Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Review

Initial Release: December 15, 2017

Director: Rian Johnson

Screenplay By: Rian Johnson

Box Office: $450,000,000

Budget: $350,000,000

The second installment of the new trilogy is here! It’s STAR WARS™️ by Disney™️!!! Does it meet the expectations the last film set? Will our questions be answered? Will they gracefully end Carrie Fisher’s character now that she’s gone? Will the guy who sat behind me in the theater ever stop coughing and kicking my seat? Whenever a new Star Wars™️ film is released, it feels like buying a brand new used car - it smells nice, runs nice, but when you start to look closer at it, the cracks appear, and there’s a weird stain you didn’t notice before. Disney seems to be steering the franchise in an uncreative direction, and it might mean that we may never get another Empire Strikes Back again. It just feels like another commercial product, and less like a creative collaboration that filmmaking is meant to be.

When we last left our heroes, Rey had found an old and emotionally battered Luke Skywalker with plans to convince him to return to the fight against evil. Finn was in a coma from his wounds, Han was killed by his son, and the Resistance had destroyed the Starkiller base. Unfortunately this film has a lot of problems - none of which has to do with tone, action, or acting. The Star Wars films have always delivered on those (except with the dark and depressing tone of Rogue One). Like The Force Awakens, I felt like I was watching the space opera that the fans love. The characters are charismatic, the visuals are stunning, the music is great, the set pieces are interesting and unique, and the lore is well fleshed out. 

Daisy Ridley as Rey is once again the stand out performance. Her character is so much fun to watch, even if she is a bit too flawless. By that I mean she doesn’t have any character flaws - such as naivety, ignorance, or temptation to the dark side. The other characters are brash, make mistakes, or underestimate a situation, only to learn from it. Rey always seems to be immune to that. Unlike the last film, we actually get dialogue and character development from Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original trilogy. His character is broken and filled with guilt for causing the downfall of Ben Solo (Han and Leia’s son). His character seems like the one with the most of an arc as he’s struggling to make amends with his past, as well as prevent further disaster from happening. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) gets a lot more screen time this time around. His story is one of trying to protect the remaining members of the resistance. Oscar Issac is very likable and you want to see his character succeed. John Boyega returns as Finn and steals every scene he’s in with his charisma and charm. Carrie Fisher returns one last time as Leia, the General of the resistance and mother to Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. She has a wit to her that never gets old, and her motherly personality brings a warmth to any scene she’s in. Unfortunately she has a scene which resulted in me laughing in my head, but it’s not her fault. Last but not least, my favorite character from the last film, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), is a force to be reckoned with here. You find yourself having sympathy for him, and you never really know which side of the spectrum he’s on until he makes it clear, which is a testament to his acting, and the writing. 

The script and editing are where the film seems to fall apart. About a half an hour into the film, the characters must go on a mission that will help save lives, but it lasts so damn long and feels much less interesting than the two other main plots. It’s like the scene from The Force Awakens with the tentacle monsters where it serves a single purpose, lasts too long, and feels like it could have been done differently. But where The Force Awakens soars in comparison is the well-paced editing and scenes that each serve a specific purpose, even if the story is a soft-reboot of Star Wars (1977). 

My biggest gripe with this film is the resolutions of ideas set up in the last film. So many fan theories were posted online that guessed how it would all play out. The film wraps them up very quickly, has disappointing answers, or doesn’t answer them at all, leaving many fans and movie-goers disappointed. 

Ultimately, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has its fun moments, but has many flaws that will leave fans and audiences divided for years to come. Disney™️ seems to be steering this ship off course, but compared to the disasters that were the prequels, at least this movie allows the audience to still have fun and doesn’t leave us scratching our heads, wondering what’s happening. The expansion of the story of this universe might be at its limit, and the only thing holding it together is the massive loyal fandom, and its brand name.