From the moment Lucasfilm was signed over to Disney in 2012, there were a lot of emotions running high throughout the Star Wars fandom, as the house of Mouse had greenlit the long-hoped-for Episode VII without as much as waiting for the ink to dry on the page. three years later, J.J. Abrams brought us Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and yeah, it was pretty good, not the best a new Star Wars could've been, more a "greatest hits" fan-film for the original trilogy, but since the prequel trilogy that preceded this was, shall we say, polarizing at best. I think The Force Awakens was everything it really needed to be, and did its job of establishing the new main characters and the starting points for their respective arcs with a familiar-feeling adventure. (possible full-review MAYBE coming in the form of a ranking list I may or may not write, I promise nothing.)
So, Awakens is done, the stage is set for these new characters to shine on their own. and director Rian Johnson is tasked with taking this new trilogy and it's characters to new places, and making a Star Wars film that has to do more than just pay lip service to those that came before it, while continuing the plot-threads put forward by Abrams.
To be blunt, he has hit it right out of the fucking park!
I am aware that many will disagree with me on this, and I understand why, but I absolutely love The Last Jedi for many of the same reasons I expect some will hate it, it is unquestionably a Star Wars film while at the same time being a very different animal when compared to everything that has come before it. the treatment of the mysteries put forth in the last one made the universe feel so much bigger to me, and while The Force Awakens played it mostly safe, The Last Jedi does everything but.
the cast all bring their A-game, Mark Hamill is great every time he's on-screen as is the late Carrie Fisher, who gets a much bigger part than I was expecting. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Issac are fast cementing themselves as the new "big three" of the Star Wars universe and Adam Driver, who I wasn't sure about last time, really comes into his own, I am fully on-board with Kylo Ren as a character now.
The story is what I will expect will divide most people, as mentioned, in stark contrast to The Force Awakens and its somewhat fan-filmy, safe attitude, there are risks aplenty taken here. but for now suffice it to say, that the part you hated? Yeah I fucking loved that bit (probably.)
The soundtrack is still great and familiar, although it felt a little underused in places. and the sheer amount of story packed into this film was easily enough for at least one of those two-part finales that studios seem so keen on doing these days, the criticisms I do have are that because of this, some characters are a little underutilized and feel like they get lost in the shuffle. But it all culminates in one of the best climaxes in the franchise and an epilogue that leaves me very excited for Episode IX and also for Rian Johnson's upcoming trilogy.
Speaking of...is it too late to get Rian Johnson to direct Episode IX? No disrespect to JJ Abrams but I just don't see him living up to this.
actually y'know what? I will do a ranking list for Star Wars, after all, I was gonna talk spoilers after this review, but I'll do it there instead.
In Summary The Last Jedi is a familiar, yet refreshingly different take on the universe, I love it for the same reasons some of you will hate it, and I think you should definitely see this one without being spoiled if you can.
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