Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie

Genre: Sci-fi

Year: 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi continues the story from The Force Awakens and follows the individual paths of Rey, Finn, Poe and the First Order.




After a highly acclaimed first film from both the critic's and audience's perspectives, 'The Last Jedi' has, understandably, a lot of anticipation to be a good successor to 'The Force Awakens'. Again, there has been tight restrictions on how much detail can be given away about the film and the plot has been kept almost completely concealed, other than the notion that this film continues near immediately after the end of the first film. Luckily, 'TFA' was such an excellent film that there was plenty of character development already created for writer Rian Johnson to bounce off of and the auteur also had the liberty of being able to work on the story line as a clean slate.

First of all, this film has an excellent, engaging narrative and manages to follow all the protagonists (and antagonists), dividing the screen time almost equally between all the characters. There are many different stories going on simultaneously throughout this film, which while it is handled well in terms of how the film is structured, does feel like the audience are bombarded with plots and sub plots to keep up with. Although the time for each of these plots are arguably equally divided, sometimes the film does not know how to proritise them and which to give the most emphasis to, meaning that it sometimes gets confused which is the most important story line to focus on at occasional moments through the duration of the film.
This is not a simplistic film and has some confusing and ambiguous moments throughout, 'enigmas' shall we say, which are there to add that intellectual tone science fiction films occasionally possess that leave the audience with questions that they may need to interpret or take some time to understand. The purpose of these 'enigmas' are usually to keep the audience invested, because the film does admittedly drag sometimes, repeatedly returning to a previous plot or sub-plot which might need to be reinforced somehow.

The writing does struggle with this, making some sections feel distant from an almost iconic 'Star Wars' feeling, and this is accentuated to the surprisingly dark tone this film has, as opposed to the more family orientated films prior to this one. The fight sequences are somewhat more violent than anticipated (although gore detail is minimal), which adds a satisfying intense sensation to them and become the pinnacle of the film that the audience are looking forward to. The film clearly picks up on this aspect, because some parts seem ever so slightly rushed, so to bring the audience to the much desired fighting elements the film has to offer. There are plenty of action and fighting sequences, and it is comforting to see that these fights take several different forms (space ship battles, lightsaber duels, etc.). Arguably this is some of the best action that has ever been produced from a 'Star Wars' film.

However, unfortunately, due to this dark tone, the film occasionally tries to bring in some cartoon-y, overtly humorous moments to lighten the mood, which heavily clashes with the already established dark tone of the film. There is plenty of humour throughout this film which does make it entertaining to watch (Porgs being some of the standouts of the film), yet there is not always a necessity to lighten a tone and it might have worked better if it didn't.

The characters are definitely done excellently here - their development and arcs throughout the course of the film feel well structured and logical, their adventures leading them to the ultimate conclusion of the film. Some of the stand out performances in this film are certainly Daisy Ridley as Rey and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Similarly, Carrie Fisher is outstanding in her role as Princess Leia, and although it is sad to see her in this film, knowing she will not be able to reprise her role, it is a benevolent farewell to her and encapsulates her as the character and the person.

All the characters have many interesting turns they are taken on and one of the most surprising thing about this film is the number of twists it has, taking itself in a direction which was almost unforeseeable, but in a way which, again, makes sense. There are many plot twists and events which leave audiences awestruck and frankly blown away. There is also great attention to detail concerning the creatures, the weapons and constructions (buildings, ships, machines, etc) which reinforce the 'Star Wars' atmosphere. Additionally, the cinematography is beautiful with bright, extravagant colours and astounding shots, from extreme close ups to wide shots. The camerawork too is very well done and helps engage the audience and bring them into the action of the film, making them feel involved in it sometimes. And of course, being a 'Star Wars'film, it goes without saying that John Williams' iconic score is brilliant and riveting as ever.

Ultimately, this is not a bad 'Star Wars' film at any rate - it is engaging and enjoyable to watch. It just sometimes suffers from its writing and direction. Nevertheless, it is a good sequel (there may be some debate towards whether it exceeds 'The Force Awakens' or not) and an entertaining film.

Verdict: 7/10