How to talk about this film? Especially right now while it’s
new and people want to be kept in the dark about everything. I’m going to play
things a bit differently today, to keep this review SPOILER FREE I am not going
to talk about any plot, but instead just my experience of the film and the
non-specific elements that worked and didn’t. I hope it doesn’t come across as
too vague but you need to see this film without knowing anything prior because
there are moments in The Last Jedi that
you are only ever going to experience once.
There is nothing more exciting than experiencing a new Star Wars film, I’m a bit of cliché’, it
was this franchise that kick started my obsession with film and storytelling
leading me down the road I am on now; an aspiring screenwriter. There’s a lot
of hype on my end when going into the cinema to see a new Star Wars film and there definitely was a lot of it last night when
I went to the midnight screening. Because of this hype, expectations can
sometimes be set too high, it is just a film after all, and history has proven
it is difficult to make a Star Wars film
that is going to please everyone. And this film is not going to please all
fans. I will hold my hands up and say that for the first half of this film, I
was enjoying it, but I was not blown away by it. It’s fast paced and action
packed but it lacks an edge or an element of something to grip you, to make you
feel you are truly watching something special, however this does change, most
notably in the third act when every story, every character, every piece of set
up begins to get paid off, and paid off, and paid off. And the pay offs are
some of the best Star Wars moments in
the franchise. I had to control my excitement in the cinema at times as I
grinned from ear to ear, it elevates the film to something greater and
surpasses expectations, both good and bad.
This is going to be a film that gets talked about a lot,
there’s a lot of controversial decisions made for the sake of the story and
characters that not every audience member will be on board for. Even I had my
gripes with some though I am generally more forgiving since this franchise was
built on crazy ideas and they should not be playing it safe as they try to make
this something new. Talking of which, this film is not a carbon copy of The Empire Strikes Back like many,
including myself feared, there are elements (it’s like poetry after all!) but I
would say this film is part Empire,
part Return and part its own off the
walls, insane thing. There are parts that feel like Star Wars and parts that feel completely different, and not all
those parts work, there is some disjointedness along the way but the overall
product is very much its own film, it doesn’t even feel like a middle chapter
with no beginning or no end, and I am so glad that Director Rian Johnson has
been able to pull this off.
An incredible score, great cinematography and mostly awesome
special effects are something to be expected from Star Wars now, but what blew me over this time were the performance’s
from the cast, both new and old. This is very much a character based story and
everybody gets their time to shine as layer upon layer is added to increase the
richness of each, which in turns helps push the plot to new and interesting avenues.
You’ll hear a lot of talk about Mark Hamil’s performance over the next few
weeks, and rightfully so, but the real MVP’s for me were Carrie Fisher and Adam
Driver as General Leia and Kylo Ren. Carrie Fisher didn’t blow me away in The Force Awakens so I was slightly worried
about her having a larger role in The
Last Jedi but I was not to be concerned, she was incredible, she acts her
ass off and delivers some of the most amazing and soon to be iconic moments of
the film/saga. Her passing last year was a very sad and painful time for a lot
of fans but to see her play this character to the fullest and near stealing the
show whilst doing so is an amazing tribute to her. And now on to Adam Driver,
if you didn’t like his character in The
Force Awakens (I still think he was the best thing about that film as well
though…), get ready to have your mind changed as he plays the most interesting
villain the franchise has ever had. He takes Kylo to new heights, adding so
many dimensions to the character and really stealing everybody’s thunder
whenever he’s on screen. Big blockbuster films need to take a page out of this
films book when it comes to creating compelling and relatable villains. I don’t
usually try and campaign for Oscars for pop culture films because it rarely
ever happens (or deserved, which is usually the case), but his performance in
this film is probably my favourite of any this year, he honestly blew me away
and it would be a shame if he didn’t get any recognition for it.
Overall this film has a few problems but with a third act
that pays off in such a satisfying way and whole host of characters developing
in unique and interesting paths; this film is still a very, very good film. It’s
a film about mistakes and becoming better because of them, something that could
be said for the series as a whole and this film overall. Rian Johnson has made
an amazing Star Wars film that’s
packed with so much content that I’m happy we’re getting a two-year break
before the next one just to process it all. And talking of processing, this
film is definitely going to need a re-watch before any views of mine are fully solidified,
there’s just too much going on to react to it all but upon a first watch, I am
rating The Last Jedi a 4.5/5.
What did you think of episode 8? Better than Empire or worse than Clones? Let me know in the comments
below!
Thanks for reading!
