Review – Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
The hotly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is finally here. Before reading this review, just know that this is 100% spoiler free. Anybody who writes a review that spoils any movie, let alone Star Wars, deserves to rot in the worst places in hell. So yeah, here’s a spoiler free review of The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi was my most anticipated movie of 2017. After the sensational Force Awakens (2015), the newest Star Wars trilogy was off to a great start, building on the world we already knew while bringing in new characters and new stories. For the sequel, Disney opted to bring in visionary director Rian Johnson to write and direct the film, a move I was more than excited about, as Johnson was sure to elevate the story to new levels.
However, The Last Jedi didn’t live up the expectations I had for it. It is still a very good movie with some exciting, breathtaking moments, but there are sequences and storylines that just didn’t work for me, which ultimately led to the film’s downfall.
The movies essential plot revolves around Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) journey to learn about the Force from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), while battling Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). We also see how the Resistance, led by General Leia (Carrie Fischer), is trying to fend off the New Order and stop there domination.
My biggest issue with the film is some of the storylines, particularly the one that revolves around Finn (John Boyega). He goes off on a separate mission for the Resistance that takes him to another planet and brings in a number of new characters. This whole aspect of the film is completely useless, as are the new characters involved. This took up a large chunk of time that could have been used towards the better stories in the film.
I also have issues with some of the characters. I loved Finn in The Force Awakens, but I have no idea what his character motivations were in this movie, which is really disappointing. Snoke (Andy Serkis) is incredibly disappointing, as he starts the movie off menacing and intense but wavers as the movie goes on. And even Luke Skywalker disappointed me a little bit. I expected more from him, but the character didn’t do as much as he should have. Maybe if they focused on him working with Rey and Kylo Ren and less on Finn on this new planet, the movie would have been better.
The movie does have it’s great moments, though. Rey and Kylo Ren’s storyline is so compelling and interesting, I was transfixed when it was on screen. I can’t wait to see where it goes. Both Ridley and Driver elevate their characters to new levels to make them even better than they were in The Force Awakens. Oscar Isaac also gets more to work with as Poe Dameron and is starting to become the new Han Solo. It’s always great to see Leia and Chewbacca, and some of the new characters are done well too, like Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo and the Porgs, which are the right amount of adorable and fun.
The movie is filled with great action, perfectly placed humor, and technical brilliance. Johnson balances the tone really well, giving us some really funny one-liners mixed with the dark story and intensity. The action really carries the film. From the opening ship takedown to one of the best lightsaber battles in the entire franchise, Johnson gives us some of the most exciting action sequences of the year. The movie is also a visual treat, with a number of screenshots I want as posters.
The Last Jedi is a good movie, but not without it’s flaws. Though we do get some aspects that elevate the trilogy, the movie also has some unnecessary storylines and useless characters. The Last Jedi left me underwhelmed as it did not capitalize on the success of The Force Awakens and failed to utilize the two and a half hour runtime to it’s fullest potential.
Did you see Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.