It’s a brave new world for the series. Kinda.
As noted in our non-spoiler review, The Last Jedi breaks new ground in the Star Wars universe as the second adventure in the sequel trilogy shakes off nostalgia in a bid to walk its own path.
With the film fresh in the mind after a couple of days, here’s the biggest takeaways from what’s sure to be the biggest film of 2017…
1. The Last Jedi is very much its own beast
In a way, JJ Abrams had it easy when it came to rebooting the Star Wars universe.
Following the wildly anticlimactic mess that was George Lucas’ prequel trilogy – boring, cluttered and too little, too late, respectively – audiences naturally tempered their expectations for fresh adventures.
The Force Awakens is essentially a faithful remake of A New Hope, getting the band back together for polished cover versions while introducing enough successful new elements to reignite the hopes and dreams of Star Wars fans the world over.
And so it is that Rian Johnson finds himself with the difficult, relatively unenviable task of setting a fresh course for generations old and new who now expect their Star Wars movie to be pretty damn great, thank you.
The Last Jedi won’t satisfy all demands – how could it possibly? – but its greatest success is that it feels like the first proper fresh take on the series since The Phantom Menace first lumbered onto screens in 1999.*
That in and of itself is a big win considering how easy it would have been to play it safe and stretch the thread further with an obvious, uninspired riff on The Empire Strikes Back.
*Rogue One was a mess.
Clip via Star Wars
2. The big individual moments really work
As with its iconic opening yellow text, Star Wars is at its best when keeping things simple. Good versus evil. Dark versus light. Characters that you care about. Crowd-pleasing set-pieces. A genuine sense of adventure.
The Last Jedi scores big on those details. No spoilers, but the pivotal and climactic payoffs for pretty much every respective character provide the kind of fist-pumping, edge-of-your-seat thrills that you go to the cinema for in the first place.
The payoffs are hugely satisfying. Getting there, however…
3. There’s a second act problem
And it’s a long, drawn-out one.
Abrams may have fed Johnson a crisp cross-field Hollywood pass, and while the new director certainly doesn’t drop the ball, he is guilty of throwing in a few too many step-overs before finally leathering it into the top corner.
Tortured analogy out of the way, one must be honest and admit that the second act of The Last Jedi is a bit of a slog to get through.
Bogged down by a glacial pace and confused plotting, the long stretch recalls the awkward ramblings of the prequels.
Spare a thought, in particular, for John Boyega, as his plucky Resistance fighter Finn scrambles about on a tedious side mission that makes his character feel like a weak link who perhaps shouldn’t have made it to the sequel.
4. Tone is an issue
A spectacular opening space battle isn’t afraid to show the horrors of war – well, as much as you can in a 12A-rated popcorn flick, anyway – and there’s a real feeling of pain and loss sewn in.
But then there’s also a bunch of ‘wacky’ gags and ‘cute’ creatures, such as the much ballyhooed porgs; those weird penguin-looking things you saw screaming in the trailer.
Clip via Star Wars
Mark Hamill’s performance goes some way to summing up the uneasy divide.
You get the sense that the actor really has been waiting for quite some time to reprise the role of Luke Skywalker, and he gives it absolutely everything, wearing the emotional scars of years in the wilderness while also sporting a hint of his younger self’s spark.
Luke’s refusal of the call is, of course, familiar, but there’s interesting new life here. At one point you wonder if the regret etched on his face goes beyond the character, such is the commitment on display.
Equally moving is just about every scene involving Leia, as her scenes take on a heightened meaning following Carrie Fisher’s death last December.
5. The kids are alright
As for the newer faces, Adam Driver remains compelling as the violent and deeply conflicted Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac’s thinly-sketched Poe Dameron steps comfortably into the shoes vacated by Han Solo, and Domhnall Gleeson hams it up quite wonderfully as the villainous General Hux, sinking his teeth right into the scenery every time he gets the chance.
Daisy Ridley, meanwhile, builds on her star-making momentum. Rey’s journey is arguably the most important here, and Ridley captures all aspects of a character who could have been a dull plot device in the wrong hands.
6. JJ Abrams has to go one better now
Despite some stumbles, Johnson holds The Last Jedi together.
He even gets the chance to sneak in the odd surprisingly artful flourish – one scene involving a character doing something as straightforward as clicking their fingers is straight out of a classic Italian horror film.
Tiny little moments like that repay the faith shown in Johnson, a filmmaker not hired based on blockbuster fare. In this strange new world, he admirably expresses himself.
Abrams on the other hand, can do this kind of thing in his sleep. The hope, for Episode IX, is that a fire has now been lit under him, and he’ll avoid his usual safety-first approach next time out.
The Last Jedi may not quite be The Empire Strikes Back, but we’re light years from Attack of the Clones. Over to you, JJ.
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