, a SW film - with all the history, ideas and characters that come along with it (some of it directly relevant, some not) - and it is the second in a trilogy (although not just a trilogy; the third trilogy in an interconnected series).  This all makes for bewildering complexity for, not to mention pressure on, the filmmakers.  The Last Jedi makes an admirable effort to include both continuity as well as originality to both the details and the spirit of the SW adventure; each of these find both success and failure, to me.  We'll start with the details, then attempt an analysis of the film's overall success.

I'll start with/get out of the way a little bit of Star Wars nerd annoyance.  The Last Jedi creates a "world view" that now almost exactly mirrors the original trilogy, when I wish it would have tried something new.  The First Order (Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Renn, General Hux) is now for all intents and purposes the new Galactic Empire (Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Tarkin) - generically evil (although at least the GE had origins) powers that dominate the galaxy; while the Resistance (Leia, Poe, Finn) is the new Rebellion (Leia-again, Solo, Calrissian) - a scrappy underdog fighting for good.  This is not mere fanboy grievance, I would argue; I think it handicaps the storytelling options available to these (and future) filmmakers.  The script here refuses to allow you to miss the resemblance, too, with clunky dialogue in the middle of action like "we are the spark that will light the fire that'll burn the First Order down".  The film does a fine job showing us interesting new ideas - like emphasizing survival and teamwork over destruction and independence - but too often shouts it, literally.  Among other things I didn't like so much, Finn and newcomer Rose are intriguing but their "common person" potential was wasted on noisy, too familiar and unnecessary action.  The film is indeed the longest in the franchise and could have used significantly more editing.

There is also plenty on the "Light Side", too, though, starting with - appropriately - Luke Skywalker.  Hamill has done the best work out of the three returning Star Wars legends, although it helps that the filmmakers found a particularly interesting new role for him.  Three main areas highlight his contributions.  First, he is both the familiar Jedi hermit-grump we've known before, but also has the spark of his younger self - winking with R2-D2 and Leia, visibly wrestling with himself in scenes with Rey and Yoda.  Next, his role coming between Rey and Kylo Renn is quite interesting - giving a fresh take on the apprentice-betrays-the-master idea - and provides the film its most emotional and affecting scenes, such as Luke's interrupting the two younsters.  And Luke's confrontation with Kylo Renn at the end - unveiling a new Jedi ability in doing so - is tense, emotionally-fraught, creative (and perfect for the plot).  One of the best scenes in the franchise, it even encores an instant classic line: "every word you just said is wrong".  The developing relationship between Rey and Kylo Renn - the most interesting part of this new trilogy, by far - was nearly overshadowed by Luke, but it still impressed with not only more neat Force trickery (long-distance connection) but also a genuine tug of war between the Dark and the Light.  The lightsaber battle they engage in with Snoke's guards ranks among the best in the franchise, thanks to the new flavor it provides.  Speaking of action, the opening space battle is also cool and inventive.  It's not all action, though: there is plenty of good humor, from Luke to a brand new species of cuddly alien, Wookiee-loving critter.

Overall, The Last Jedi does well to advance the Star Wars story, within the trilogy as well as the franchise as a whole.  In the difficult middle-child position of the trilogy, it effectively builds on the characters and ideas of the first film while leaving plenty of potential (but little specific direction) for the final film.  Like Empire Strikes Back, it puts (and leaves) the good guys in a precarious position, although I wish the tone had reflected this a bit more (see: awkward "hopeful" dialogue - put in there for the kids?).  For Star Wars in general, I've already described my positives (Luke, Rey-Kylo) and negatives (First Order-Resistance repetition).  It's also pretty clear that Disney is shifting other parts of the franchise, which has upset some fanboys but I think is positive.  We see a continued increase in non-white-male leaders and heroes, as well as a shift in emphasis from kill-the-bad-guys to save/help-the-innocent.  I might prefer a less, well, Disney, tone in doing so, but I think I'll just have to adapt, too.

***

There are still other things I'd like to discuss, as a Star Wars fan - role of Snoke, more on Leia, etc. - but I've already written more than enough for a review.  That there is so much to consider and talk about is itself an accomplishment of the filmmakers.  I've written this review only after two viewings and a month since the film's release because of how difficult I found it.  My score of "A-" reflects overall positive reactions to it; some aspects are even beyond my expectations, but others make me hesitate (or I at least need more time to accept).  If nothing else, I already can't wait for the next one!




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