Star Wars is well and truly back, baby! Ever since Disney acquired the rights from 'LucasFilm' in 2012, there's been a seemingly endless wave of new Star Wars movies, comic books, animated series, video games - its literally everywhere. I genuinely saw 3 different 'Star Wars: Battlefront II' trailers before 'The Last Jedi' had even begun. Due to the sheer density of Star Wars in the media right now, it was very important that Episode VIII was a fresh take on what had come before it. After all, despite 'The Force Awakens' being really terrific, one of the biggest complaints of Episode VII was that it retread a lot of old ground and was at times just a retelling of 'A New Hope'. Thankfully, it appears that the studio has allowed director Rian Johnson enough creative control that he has been able to craft a film that feels very much like his vision of Star Wars. There are of course references to it's predecessors, but on the whole Episode VIII takes the Star Wars universe in a fresh and immensely exciting direction - which is just one of the many reasons why 'The Last Jedi' is fantastic.
The story follows on directly after the events of 'The Force Awakens'. The galaxy is in a state of turmoil. Despite the rebel's victory destroying 'Starkiller base', they are fleeing the wrath of the First Order. Rey has gone off in search of Luke Skywalker and answers about her newly discovered force powers.
The performances on the whole are superb. The new trio of heroes established in Episode VII are all great, with the most interesting developments in character given to Rey and Poe. Mark Hamill is amazing as returning Luke Skywalker, made bitter and hateful by years of neglect and self-hatred due to a mistake made in his past, before being given one last stand as the 'legend' that Episode VI made him. Adam Driver's Kylo Ren is truly incredible. He balances simmering anger with a naive and childish spite masterfully and the conflicted nature of his character makes him both an intriguing and terrifying villain. New additions such as Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and DJ (Benicio Del Toro) all play really well. Andy Serkis gives yet another impressive turn as Snoke. Special mention though must go to Carrie Fisher. Perhaps it's bias created by the influence of her passing, but her performance here is heartfelt and quite frankly mesmerising. It's a beautiful send off to one of the most beloved movie characters of all time.
The action on show is amazing. Frantic yet meaningful space battles, intense fight scenes and one of the best lightsaber duels in the whole franchise. There are a few instances of CGI that are a little bit shaky, but on the whole the film looks great. Yet all of the action and explosions are undercut by several lengthy pauses and even silences that are included to give the audience time to breathe. This is perhaps unusual from an action-packed blockbuster, but the time for reflection that they present to the audience gives each action set piece so much more in terms of emotional impact. There's one silence in particular which, coupled with some stunning visuals, brought a tear to my eye.
I do have some complaints. The movie does feel overly long, which I think is perhaps due to some of the subplots being much less interesting than the main narrative of the film. As a result, you do feel like some scenes could have been cut to allow more time with the main protagonists. There is one chase sequence in the middle of the film that feels very referential to the prequels (in the worst of ways) and ends up contributing very little to the story, which does beg the question why include it? Also, whilst there are some generally funny moments, lots of the jokes do feel slightly out of place and it's almost a shame to see Domhnall Gleeson's General Hux reduced from a Nazi-esque antagonist to comic relief in this movie.
However, one of the strongest elements of this film is the way it advances the Star Wars world in creative and interesting ways. There are answers offered to many of the mysteries posed in 'The Force Awakens', but the ways in which they are handled and dismissed are genuinely shocking and brilliant in equal measure. There are call-backs and references to everything that has come before it (which will have your inner child punching the air with joy), but they are balanced really well with innovative ideas and concepts that I really hope to see developed further in the future.
I liked the original Star Wars movies yet I never really understood what all the obsessive fandom was about. My moment of realisation was getting goosebumps from seeing the title crawl for Episode VII in a movie theatre for the first time and as the iconic theme tune blared out, I finally understood. They had recaptured the magic of Star Wars and re-gifted it to my generation. Personally, I really enjoyed 'The Force Awakens' but 'The Last Jedi' is a step up. A perfect blend of original ideas with classic elements that all contributes to an emotional rollercoaster of a movie. Highly recommended - I can't wait to see it again.
4/5 Stars
