The Empire Strikes Back...Again?

This review contains spoilers.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is directed and written by Rian Johnson (Looper) and stars Daisy Ridley (Murder on the Orient Express), Adam Driver (Paterson), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and the late Carrie Fisher (Star Wars). "Having taken her first steps into the Jedi world, Rey joins Luke Skywalker on an adventure with Leia, Finn and Poe that unlocks mysteries of the Force and secrets of the past". After "The Force Awakens" received backlash for following the same formula and structure of "A New Hope", it is key that "The Last Jedi" adds a level of creativity to the modern Star Wars universe; Is indie director Rian Johnson the answer to take the new trilogy in a truly new direction?

Prior to "The Force Awakens", I had never seen a Star Wars film but Episode 7 made be a Star Wars fan. Although I have still not got round to watching episodes 1-6 (embarrassing, I know!), "The Force Awakens" set the bar high for this new trilogy. Admittedly, "The Last Jedi" does go in a completely new direction (based on what other critics are saying) so does earn points for originality which "The Force Awakens" was unable to do. It may be original but "The Last Jedi" is overlong, occasionally boring and ultimately uneventful; Nothing about the film is blatantly bad (This is actually going to be a positive review!) but it just lacked an exciting story, big revelations are non-existent and most importantly, there's not enough of Rey...it looks like the #WheresRey movement can be applied to the big screen too. 

There are two plots occurring throughout "The Last Jedi"; One involving Luke training Rey and the other surrounding Finn and new character Rose, played by Kelly Marie Tran, who are trying to destroy the device that is enabling The First Order to track The Resistance. Meanwhile, the rest of the characters are hopping from one area to another as they chased by The First Order. Neither of the main plot lines ever build to anything that exciting; However, the more interesting plot on paper, Luke training Rey, ends up being the duller of the two when brought to life on the big screen; It really slows the pace of the film down and is the cause of many boring moments. It should be very exciting watching new Jedi Rey get trained by a Jedi legend but it never goes anywhere. Rey also has brief moments that seem like she is swaying towards the dark side. One of which includes a fabulous scene where the audience are lead to believe Rey's parents are about to be revealed; A never-ending line of mirrored Rey's fill the screen but when the time comes for her parents to be unveiled, another mirror image of Rey appears. This exciting and potentially iconic moment is wasted as it does and adds nothing to the plot or the character. These scenes are very dialogue heavy with some major character development being revealed; It is disclosed that it was Luke who turned Ben Solo into Kylo Ren as he sensed a power he could no longer control. In retrospect, this scene was actually more exciting and important than it felt during the film. During these moments, Rey and Kylo Ren are also able to have conversations with each other, despite being apart. The film then shows Leia and Luke having a similar interaction, who are siblings, so could it be that Rey and Kylo Ren are siblings after all? Rey defies the 'Mary Sue' reputation she gained from "The Force Awakens" as her weakness is revealed: naivety and easily tricked. During one of these interactions, Kylo Ren shows a sign that he may sway back to the light side but it is then revealed that this was constructed by Snoke as a technique to get Rey to come to Kylo Ren. It is not really clear if Rey learned anything from Luke- she makes this mistake on her own and is quite headstrong. Even though the film takes its time to get to an exciting point with this plot-line, it does build to a brilliant battle between Kylo Ren, Rey and Snoke which was one of the best moments in the film. Much like the rest of the film, it's a long slump to get there but this plot-line finally arrives at an exciting destination in the final act. 

The other plot-line is far less interesting and is actually quite generic: Finn and Rose aim to destroy the device that is tracking The Resistance. To do this, they must find a code-breaker to help them. This plot-line is constantly fast-paced which is good in contrast to the slower Rey/Luke scenes but there is no genuine excitement as the level of the stakes are not that clear and it is nothing that audiences have not seen before. Rose is the biggest new character in "The Last Jedi" but she is nowhere near as memorable, likeable or endearing as the characters that were introduced in "The Force Awakens". Finn and Rose almost go on a goose chase - firstly to an odd casino to find the code-breaker and then to the main First Order ship. I liked how the film added heart to these otherwise light-hearted moments; For example, the 'Star Wars race horses' that were being abused and mistreated are eventually set free by the main duo. It may have been because it was midnight and I was tired but I do not actually remember whether Finn and Rose were successful with their mission which should have been a memorable and key moment. There was a good twist though as the code-breaker turned on them and got them caught. This film is really about Rey and Luke so the scenes involving Finn and Rose felt like a ridiculous goose chase that were toned differently the rest of the film. This plot-line wasn't bad and could have worked if fleshed out with higher stakes but the tonal clash with the arguably more important scenes made the film feel slightly messy. However, without these moments, "The Last Jedi" would have had no action scenes until the very end and I'm not sure audiences would have reacted well to 120 minutes of talking and just 30 minutes of action from a blockbuster that was promised to be action-packed. The rest of the characters also feel like they are floating around, I presume that is what Johnson was going for as they were homeless and on the run; That odd moment where Leia floats through space needs some explaining though. 

What was weird about this film is that the main characters spend a lot of time apart. However, they do all come together at the end which is when the film was at its strongest. Everyone showed up to the party; Leia and the Resistance were in hiding and sending messages from behind the front-line, Rey and Chewbacca were flying the Millennium Falcon (with a super cute Porg), Finn and Rose were on the front-line fighting, Kylo Ren and The First Order were the opposition trying to take down the Resistance fighters and Luke shows up to prove his power by taking on The First Order by himself. It was great to see all of the characters working together and each having an equally important role. It did seem weird that Rey took a back-seat flying the Falcon instead of using her Jedi powers but her importance in the final battle became clear when she used her powers to rescue everyone from the caves they were hiding it- the scene where Rey lifts the rocks was beautiful and one of the film's best moments. The film also did a great job of realising Luke's immense power- another great moment was when Kylo Ren fires an abundance of bullets all at Luke but he still manages to survive. In fact, many of the film's best moments fall in the third act of the film.

Even though the narrative has issues, including wasting a big portion of the overlong running time with uneventful nonsense, producer Kathleen Kennedy deserves praise for some great casting choices. Daisy Ridley is once again great as Rey, even though I haven't liked her work so-far outside of Star Wars, she plays Rey fantastically which is already a career defining role for Ridley. Remember after "The Force Awakens" was released and a Twitter campaign, #WheresRey started due to the lack of merchandise for the (arguably) lead character? Well it looks like Disney, Kennedy and Johnson have tried to cover their backs by minimising Rey's presence in this film majorly in comparison to in the predecessor. This was disappointing for someone who fell in love with the character in the last film and couldn't wait to see more from her. The scenes she's in this time are still good but as already mentioned, the high amount of dialogue instead of action will bore some viewers. The reveal of Rey's parents is possibly the post anticlimactic and disappointing reveal in recent film history- they are nobodies. Could this be a red-herring and Rey's true origin will be revealed in the next episode? or is this a mundane answer to the question that was on everybody's minds? It was fun to see Rey interact with Chewbacca but their chemistry wasn't quite the same as Han and Chewy. Adam Driver also plays an already career defining role, Kylo Ren; Driver shines even more this time around and has even more to do as the character is fleshed out. It did confuse me when Kylo Ren briefly switched (supposedly) to the light side and killed Snoke but then soon went back to the dark side. Was this a facade so Ren would be able to become the Supreme Leader? or does Ren genuinely have some light inside him? There are still intriguing questions from "The Last Jedi" but they are not as tantalising as the ones audiences had walking out of "The Force Awakens".

It was bittersweet whenever Leia was on-screen after the shocking and tragic death of Carrie Fisher (may she rest in piece). Fisher excels once again and does her iconic role justice. Leia does not have too much to do in the film, she almost represents the heart and stability of the Resistance. Other than a title card at the end, there was no tribute paid to Fisher (a la Paul Walker), I hope the character sees a respectful conclusion in Episode 9. Possibly one of the most shocking moments to come out of "The Last Jedi" is the death of Luke Skywalker. However, his death is very vague and for that reason, it was not as moving or as powerful as was intended. Han Solo died in Episode 7, Luke Skywalker in Episode 8, I really don't know how I feel about them potentially killing off Princess Leia in Episode 9. Mark Hamill is good as Luke Skywalker; An interesting observation is that other than Harrison Ford, Star Wars actors do not seem to prosper outside of Star Wars films. Yoda returns during Episode 8, this will be most effective with long-time fans as coming from somebody who is familiar with Yoda as a character but has not actually seen him in a film, this scene went completely over my head and I may not have appreciated the importance of it. John Boyega is brilliant in these films but the creators are still yet to give him a truly interesting storyline; Maybe he will finally shine in Episode 9? Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron's role diminishes as the film goes on; The film started off on a promising note for the character but his potential was not fulfilled. I really liked Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo- from the styling to the performance, although her stint in a Star Wars film was brief, Dern made an impression and slotted perfectly into the world. Andy Serkis gets a better chance to shine as Snoke and although Gwendoline Christie's Phasma has a downsized role, she is still great when on screen. Unfortunately, Maz Katana completely phones it in this time around with a brief and rather pointless scene.

Some of the editing choices were a little too on-the-nose for my liking: For example, a character would ask a question about where a particular character was and then the film would cut to the character they were talking about. It just felt like some conversations were cut short or just there to act as exposition and lead to a smooth transition. However, instead of being smooth, the cuts were a bit too blatant. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is also much lighter in tone with many comedic moments: the nun aliens on Luke's island, the porgs and some of the lines were very funny. The comedy did also feel shoe-horned in places and sometimes a little parody-like: For example, the dramatic and iconic scene at the end of "The Force Awakens" is transformed into a comedic and trivial moment- Luke takes the lightsaber and throws it away. Finally, the visual effects were impressive (as expected) so even if the plot gets a little dull, there's always something on the screen that is aesthetically pleasing.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is not as exciting as "The Force Awakens" but it is more original. Fans are likely to be divided on which film is better as each lacks what the other has. Hopefully Episode 9 can combine genuine excitement with originality. This is more of an ensemble film than anything else, this new trilogy may not be the focus on Rey we were all expecting (although Luke's final lines do suggest she will come back into the spotlight in the next film). All of the performances are strong, everybody is cast perfectly. "The Last Jedi" is also funnier than any Star Wars film before it. The 150 minute running time is too long and results in a middle act that drags and occasionally becomes boring. The third act is excitement but ultimately nothing happens in this film that alters the Star Wars universe or the story of these characters. Other critics have perfectly summarised the film as lots happening but also nothing happening. It's the typical 'middle film' in a series that can be a slump to get through but does build to an exciting, thrilling and worthwhile third act. I'm definitely not as keen of a Star Wars fan as I was leaving "The Force Awakens" but maybe after a re-watch, the force of positivity will be awakened within me. "The Last Jedi" is slightly disappointing with a ridiculous running time but the great characters established in its predecessors help to make it mostly entertaining.