Star Wars: The Last Jedi - The Review

The anticipation for Star Wars movies is always different, depending on the space that they will occupy in the timeline. With the prequels, there was a new hope, that one of the greatest cinematic franchises could be revived and extended. But alas, the films didn't really blow us away, but did add detail to a vague backstory, that was laid out in the original 3. With A Force Awakens promising to bring back all the old characters, a second kindling of a new hope was on the cards. JJ Abrams managed to deliver a film that gave us a little of the Star Wars that we knew, but was also able to add a little bit extra. Most importantly, AFA left room and scope for a follow-up, where an Empire Strikes Back level of sequelism could happen. But did it?

The Last Jedi has finally answered a question for me, that my older sister had the answer to when the prequel trilogy came out. She didn't come right out and say it, but other than her annoyance with too much CGI, what I analysed in her consecutive disappointments, was that the chemistry we saw in the original films, between Luke, Leia, Han Solo, C3-PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca, no longer existed. In all the films that have followed from 1999 to present day, that same naturalistic interaction between the characters, is not as potent and we have to recognise that this was instrumental to Star Wars' success. But we also have to get over it and understand, that type of golden casting should be looked upon as rare. In saying this, the actors in The Last Jedi do have their own charisma and with the injection of a new type of humour for the Star Wars universe, writer/director Rian Johnson is trying to ground the grand, intergalactic scale and show us the small human nuances, even during the most hazardous of scenarios.

"With some franchises you gotta look at the bigger picture and not think that every moment / scene has to give you an orgasm..."

Where as A Force Awakens felt like a remix of A New Hope, The Last Jedi is the first Star Wars film, that has every other film in it, in terms of style, cinematography and in some cases action scenes. I didn't mind this too much, but Rian has to be very careful how many times he pays homage, or he will come off as a fanboy, recreating his favourite moments from the SW universe. The beginning of the film definitely harks back to The Empire Strikes Back, as the first order is breathing right down the necks of the tatty, falling to pieces rebellion and throughout, the film shares similar themes of sacrifice and surviving on the edge of annihilation. The Jedi storyline is forwarded in a way that has twists and turns and there are even 2 Jedi moments that are firsts for the films.

To conclude, I would say that as a popcorn movie, with thrills throughout, A Force Awakens is probably slightly better. But to make a sequel that wouldn't rehash that film, is the harder task and I would say that there is more than enough to keep die hard fans pleased. One of my friends Whatsapp me as soon as I came out of the cinema, asking me for for my 'Thoughts and feelings?' I replied "This is a complicated question, though the answer falls in the positive. I think people want too much from films. With some franchises you gotta look at the bigger picture and not think that every moment / scene has to give you an orgasm and take you back to the first time you saw Star Wars." 

PS
113...
​No this isn't the score I'm giving TLJ.
This is the total you get, when you add up all my Star Wars comic books and novels, so I have seen a few stories in my time and can say that this is worthy of the SW universe. My advice for all future viewings; is to put away your love of the originals and like me, stop expecting these new entries to live up to them. These new editions have their own path to forge and legendary status should never be compared to the new kid on the block. Watch And Enjoy.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is Out Now