Movie Review: 'Stars Wars' The Last Jedi
YAY! I am finally able to write my review of this film. I was waiting until more people were able to snag some tickets and watch it. But if you're a geek like me, you probably have seen it twice before Sunday came rolling along. After two long years of waiting, The Last Jedi is finally here, answering many of the questions we had from The Force Awakens. We know that Snoke is not a giant; we found out what Luke’s been up to for the past 19 years, and we finally seemed to get an answer about Rey’s parents.
As we saw at the end of The Force Awakens, new Jedi on the block Rey has finally made contact with Luke Skywalker who’s been hiding out on an island populated by Porgs. Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy, General Leia is doing her best to keep the Resistance from being crushed by the First Order. In other story strands, the bravery of Poe is weighed against his recklessness; Finn finds a new friend in maintenance worker Rose, and Kylo Ren continues to throw his tantrums with the best of them. Ok got the gist of the story? Now let me get into my likes and dislikes. WARNING: This post contains mild spoilers.
LIKES
1. Hamill and Fisher. My favorite moment is watching Hamill and Fisher again explore and expand upon their iconic roles. Dearly departed Carrie Fisher gives a strong final performance for Princess Leia, and there are several instances where it looks as though she’s about to die onscreen, only for her to survive to the end credits. I’m hoping her character will peacefully die offscreen before the next installment, which is surely the most tasteful thing to do, given the circumstances. I am kind of worried Disney is going to use technology to continue her story, but they have stated that they want, even if they’d really like to. As for Hamill, this might represent one of his finest work in the 40-year-old franchise. Johnson allows the character of Luke Skywalker to evolve in some unexpected ways.
2. Kylo and Rey. One of the greatest scenes in the film is between Rey and Kylo (most of the great scenes involve the two, really) in Snoke’s fabulously red throne room - he’s not an attractive man, but he certainly has a great style for interior design. When Kylo betrays Snoke, Rey and Kylo end up fighting his guards which was a pretty awesome scene you clearly can tell who is the stronger fighter of the two.
DISLIKES
1. Then, there are the Porgs. They were pointless. Yes, I said it. I know Star Wars has a history of inserting Beanie Babies into scenes where they don’t belong, but hell, these creatures aren’t even cute. And they’re everywhere, breaking the tension, interrupting scenes like blaring toys, which is what they are, really.
2. The Death of Snoke. We finally get to see Snoke, and then he dies in the dumbest way ever. With so much power and scariness (great CGI by the way), he dies by Kylo Ren’s force, even though Snoke was always ten steps ahead of everyone. I would of much rather seen a huge battle between him and Luke Skywalker. Fight to the death with lightsabers! Now that would have been the ultimate showdown.
3. The Pointless Comic Reliefs. It starts out with the very first scene, with Hux’s threat to Poe turning into a prank call, was totally off. Guardians of the Galaxy was heavily influenced by Star Wars, and now it seems that inspiration has turned full circle. In fact, although some of the humor was welcome, there was far too much wisecracking throughout the film. At the end, I half expected Rey’s ship to crash land on Earth and encounter the Avengers. It felt quite similar to MCU.
4. Finn and Rose. Which should have been the dynamic duo turned out to be not so dynamic. It seems like such a forced romance between the two. They meet up, go to a casino scene (waste of time) to find a breaker to hack into Snoke’s ship and stop the tracker, and at the end, Rose kisses Finn, It overall was uncomfortable like a brother and sister kiss scene. Plus, there’s a lot of time spent at a space casino, with little payoff. It would have made for a better story if Rose was the one who can crack the codes and unlock doors.
5. The Death of Luke Skywalker. We were deeply saddened to see him go. First Han Solo, now the great Luke Skywalker. Oh, the pain! I loved his dramatic lightsaber scene with Kylo, and him peacefully fading off into the Force after a long, accomplished life seemed the most fitting end to the space Messiah. But we still feel like he should of went out with a bang and maybe be the one to kill Snoke, perhaps.
6. Put your shirt back on Kylo. Star Wars is not the place for that. Leave that to Thor.
The Last Jedi is tough to define; I really loved some moments in this film and disliked others. Luke had his finest appearance on screen, as far as I’m concerned, and a understandable send-off. Princess Leia is supremely dignified throughout, especially that scene when she peeks over her cape – pretty badass, and you finally see her use the force in a creepy way. Rey’s emptiness was balanced by Kylo’s complexity, and Finn, Poe, Rose and whoever Benicio Del Toro was, were all … there. Oh, and I forgot to mention Captain Phasma. But that’s ok because she never did anything.
But all in all, I left the theatre still satisfied. I have always loved the story of Star Wars since I was little, you fall in love with the characters, and you can easily get lost in the galaxy. I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars. If you have seen it, let me know what you think. May the force be with you this week. -xo Mel