A couple days ago I saw the new Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, and have had some time to consider
my opinion before writing on it. My general review of the film is that it was okay and satisfactory for a Star Wars film. As an avid fan since I was kid, I don't think this film quite measured to The Force Awakens and definitely not the older episodes. Perhaps it's the characters or the story that just doesn't live up to my high expectations for a Star Wars film. I felt this story was lacking in excitement, romance, comedy, and drama. That being said there were a few moments of sheer surprise which is why I would say this movie is not all so bad.
The Production
It's clear to me now that Disney has moved in a completely different direction that Lucas had. I feel it is more childish then before and the villains are less convincing. The film is also quite groundbreaking to have a cast so diverse for such a major blockbuster. Consider the 3 lead heroes are a woman, a black person, and a white person compared to the original films where the 3 main heroes were all white. I am all for this idea of diverse empowerment as long as the characters and story are convincing.
The Setting
The story begins with the New Order in complete control of the galaxy and the Resistance trying to escape them. Finn and Poe join General Leia Organa in an effort to slip pass a fleet of star destroyers. Meanwhile Rey has sought out Luke Skywalker to be trained as a jedi. Luke is bitter towards himself and the jedi arts after failing Kylo Ren however eventually agrees to train Rey. Rey displays an unusual natural strength of the force and is able to communicate with Kyle Ren thru visions. Kylo Ren is eager to show Supreme Leader Snoke his commitment to the dark side.
General Hux of the New Order is able to relocate the escaping Resistance fleet thru light speed. Leia realizes that the New Order has tracked them and they will not be able to escape this time. In the ensuing battle her command center is bombed and she miraculously survives while Admiral Ackbar and the other rebel commanders are killed. Vice Admiral Holdo is made in charge of the fleeing rebel cruiser while Leia recovers. Her plan is to continue onward, out of enemy fire range, while their fuel is diminishing.
Poe on the other hand does not trust Holdo's defeatist plan and conspires his own plan with Finn. With the help of a rebel janitor named Rose Tico, they plan to enlist an encoder to break the New Order's tracking device. Rose, Finn, and BB8 are able to fly to the planet Canto Bight where they meet a hacker named DJ. They then are able to sneak onto Snoke's ship however are quickly captured by Captain Phasma. Meanwhile Poe leads a mutiny on the rebel cruiser to oust Admiral Holdo, however his plan is quickly crushed when Leia stuns him. She later shares that their plan has been to take refuge at a space station all along.
As all this is happening Rey also arrives on Snokes ship to confront Kylo Ren, whom she believes she can turn to the light side. Snoke however tells her he has deceived her with these visions in an effort to convince her to join or die. Rey refuses to join her and is tortured by Snoke. Kylo Ren comes to her rescue and surprisingly kills Snoke. At that point he asks Rey to join him to rule the galaxy but Rey refuses and they part ways. Kylo Ren assumes the role as the new Supreme leader of the New Order.
Finn and Rose are rescued by BB8 and Finn is able to defeat Captain Phasma and escape the New Order ship. They rejoin the resistance crusher as it approaches the space station of Crait. At this point Leia and the others begin boarding transport ships while Admiral Holdo stays back on the cruiser. However General Hux and Kylo Ren realize the rebels are escaping again and begin picking them off like sitting ducks. In the ultimate sacrifice, Admiral Holdo turns the cruiser towards the New Order ship and blasts off into light speed, slicing the cruiser in two. The rebels are able to escape and land on Crait.
However the Resistance has only bought some time, as General Hux begins landing his troops to attack the base. Finn, Poe, and Rose courageously mount a counter attack on the imperial walkers while Rey and Chewbacca come to their aid in the millennium falcon. However they still are no match for the weaponry of the New Order. That is until Luke Skywalker arrives at the base to face Kylo Ren. Luke meets with Leia for a while before he steps out to face the New Order head on. This is definitely the high point of the film, where the drama finally reaches Star Wars quality.
Kylo Ren displays total rage and madness to defeat Luke, who is able to withstand a shower of imperial firepower. Then comes the lightsaber fight we've all been waiting for, which turns to be the ultimate twist. As Kylo strikes his saber thru Luke, nothing happens. It is then that we realize that all along Luke was displaying a ghost of himself from his home at Ahch-To. This act served as the ultimate distraction to allow the resistance fighters to escape with Rey in the Millenium Falcon. Luke's final act takes every ounce of power he has, and he dies back at his home in Ahch-To. The Resistance are able to regroup and thus brings an end to the film.
The New Characters
Rey: (Daisey Ridley) She is the main protagonist of the film the young eager and courageous hero driven by a desire to do good. She is able to help restore Luke's faith as well as confront Kylo Ren. Her ultimate mission is to discover who her parents were.
Kylo Ren: (Adam Driver) He is the main antagonist, an unusual and conflicted villain. He is eager to show Snoke his commitment to the dark side yet has an empathy towards Rey.
Finn: (John Boyega) He is soldier driven by his love for Rey, he finds himself in the midst of the Resistance. He agrees to help his pal, Poe, enlist an encoder, and save the Resistance. Towards the end he displays great heroism in facing the enemy
Poe Dameron: (Oscar Isaac) He is the heroic hotshot pilot of the Resistance, always eager to face the enemy head on. In an effort to do good, he attempts to oust the Resistance leadership yet is put back in his place. This had to have been somewhat of a diminishing role for Oscar Isaac
Supreme Leader Snoke: (Andy Serkis) He is the mysterious dark lord and leader of the New Order with ultimate powers. He is perhaps as wicked and powerful as the Emperor was. My problem with Snoke is that we never find out his origins of how he and the New Order come to power
Rose Tico: (Kelly Marie Tran) She is a new addition to the film's heroes as she plays a young rebel janitor. She helps Finn on a rebel mission and develops feelings for him along the way
Admiral Holdo: (Laura Dern) She is the ultimate feminist symbol, a strong confident female leader. She takes Leia's place as commander of the Resistance while Leia recovers from her injuries. She displays calm demeanor, leadership, and makes the ultimate heroic sacrifice at the end
DJ: (Benecio Del Toro) He is the sneaky codebreaker who helps Finn and Rose break into Snoke's ship. He however later turns on them for money and tells them he can never tell the good guys from the bad guys when there is money involved.
BB8: He is the companion of Poe Dameron and helps Finn and Rose on their adventure thru Canton Bight and escape from Snokes ship
General Hux: (Domhall Gleeson) He is the military commander of the New Order, faithful to the Supreme Leader Snoke and bitter towards Kylo Ren. He eventually shows loyalty however when Kylo Ren comes to power
The Old Characters:
Luke Skywalker: (Mark Hamill) He plays the ultimate bitter role in this story, somewhat of a merge between Obi-Wan's hermit lifestyle and Yoda's dry sense of humor. However he still proves to be quite useful in teaching Rey valuable lessons of the Force. He also has one of the best moments in the film when he faces the New Order and Kylo Ren
Leia Organa: (Carrie Fisher) She continues as the stubborn yet hopeful leader of the Resistance. I thought she would die in this film, consider Carrie Fisher had died, yet rather she survived an attack thru her use of the Force. Her leadership was a foundation for the films good guys.
Chewbacca: (Joonas Suotamo) His role is somewhat minimal in the film, merely as Rey's escort and pilot of the Millennium Falcon.
R2D2: Travels with Chewie on the Millenium Falcon and is able to convince Luke to train Rey
C-3P0: Serves as Leia's assistant and provides his usual pessimistic and witty humor
Yoda: Appears to Luke in his ghost form, and very similiar to the form he took in Return of the Jedi, rather than his CGI appearance in the prequels. He offers Luke council in regards to the end of the Jedi religion
my opinion before writing on it. My general review of the film is that it was okay and satisfactory for a Star Wars film. As an avid fan since I was kid, I don't think this film quite measured to The Force Awakens and definitely not the older episodes. Perhaps it's the characters or the story that just doesn't live up to my high expectations for a Star Wars film. I felt this story was lacking in excitement, romance, comedy, and drama. That being said there were a few moments of sheer surprise which is why I would say this movie is not all so bad.
The Production
It's clear to me now that Disney has moved in a completely different direction that Lucas had. I feel it is more childish then before and the villains are less convincing. The film is also quite groundbreaking to have a cast so diverse for such a major blockbuster. Consider the 3 lead heroes are a woman, a black person, and a white person compared to the original films where the 3 main heroes were all white. I am all for this idea of diverse empowerment as long as the characters and story are convincing.
The Setting
The story begins with the New Order in complete control of the galaxy and the Resistance trying to escape them. Finn and Poe join General Leia Organa in an effort to slip pass a fleet of star destroyers. Meanwhile Rey has sought out Luke Skywalker to be trained as a jedi. Luke is bitter towards himself and the jedi arts after failing Kylo Ren however eventually agrees to train Rey. Rey displays an unusual natural strength of the force and is able to communicate with Kyle Ren thru visions. Kylo Ren is eager to show Supreme Leader Snoke his commitment to the dark side.
General Hux of the New Order is able to relocate the escaping Resistance fleet thru light speed. Leia realizes that the New Order has tracked them and they will not be able to escape this time. In the ensuing battle her command center is bombed and she miraculously survives while Admiral Ackbar and the other rebel commanders are killed. Vice Admiral Holdo is made in charge of the fleeing rebel cruiser while Leia recovers. Her plan is to continue onward, out of enemy fire range, while their fuel is diminishing.
As all this is happening Rey also arrives on Snokes ship to confront Kylo Ren, whom she believes she can turn to the light side. Snoke however tells her he has deceived her with these visions in an effort to convince her to join or die. Rey refuses to join her and is tortured by Snoke. Kylo Ren comes to her rescue and surprisingly kills Snoke. At that point he asks Rey to join him to rule the galaxy but Rey refuses and they part ways. Kylo Ren assumes the role as the new Supreme leader of the New Order.
Finn and Rose are rescued by BB8 and Finn is able to defeat Captain Phasma and escape the New Order ship. They rejoin the resistance crusher as it approaches the space station of Crait. At this point Leia and the others begin boarding transport ships while Admiral Holdo stays back on the cruiser. However General Hux and Kylo Ren realize the rebels are escaping again and begin picking them off like sitting ducks. In the ultimate sacrifice, Admiral Holdo turns the cruiser towards the New Order ship and blasts off into light speed, slicing the cruiser in two. The rebels are able to escape and land on Crait.
However the Resistance has only bought some time, as General Hux begins landing his troops to attack the base. Finn, Poe, and Rose courageously mount a counter attack on the imperial walkers while Rey and Chewbacca come to their aid in the millennium falcon. However they still are no match for the weaponry of the New Order. That is until Luke Skywalker arrives at the base to face Kylo Ren. Luke meets with Leia for a while before he steps out to face the New Order head on. This is definitely the high point of the film, where the drama finally reaches Star Wars quality.Kylo Ren displays total rage and madness to defeat Luke, who is able to withstand a shower of imperial firepower. Then comes the lightsaber fight we've all been waiting for, which turns to be the ultimate twist. As Kylo strikes his saber thru Luke, nothing happens. It is then that we realize that all along Luke was displaying a ghost of himself from his home at Ahch-To. This act served as the ultimate distraction to allow the resistance fighters to escape with Rey in the Millenium Falcon. Luke's final act takes every ounce of power he has, and he dies back at his home in Ahch-To. The Resistance are able to regroup and thus brings an end to the film.
The New Characters
Rey: (Daisey Ridley) She is the main protagonist of the film the young eager and courageous hero driven by a desire to do good. She is able to help restore Luke's faith as well as confront Kylo Ren. Her ultimate mission is to discover who her parents were.
Finn: (John Boyega) He is soldier driven by his love for Rey, he finds himself in the midst of the Resistance. He agrees to help his pal, Poe, enlist an encoder, and save the Resistance. Towards the end he displays great heroism in facing the enemy
Poe Dameron: (Oscar Isaac) He is the heroic hotshot pilot of the Resistance, always eager to face the enemy head on. In an effort to do good, he attempts to oust the Resistance leadership yet is put back in his place. This had to have been somewhat of a diminishing role for Oscar Isaac
Supreme Leader Snoke: (Andy Serkis) He is the mysterious dark lord and leader of the New Order with ultimate powers. He is perhaps as wicked and powerful as the Emperor was. My problem with Snoke is that we never find out his origins of how he and the New Order come to power
Rose Tico: (Kelly Marie Tran) She is a new addition to the film's heroes as she plays a young rebel janitor. She helps Finn on a rebel mission and develops feelings for him along the way
DJ: (Benecio Del Toro) He is the sneaky codebreaker who helps Finn and Rose break into Snoke's ship. He however later turns on them for money and tells them he can never tell the good guys from the bad guys when there is money involved.
BB8: He is the companion of Poe Dameron and helps Finn and Rose on their adventure thru Canton Bight and escape from Snokes ship
General Hux: (Domhall Gleeson) He is the military commander of the New Order, faithful to the Supreme Leader Snoke and bitter towards Kylo Ren. He eventually shows loyalty however when Kylo Ren comes to power
The Old Characters:
Luke Skywalker: (Mark Hamill) He plays the ultimate bitter role in this story, somewhat of a merge between Obi-Wan's hermit lifestyle and Yoda's dry sense of humor. However he still proves to be quite useful in teaching Rey valuable lessons of the Force. He also has one of the best moments in the film when he faces the New Order and Kylo RenLeia Organa: (Carrie Fisher) She continues as the stubborn yet hopeful leader of the Resistance. I thought she would die in this film, consider Carrie Fisher had died, yet rather she survived an attack thru her use of the Force. Her leadership was a foundation for the films good guys.
Chewbacca: (Joonas Suotamo) His role is somewhat minimal in the film, merely as Rey's escort and pilot of the Millennium Falcon.
R2D2: Travels with Chewie on the Millenium Falcon and is able to convince Luke to train Rey
C-3P0: Serves as Leia's assistant and provides his usual pessimistic and witty humor
Yoda: Appears to Luke in his ghost form, and very similiar to the form he took in Return of the Jedi, rather than his CGI appearance in the prequels. He offers Luke council in regards to the end of the Jedi religion
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