So far, the second chapter in a Star Wars trilogy is the one that tries to be darker, more ambitious, and even a little hopeless for its protagonists, often who’ve spent the movie apart. This has amounted to mixed results, with Empire Strikes Back frequently being cited as the greatest Star Wars movie, while Attack of the Clones is quite clearly the worst. A significant component of Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey, Rian Johnson abides by this pattern too with The Last Jedi, but consciously pushes further, creating a film that has some shadows of its predecessors while thoroughly charting a compelling new direction for this universe and mythology.
Set directly after The Force Awakens, the Resistance fighters led by General Leia (Carrie Fisher) are evacuating their base as the First Order pursues, only to find their enemies are somehow able to track them through light-speed. Covertly on orders from Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a tenacious young maintenance worker, go on a quest to find help to this end. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) having found Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) a cynical hermit who’s lost his faith in the Force, she tries to persuade him to come to their rescue as well as teach her in the ways of the Jedi -an order he would rather have end. All the while she feels a strange connection to her adversary Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and as they each try to turn the other, they discover dark secrets and new facets of the Force.
This is the first Star Wars film to visualize the sensation of using the Force, which is remarkable; but not only that, it explores new avenues and ideas about it. The subtle distinction between light and dark is emphasized, new ways of manipulating it are revealed, and you can understand Luke’s new agnostic philosophy about it. Through Luke, the film actually strips away some of the glorified veneer of the Jedi and makes a decent argument against the importance of their order.
But the real morally grey aspects of this are in the characters. I particularly love how the battle of good and evil isn’t between Rey and Kylo Ren but rather it’s internally within each of them. Their relationship is one of the central tenets of the movie and its fascinating. Both are broken people, made that way through similar figures in their lives, and see a kindred spirit in the other. And it legitimately keeps you guessing who will turn who, both seeming equally susceptible and resilient alike. It certainly solidifies Rey as one of the most interesting and human protagonists of this saga, and without a doubt Kylo Ren is its most complex and conflicted villain.
Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, the latter especially, give tremendous performances, exceeding their work in The Force Awakens and showcasing how capable they are as performers. Each portray the emotional vulnerability of their characters brilliantly and with heavy weight. With a lot more to do, Mark Hamill is astoundingly impressive as well. He’s a very different Luke from the one we last saw in Return of the Jedi, but he’s believable, powerful, and with a better sense of humour than I think the character’s ever displayed. And he’s the best part of almost every scene he’s in, completely earning the sheer presence he conveys. Also great is the late Carrie Fisher in her final film role, hitting that ideal medium of fierce commander and motherly support. She even has a couple Carrie Fisher-isms and one heartbreaking scene late in the film. I was pleasantly surprised that Poe got his own arc in this movie, Oscar Isaac delivering very well on that front. John Boyega plays Finn with just as much endearing and charismatic personality as he had in The Force Awakens, and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran makes for a wonderful companion. She’s plucky and likeable, and an all-round great addition to the ensemble. Andy Serkis gives a little more venom to his performance as Snoke, appearing in person this time and with much better effects. Domhnall Gleeson is still hammy as General Hux but I’m a little disappointed his character isn’t built on much. The same can be said for Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma. Laura Dern appears as a Resistance officer tying in closely to Poe’s story, and Benicio del Toro is alright, if a bit weirdly spoken, as a thuggish character whom Finn and Rose run into.
However, a few of the story detours crowd this movie a little as a lot goes on. There’s an extended sequence that takes place in a casino that’s a bit of a drag and where the weakest effects are situated. Also, there’s some poor editing at a number of points, particularly the transitions between storylines. But though the story structure itself has weak spots, the plot is very strong, driven as it is by character and theme. Unlike The Force Awakens, the plot of which was essentially a loose retread of A New Hope, this movie is certainly more original. There are familiar beats, motifs, and a couple scenes that are direct parallels to ones from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but the intent of the scenes and their overall direction for the story and characters are vastly different. It addresses a few difficult issues too, like when Finn and Rose learn the extent of war profiteering in the galaxy.
The effects are generally quite good, with a few exceptions. None of the creatures in the aforementioned casino scene look all that great. The Porgs never quite feel tangible, but the worry they’d be as juvenile or obnoxious as Ewoks or Gungans is unwarranted, for they appear with sparsity and don’t play any significant part in the action. Which is good, because the action scenes, the space battles mostly, are some of the franchises’ best. They feel legitimately rough and tense, the major one early on particularly so. Once again, this is a universe that feels lived in, some of the ships being shabby and old. The worlds are well rendered, Crait near the end for example has an incredibly creative geographical characteristic. And to that, this movie is perhaps shot with more skill and grace than any other Star Wars film. The hand to hand conflicts are dazzling too, the main lightsabre battle of the picture having a lot of terrific energy to it, without resorting to the over-the-top acrobatics of the prequels.
One of the biggest themes of this movie is breaking from the past, “burying it” as one character notes. And it’s easy to see this metaphor applying to The Last Jedi and the Star Wars franchise itself. The mistakes of the old ways are consistently brought up, but there’s no complete dismissal of the values of the past, the values that define this series. The Last Jedi is not ashamed of its past, indeed it clearly loves it a lot; but this film nevertheless is willing to boldly venture into new territory, and take chances to enrich the storytelling versatility of Star Wars, as well as expand the epic and mystical nature of this galaxy far far away.
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