Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Directed by Rian Johnson

Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boeyga, Oscar Issac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro.

Backstory

And the Star Wars juggernaut under the leadership of Disney continue!  We were all blown away by the return of Star Wars with The Force Awakens, and its concluding return of Luke Skywalker left us wondering what would come next.  Would we get answers?  Would we find out Rey’s parentage?  Will Kylo Ren fully fall to the Dark Side?  Well, it’s two years later, and time for some answers.

Plot

Don’t forget, while our heroes managed to destroy Starkiller Base, the First Order used it to destroy the capital of the New Republic.  With the New Republic’s leadership gone, the First Order has seized control of the galaxy, and the Resistance is in tatters.  The Resistance is literally on the run, with the First Order is hot pursuit.  While hotshot pilot Poe Dameron struggles with the new leadership in the Resistance, Finn and young Resistance mechanic Rose Tico head off on a rogue mission to find a way to disable the First Order’s tracking devices, to allow the Resistance to escape.  Meanwhile. Rey’s tutelage under Jedi master Luke Skywalker doesn’t go as planned.  Rey finds Luke to a broken man, wallowing in self-pity following the loss of his apprentice Kylo Ren to the Dark Side.  Luke is ready for the Jedi Order to die with him, but in Rey, he finds a persistent student.  Will Poe, Finn, and Rose’s plan work?  With Luke accept Rey as his student, or will Luke truly be the last Jedi?

What I Liked

What surprised me is how funny this movie is.  It almost reaches a Marvel movie level of quippiness.  But the occasional quips are appreciated as this movie does go to some dark places.  I love seeing how the characters of Luke and Leia have evolved, as they get to go to some interesting new places.  We get some spectacular new characters in the form of Vice-Admiral Holdo, the aforementioned Rose, and an unscrupulous code breaker known as DJ.  Not only that, but the continued evolution of our new heroes and villains is just great.  Rey and Kylo Ren are set down some amazing paths.  Plus, there were a few great moments where the entire audience went, “Holy crap,” and some wonderful cameos and callbacks to the original trilogy.

What I Didn’t Like

Honestly?  I felt it like it had one too many endings.  Several scenes near the end felt like logical endpoints, but the film just kept going.

Final Verdict

Absolutely loved it.  Great new characters, great continuing of the threads left dangling in the Force Awakens, a great new chapter in the Star Wars universe.

4 Nibs