There's just something almost universal about this franchise. This being not only my favorite series of films EVER (the only thing I love as much as Star Wars is Godzilla and the Marvel movies), but also a crucial part of everyone's childhood, most people have at the very least HEARD of Star Wars. But for folks that don't know anything about this franchise, it all started with Star Wars: A New Hope, released in 1977. This space opera epic told the tale of the ultimate battle between good and evil in a galaxy far far away, and followed the journey of a young farmer named Luke Skywalker, who after learning that the galaxy is ruled by an oppressive dictator known as Darth Vader, must undergo training to become a Jedi, a clan of warrior monks who possess the ability to tap into a mysterious power known as The Force, which can grant a Jedi supernatural abilities such as telepathy, seeing the future, and "making things float". That's an actual quote from the movies by the way.
"The Force is a power that lets Jedi make things... float."-Rey, 2017.
Anyway, Luke must become a Jedi to save his friends and the Galaxy from the wrath of the sinister Empire. A New Hope was originally written and created by George Lucas, and funnily enough he had a hard time pitching the idea for the film because everyone thought that it would be a complete flop. Those potential business partners are now kicking themselves in the rear because guess what? This one film, which everyone thought was going to be a flop, not only had an incredible story with iconic and lovable characters, but at the time, it was the most advanced film ever made when it came to visual effects. As such, it spawned a sequel, titled Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, in which the single greatest plot twist in the history of cinema rocked the world (or at least the parts of the world with cinema) all with the signature line from Darth Vader, "Luke, I am Your Father!". At this point, Star Wars has cemented itself firmly in it's place as one of, if not THE most influential work of modern fiction of ALL TIME. So naturally, a third sequel was made, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, intended to be the grand finale of the original trilogy. This film had a epic climax, adorable teddy bear like creatures, and a gangster snail that forced the female lead to wear an outfit so skimpy it would probably garner a PG-13 rating in this day and age. Oh, did I forget to mention that this is supposed to be a family-friendly franchise? #BlameJabba. But anyway, if you fast forward a few years, George Lucas felt something was missing from his sacred cash cow, and so the Prequel Trilogy was born, a trio of films that exist to explain how Darth Vader became, well, Darth Vader. This was... Okay. The advantage the Prequels have is arguably superior graphics thanks to the introduction to CGI. But the problem the prequels had was they were quite bloated, as you can safely watch Revenge of the Sith and pretend the first two prequels didn't exist and you would get almost the same result. The prequels also suffered from some corny dialogue/acting, a side effect of George Lucas wanting to direct the trilogy himself instead of just writing the script but unfortunately, Mr. Lucas gives terrible acting advice, and as such the acting in the prequels is universally considered to be mediocre and even downright abysmal when compared to the original trilogy, which was praised for it's talented main cast. But as time went on, the general consensus was that the prequels were actually decent films, that tried way too hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
Which brings us to this film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The direct sequel to 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which marks the debut of a new trilogy made by... Disney. Yep. Disney owns Star Wars. Disney owns everything nowadays. I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up one morning and found that Disney bought the entire planet. But anyway, this new trilogy is known as the Sequel Trilogy, and takes place 30 years after the climax of Return of the Jedi. Also, it has some unintentional sadness because Carrie Fisher, who played Princess/General Leia Organa, passed away shortly after filming for The Last Jedi was finished. So basically, not only is this her final performance as Princess Leia, it's also her final performance period.
The basic premise for The Last Jedi follows the Resistance, a band of freedom fighters who are fighting a losing war against the First Order, an armada of Imperial loyalists who are notably more murderous and manipulative than their predecessors. Taking place almost immediately after the events of the previous film, The Last Jedi splits it's main cast into groups, with main hero Rey trying to convince an elderly Luke Skywalker to train her in the ways of the Jedi, reformed Imperial Stormtrooper Finn teaming up with new character Rose in a race against time to find a hacker to sabotage the First Order's flagship (because it has hyper-advanced tracking devices) before what remains of the Resistance fleet is wrecked, and ace pilot Poe Dameron just trying to make heads or tails of the Resistance's new leader.
The plot of this movie can best be summarized as being... Different. That's the main thing you have to brace yourself for. If you are expecting the original trilogy with better graphics and new characters, DON'T. This film is radically different from the Star Wars of old. While The Force Awakens was criticized for being too similar to A New Hope, this film, initially expected to be a repeat of Empire Strikes Back, is actually nothing like Empire Strikes Back. In fact, your safest bet would be to manage your expectations. There's a reason why professional movie-critics and gamers (including myself!) remind everyone to go in with low expectations for a highly anticipated film or video game such as The Last Jedi.
Oh, and now's a good time to mention this review will contain mild spoilers. Why? Because some of my praises and criticisms won't make any sense unless I give away spoilers. I won't do something like spoil character death(s) or plot twist(s), but if you consider things like Leia inexplicably becoming Mary Poppins to be a spoiler, then ye have been warned.
I think the Porgs are my new favorite character...
Let me get this out of the way right now. Given that the director for this movie is famous for his humor, this film is a lot more comedic in nature than the rest of the franchise. I mean, Star Wars has about one or two funny moments (usually a snarky one-liner from one of the main heroes), and at least one moment that's unintentionally funny. This film is FILLED TO THE BRIM with comedy. But not just any comedy, The Last Jedi is oddly self-aware with it's humor. It's really clever, but unexpected. The film literally opens up with Poe Dameron prank-calling the First Order and getting away with it. Which is why in order to truly enjoy this movie, it's easier to think of it less as a Star Wars film and more of a Saturday Morning Cartoon that happens to have Star Wars in it. And I hate to make that comparison, but that's the best way to describe this film.
Don't get me wrong, The Last Jedi does deal with mature and adult themes like self-sacrifice and the consequences of warfare, but goes around it in a family friendly way. But on the subject of the new direction, there's one thing about this movie that I despise...
Leia. I have nothing against the character. I have nothing against Carrie Fisher. But let's be real. That scene where Leia uses the Force to not only survive in outer space, but to basically FLY to a nearby Resistance ship is utterly ridiculous. And not in a "So ridiculous it's meant to be silly" kind of way either. While Leia does have a connection to the Force, that moment was unforgivably corny. What makes it worse is how this moment is treated very seriously, but no one brings it up afterword. And to add icing on the cake, I could actually come up with a way to keep Leia from dying in the vacuum of space and have actually make sense. Keep the part where Leia uses the Force to survive, because increasing longevity is a known Force ability, but instead of flying Mary Poppins style through space, just have the Resistance crew be like "Oh hey, Leia's still alive, let's fire up a tractor beam or something!". That would have more sense than Leia using the Force to fly. But the thing is, this is the only moment in the whole movie that is objectively bad, as you're opinion of The Last Jedi depends on whether or not you like the new direction Disney is going with. As for me, I like the new direction, as it will appeal to children, but I would have preferred if the change to the formula wasn't as drastic.
Another thing that I felt underwhelmed about was Captain Phasma, who was basically hyped up to be the next Boba Fett. And while some VERY VALID criticisms some folks had with The Force Awakens was that Phasma doesn't get to do anything meaningful or memorable, aside from being the first ever female Stormtrooper. This film's marketing hyped her up even more, but her handling here is only a marginal improvement over the previous movie. She gets one action scene, and over two thirds of that scene show up in EVERY SINGLE TRAILER, and before you know it, BOOM. Done. She's been dispatched. Which is a shame, because like I said, they were trying to turn her into Boba Fett 2.0. And failed miserably.
On a more positive note, General Hux might be one of the best minor villains in Star Wars. He is hilariously cowardly, and is the butt of many jokes, such as the aforementioned prank-call. Out of all the characters in this movie, General Hux is the one who best showcases the film's focus on comedy. Bonus points for being the first villain to make a snarky one-liner.
We also have the Porgs. Hands down the cutest anything in the multiverse. Seriously, they steal the show every time they're on screen. I know some people hated the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi because of their kid-appeal, and those kind of people will probably hate the Porgs, but the Porgs are just fantastic. Their interactions with fan-favorite Chewbacca are both hilarious and adorable. And they eventually take over the Millennium Falcon. The Porgs are easily one of, if not THE best part of The Last Jedi.
I also really like Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. Luke, as a character, has grown cynical and snarky in his old age, but he's still the same farmer-turned-Jedi we all know and love. He also gets bonus points for the best description of the Force I've seen in any form of Star Wars. No more midichlorian nonsense! Just, "The Force is a kind of energy that flows through all living things. To think that only the Jedi have it is narcissistic.".
The sub arc with Finn and Rose was also enjoyable. Rose, quite frankly, surprised me by how much of a role she has, because she doesn't show up in any of the trailers, but was an enjoyable character. Part of the reason she's enjoyable is by Star Wars standards, she's basically an average joe. Nothing special about her. No crazy Jedi powers. No defected Stormtrooper backstory. No crazy piloting skills. She's just a normal person trying to make a difference in a galaxy overrun with tyranny and other morally unacceptable things like slavery. Finn is also an enjoyable character, as his devotion to Rey is admirable, even if it DOES set off the ship radar (NOTE: I don't do ships). Finn also has some impressive character development, going from lovable coward to selfless hero.
Based on Disney's marketing for the two Sequel
movies, who wants to bet the trailer for Star Wars 9
has Poe jump into frame and gasp.
Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, they answer the question concerning Rey's parentage. And, without spoiling it, it's not quite what people expected. Heck, my personal theory that she's somehow Obi-Wan Kenobi's granddaughter (it was a joke theory, but a theory nonetheless) was more likely than the actually reveal. And because of theater shenanigans I actually missed the reveal and was confused about it, looked it up and then I was like, "Oh. That's... Not what I was expecting.". Frankly the reveal was anticlimactic, but hey, nobody expected what they went with. I'm not hating on Rey as a character though, she's alright. Although some folks don't really care for Rey due to being a competent pilot, a Jedi, AND a mechanic all in one, but that's kind of hypocritical, since guess what? Luke is ALSO a competent pilot, a Jedi, and a mechanic ON TOP OF being a farmer. And nobody blinks an eye. Why do people have a problem when a character has a large range of skills, you ask? Because having a character who specializes in one thing but is garbage at everything else is APPARENTLY more believable than having a Jack-of-All-Trades, Master-of-None.
One thing to note about The Last Jedi is it feels a tad too long. The film has not one, but FOUR moments where they could have ended the movie with a satisfactory ending, but it keeps going on a lot longer than expected. Granted, the climax was memorable and exciting. I don't know the exact length of the film, but it feels like it's the longest Star Wars movie ever.
And now let's talk about Kylo Ren, the main villain of the trilogy. Kylo Ren's main "thing" is he wants to be just like the now-deceased Darth Vader. The irony is that Kylo Ren is NOTHING like Darth Vader (if anything Kylo Ren is more like Star-Scream from Transformers). Where Darth Vader was calm and collected, rarely getting angry, and even then his anger takes the form of tranquil fury, Kylo Ren is almost childishly ill-tempered, throwing fits of rage and screaming at the top of his lungs when issuing orders. He does get better (worse?) as the film progresses, but his temper shows even after he gets calmer. But anyway, Kylo Ren is an entertaining villain.
Almost done sharing my thoughts of the characters! Next up is Poe. Poe can best be described as the Next Han Solo. But unlike Captain Phasma, who tries to be Boba Fett 2.0 and fails, Poe actually succeeds, but because he stands out enough to be his own character. There ARE similarities, like both of them are ace pilots who are cocky and reckless, but that's where the similarities end. Poe is a devoted Resistance member through and through. Even though his recklessness costs the Resistance dearly.
And last but not least, we have Supreme Leader Snoke, the REAL main villain who is basically "The Man Behind The Man". Snoke is a viscously sinister character, from his garish design to his cold demeanor. This is the first time we get to see Snoke in person, as he made brief cameos in The Force Awakens as a giant hologram, which prompted many (myself included) to joke that he's actually just as tall as Yoda, if not even shorter. As it turns out, he's actually tall enough to tower over Kylo Ren, and can wield incredibly complex Force Powers. The only negative I can say is they never really explain the true motives behind Snoke, and given the way the film ends, we'll probably never find out. Unless they do a prequel trilogy to the Sequel trilogy. Which would be pointless, but this is DISNEY we're talking about. They're going to milk that cash cow for all it's worth.
As for the presentation, the visuals are mostly good. Except for Leia flying through space. I'm never living that down by the way. But everything else is fine. The various alien creatures look and move right. The fight choreography is fantastic, as it's a cross between the Original Trilogy's slower, more impactful fight scenes, and the Prequel Trilogy's faster, more hectic style. Unimportant rant time, but for some reason, when people criticize the Prequels' Jedi/Sith duels for being too "fancy-dancy", I disagree because the faster dueling style actually makes sense. In the Prequels, the Jedi and Sith have had years of training underneath Yoda, the strongest Jedi who ever lived, and Emperor Palpatine, the strongest Sith who ever lived, respectively. In the original trilogy, Darth Vader can't do the fancy-dancy-ness because he's trapped in a samurai-style suit of armor that greatly slows him down, Obi-Wan is too old to be moving around like that (ditto for Original!Palpatine), and Luke is a primarily self-taught Jedi-in-Training who has no idea what he's doing until the very end of Empire Strikes Back.
As for the music, do I really need to elaborate? It's freaking Star Wars, dang it! Of course the music is amazing! It's grand and orchestral in nature, and captures that signature Star Wars flair flawlessly. Yep, the soundtrack is what Disney decided to keep when making the more lighthearted, comedic style of The Last Jedi. But on the subject of acting, the acting is fantastic. Just about every actor brings their absolute best when portraying their respective characters. Really, there wasn't any bad acting that I can think of in this film.
Overall, I give Star Wars: The Last Jedi an 8/10. It's not the best film in the 40+ year old franchise, nor is it the worst. It's a decent film in it's own right, but the heavier focus on comedy can, and will, irk longtime fans. But hey, the film is still fun for the whole family, and there are too many R rated thriller films nowadays (because Hollywood is predictable and unimaginative). Speaking of, when I went to the theatre to watch this film, they had a preview for an R-rated thriller. Which basically means the whole "This trailer has been approved by the MPAA to accompany this film" message a load of baloney, because Star Wars is ultimately a family friendly franchise, and I'm pretty sure an R-rated thriller is as far away from "family friendly" as you can get.
Which charter do you identify with the most?
ReplyDeletei completely agree that there are to many R-rated thrillers now and days, i went to see godzilla 2014 once, and they had an R-rated thriller, also thriller trailers like that can mentally scar a young child FOR LIFE,keep the R-rated thriller trailers, to the R-rated movies, can't go to any movie without seeing one now and days.
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