Star Wars: The Last Jedi

When I came out of the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the first sequel in the new Star Wars I felt two things: shock and awe. I was beyond surprised at the fact that a film could continually make choices that were the direct opposite of what I expected but made the film more enjoyable because of the many different choices characters were making. Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, John Boyega, and Andy Serkis.

This sequel focuses on Rey asking Luke Skywalker to help her learn the ways of the Jedi and the main issue with that is he doesn’t believe the force can do good for anyone anymore because he made a mistake years ago when he was training Kylo Ren.  Meanwhile, General Leia is working with the resistance to run away from the First Order because there are so few resistance fighters left and they have no idea what the plan of attack is for the First Order they just know that they are in trouble.

The tone of this film is vastly different from The Force Awakens because it is much darker and instead of giving clear definitive answers on things like where the main character’s parents come from and why the resistance is playing hide and seek with the First Order in the first place, the director Rian Johnson seems content on ignoring those questions and focusing on how all the characters from the first film have changed as people. This strategy is both a wise move and a foolish one at the same time. For example, many people in my audience wondered how Kylo Ren can communicate with Rey visually when that wasn’t a previously established power within the Jedi or the dark side.  Another question commonly asked after the film was why is Poe Dameron being so cocky and self-centered throughout the entire film when all he had to do was listen to the instructions given by General Leia and believe in her plan.

The other interesting dynamic that takes time to develop is Finn’s belief in himself. He spends about half the movie frozen after risking his life early in the film. The rest of the movie is basically Finn finding his place within the resistance and then befriending Poe to a degree where as a secondary leader of the resistance he allows Finn to go on a journey with another resistance fighter named Rose Tico to get some key information in the battle against the First Order.  This doesn’t make the film messy it just makes you question why so many abrupt left turns are happening with these characters people are just now growing to know and like.

The most interesting dynamic by far is watching Rey and Luke interact.  Mark Hamill does a great job at purposefully making Luke feel and act like an outsider because all the power he possessed couldn’t save someone he cared about from turning to the dark side of the force.  This idea of guilt eating away at someone we all grew up to know as an established hero is something of a breath of fresh air because it gives that character layers and makes him more humane and vulnerable than we ever realized.  This give Rian Johnson the ability to basically take established characters write them less as archetypes and more as people that have experienced life in good ways and in bad over the last 30 years of story that audiences missed out on.  It is a remarkable way to move the characters forward but also a way to make sure that the past actions of characters in the franchise have real world consequences within the franchise’s present-day timeline.

I like the directing style of Rian Johnson because every conversation feels important and every interaction between characters we know or those we are just meeting for the first time has weight and contributes to the story overall.  The film takes its time to not hold our hand but lets us understand everything we are seeing, and every decision being made.  It is indeed truly rare when a director allows aa film to breathe and whether you agree or disagree with the choices made at least you are allowed ample time to see how they happened.  The mark of a filmmaker is letting a story unfold rather than scrutinizing it shot by shot and frame by frame.

The special effects are mostly saved for chase scenes, spaceship battles and a scene in a throne room that has one of the most jaw dropping shocks of the entire film.  Industrial Light and Magic always does an impeccable job at making Star Wars feel alive and the efforts here are slightly stronger than the previous entry in the series because any fights or conflict that occurred were filmed in a more active and dynamic way.  Until I see the last entry in this new trilogy, I will not be able to tell you whether or not their work was at its peak with this entry or the one that follows it.

John Williams returns to the franchise for the seventh time composing yet another memorable film score that is sure to be interesting for fans of the composers work even if they didn’t enjoy the film because his music is what moves Star Wars even when the film itself has slowed down.  I particularly enjoyed the throne room music as it helps give the events taking place there more tempo than I expected.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi isn’t a perfect film, but it is something the previous first entry wasn’t: inventive.  For all its faults in how characters were altered and how many questions were left unanswered at least this filmmaker made a film that fought hard not exceed or meet expectations but to tell an original story.  That is important and it is something sorely missing from cinema today.  I can only hope the eventual final chapter in this trilogy takes the risks this film attempted to do.