Star Wars: The Last Jedi was written and directed by Rian Johnson. It follows Rey as she develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order. I successfully avoided all trailers and any news articles of The Last Jedi in an attempt to experience it as fresh as possible. After leaving this movie I found The Last Jedi to be extremely different. It felt like at times Rian Johnson wanted to breathe so much fresh air into the franchise he took it to some really different places. Some of it worked and some of it did not. I don't think The Last Jedi was better than The Force Awakens nor do I think it was any better than the original trilogy.
So let's get into what worked:
1. Mark Hamill- Mark Hamill is an amazing actor and a true legend. His performance in The Last Jedi was amazing. He had several moments that showcased and embodied the awesomeness of who Luke Skywalker is. I really bought into the way he was portraying this character and the dynamic he brought to the relationship with Rey. I felt The Last Jedi allowed for Luke to do what he was unable to in the other films, it allowed Luke to be vulnerable. He was emotional and bitter at times. This movie really showed that living the lifestyle of a Jedi will cost you something. It proved that his lifestyle was hard and brutal leaving him in the state Rey found him, alone and isolated. Luke's character was able to breath and branch out beyond what we know him as.
2. Action and direction- This movie had some amazing action sequences. Especially in the 3rd act. I was on the edge of my seat every time there was a big fight scene. Most of the fights in this film were massive and entertaining. Namely the opening scene of the film. Rian Johnson put a lot of creativity into the action of this movie. His direction of space was something I greatly appreciated. He didn't rely on heavy cuts or constant movement to create an action sequence. He relied strictly on the natural movement of the scene to guide the viewer. Rian utilized a lot of wide shots to allow the action to take place. This was in my opinion some of the most exciting Star Wars action.
3. Creativity- Johnson chose to use the characters and the world in a lot of different ways. He introduced new creatures and new characters while remaining faithful to the old. Johnson also really played with some thematic choices and pushed the boundaries of the existing Star Wars format. He took typical constructs and kind of flipped them around. I think a lot of people are going to question some of his choices but he really explored the universe that Star Wars had to offer. I applaud Johnson's creativity, even if it didn't always work in the way he intended it to.
4. Characters- I loved this new wave of characters in The Force Awakens and this movie made me fall in love with them even more. Especially the character of Poe Dameron, his character had a very interesting arch in this movie that allowed for substantial character development and set him up to be a major player in Episode 9. I appreciated how Johnson used each character in a way that allowed for them to blossom. Kylo Ren had a very interesting and surprising finale as well. I am pleased as to how he is turning out in regards to the villain of this trilogy. Rey is a wonderful protagonist and what I think to be the perfect counter to Kylo Ren.
This movie had some flaws:
1. Pacing- The pacing of this movie was really an issue for me. It was a two and half hour movie that felt like three hours. A large part of this was do to some very unnecessary detours taken with some characters. The movie deviated from the main story line too much. Namely through the story line of Finn and Rose in this movie. It all felt a little of course for me. I understand what Rian was going for with the characters, but I think he could've done it in a better way. This whole story line almost could've been avoided or at least condensed and it would've made for a more coherent and fast paced movie. Every time The Last Jedi cut back to Finn and Rose it just stopped all forward motion. I would've much rather seen Finn utilized in a more creative and impressive way.
Overall, I really had a good time with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I thought it was a very good movie and an extremely entertaining Star Wars movie. I was blown away by the direction of Johnson and the exciting sequences in this movie. The Last Jedi had wonderful characters with a lot of depth in each one. Namely the characters of Luke, Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron. I was very pleased with the creative choices of Rian Johnson as I thought they worked and really asked a lot of questions about the Star Wars universe as a whole. I was extremely disappointed in the detours taken with Finn and Rose and the dynamic of their characters. I felt the whole thing could've been done better or just avoided in general. That mini story line brought the film to a screeching halt and because of that it then made the second act of the film play catch up and had to rebuild the momentum. I would recommend going to see The Last Jedi in theaters and am going to chalk it up as one of the better star wars films even with it's pacing issues. I am going to give Star Wars: The Last Jedi an A-.
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