It's a curious sensation; to suddenly go from "the last Star Wars movie came out in 2005" to "there's a new Star Wars movie every year, please God, let it end". It's a system shock that I don't know if I'll ever get used to. The Force Awakens was an enjoyable, if safe, revival of the classic saga, doing exactly what it had to do to get both old and new fans back into the series' good graces. Rogue One was a fun diversion, mediocre at worst, but its over-reliance on established iconography left many (myself included) somewhat worried about how Disney planned to move forward with the series. And now we come to The Last Jedi; in many ways, the most important of this new generation of Star Wars movies. This is the make or break moment, where we get to see whether or not this new series can survive under its own weight, without a safety net of nostalgia holding it up. I've seen the movie twice already and I feel like I'm finally ready to explore that all-important question; did director Rian Johnson pull it off? Is this a Star Wars film worthy of the name?
Ehhh... kinda.
The Last Jedi is the longest Star Wars movie to date, clocking in at just over two and a half hours. This is a dense, cluttered, complicated film, so I figure that the best way to tackle this beast is to address each of the three subplots that make up the main story. First and foremost, we pick up exactly where we left off with The Force Awakens, as Rey (Daisy Ridley) attempts to convince Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to end his self-imposed exile and aid the struggling Resistance in their battle against the First Order. This was, by far, my favorite part of the entire film. It's got the most dramatic weight, the most interesting character progression, the best performances, and was, in a nutshell, everything I had hoped to see from this film (even if it went to places that I didn't exactly expect it to).
It's in this storyline that we also continue the story of Ben Solo, better known by his adopted pouty-boy title, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Kylo continues to be my favorite element of any of these new films; his character is filled with such conflict that, when compared to Rey (who, despite a strong performance from Daisy Ridley, is a fairly passive, static protagonist), he honestly comes out feeling more like the main character of this series. It's almost as though we're not watching the story of how Rey becomes a Jedi, so much as we're watching the story of how Kylo Ren becomes... whatever it is he's destined to become. Much of the reason this character works so well can be directly attributed to Adam Driver, who imbues Kylo with such a genuine intensity (especially during the climax) that it's hard not to become emotionally invested in his journey, despite the detestable things he does in the name of the Dark Side.
We also, of course, witness the return of Luke Skywalker, played once again by one of my favorite people ever, Mark Hamill. While Luke's story may not have gone exactly where some fans expected (even Hamill himself has stated that he "fundamentally disagrees" with nearly every decision Rian Johnson made for the character), he ends up being one of the most interesting elements of the entire film. We find him broken and disillusioned after the fall of his Jedi Academy; while he doesn't receive as much focus as Kylo or Rey, Luke's arc in this story may be the most important part of the entire plot. Mark Hamill, ever the professional, sets aside his creative differences and gives one of the best performances here, helping to deliver perhaps the biggest condemnation of nihilism in film since The Big Lebowski. This entire chunk of the movie ranks among my favorite Star Wars storylines of all time (and contains a scene that I consider one of my favorites in the entire series); had the movie been nothing but this, I would have been perfectly happy. Just Rey, Luke, and Kylo Ren growing and learning and trying to find their respective places in the universe. Unfortunately, we have other characters to focus on as well, and this is where things get messy.
The next storyline, focusing on Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the rest of the Resistance fleeing from the First Order fleet, is okay. It's not great, it's not bad, it's simply okay. I can't talk too much about this plotline without getting into some pretty hefty spoiler territory, but I'll do my best to explain what does and doesn't work here. After a really strong space battle in the first act, this story just sort of meanders about until the end of the movie; the biggest issue here is the quality of character interaction we're given to work with. We're outright told in the title crawl of The Force Awakens that Poe is the Resistance's "most daring pilot". He's a hotshot flyboy who can do just about anything, so long as he's inside a cockpit. The Last Jedi adds a new dimension to Poe's personality, mainly that he's kind of an overly emotional moron who doesn't work well with authority. There are numerous times over the course of the film where I expected Poe to be (100% justifiably) confined to the brig for his insubordination, though I suppose his frustration is somewhat justified by the leadership he has to deal with.
It's here that we're introduced to Admiral Holdo, played by Laura Dern. All I'll say about this character is that she feels like a wasted opportunity; Laura Dern is a fabulous actress and she's given very little to work with here. This character really could have been something special, had the plot not been working against her. She does serve her purpose, but all in all fails to leave that much of a positive impact. It's a shame that this storyline is bogged down with so many of these fundamental issues, given how strong the concept is; the entire Resistance fleet is just out of range of a series of Star Destroyers and fuel reserves are dwindling (for anyone asking "why not just make the jump to lightspeed", stop reading this Review and go watch the movie if you care so much). It's a novel concept that generates a lot of tension and introduces a strong ticking clock element to the story. This entire plotline could have been something great if the characters weren't totally shallow; everything just falls apart the second the viewer thinks to ask "but wait, why don't they just talk to each other". The internal conflict feels manufactured for the sake of the story (whereas everything on the Rey/Kylo/Luke side of things feels totally natural), and that's this part of the movie's fatal flaw.
This is also where we see the final appearance of General Leia Organa, played by the dearly-departed Carrie Fisher. She really gives her all this time around, and that only makes her untimely passing all the more tragic. I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up a few times on my first viewing; Star Wars is something that was integral in so many of our childhoods, so a new film is bound to be an emotionally turbulent experience. That said, no part of this film hit me harder than seeing Carrie Fisher's name in the credits for what I knew would be the last time. My only issue is the way in which the film constantly tries to fake the audience out regarding Leia's fate. After The Force Awakens killed off Han Solo (spoilers for the highest-grossing movie of two years ago), all bets were off. Star Wars became Game of Thrones as far as fans were concerned, no one was safe. After the death of Carrie Fisher, there was naturally widespread speculation as to whether or not her character would be killed off in Episode VIII; the film seems (at least from my perspective) to be aware of this, exploiting audience expectations for easy drama. There's multiple moments where the music grows increasingly dire and we're certain we've seen the last of our beloved Princess, only for her to just happen to survive. The film plays with our emotions like a yo-yo, and while these fake-outs had my heart in my throat on opening night, they just felt cheap on repeat viewings. I hardly think that it was the goal of the filmmakers to use Carrie Fisher's real-world passing as a means to generate drama, but it's unfortunate that this is going to be a stigma that the film will have to live with.
And finally, we have our third storyline, focusing on Finn (John Boyega) and newcomer Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) as they attempt a stealth mission that will allow the Resistance fleet to escape from the pursuit of the First Order. Their search for a code-breaker takes them to Canto Bight, an opulent city that is essentially Monaco in space. This entire plotline is, by far, the worst part of this movie (or indeed, any of this new series of Star Wars films) and could be entirely removed without consequence. Everything to do with this side-adventure in Casino Zone feels reminiscent of the prequels in the worst possible way; it's tonally dissonant, it meanders for far too long, and it just ends up feeling like filler that distracts from the actual meat of the story. In our other two plotlines, there are at least stakes; we see characters we've grown attached to dealing with their emotions and beliefs, struggling to hold onto a sliver of hope when faced with impossible odds. Here, we see Finn and Rose get into a bunch of hijinks involving alien racehorses, Benicio Del Toro, and a sample of Aqualera do Brasil.
There's just no point to it, aside to showcase a bunch of special effects. With all due respect to the artists and craftsmen and puppeteers who made this film look as good as it does, this Canto Bight plotline is the exact sort of thing Star Wars should avoid becoming. The film is too long as it is, so it really makes you wonder why something so altogether pointless is still in the film. My guess is that they fell into the same pitfall that George Lucas fell into when he was making The Phantom Menace; in that they constructed each scene to lead into the next, making it extremely difficult and expensive to cut and edit parts of the film that just don't work when all is said and done (looking at some of the deleted scenes, this might explain the film's extremely odd pacing and obvious use of ADR). The issues we see here aren't necessarily exclusive to this plotline, but this is where they're the most egregious.
Don't get me wrong, there's elements of this film that I love. After watching it twice, I'd still say that the good by and large outweighs the bad; that said, despite it being potentially my favorite of the Disney-made Star Wars films, I still have to admit that this is, at times, a downright weird movie. The pacing feels off, the editing feels off, and the humor feels off, even when the character stuff is (for the most part) fairly compelling. I give Disney an immense amount of credit for committing to something so risky, especially considering how formulaic parts of the MCU have become and how safe The Force Awakens was; it couldn't have been easy for them to entrust arguably their juiciest plum to such a low-key director with such an unconventional vision. That said, brownie points only go so far. There are major parts of this film that just don't work (none of which have to do with it disrupting my headcanon) and these faulty elements hold The Last Jedi back from true greatness.
I'm genuinely surprised at some of the issues I had with this film, but I suppose it can be attributed to Disney's assembly-line strategy of releasing a new Star Wars movie each year. We already have three more projects in the works (not counting Rian Johnson's recently-announced new trilogy) and it really makes you wonder if this is a sustainable business model for producing quality content. Star Wars is a property that prints money; even the prequels, heinous as they were, made a hefty profit (adjusted for inflation, The Phantom Menace is the third most profitable film in the franchise). But as Disney learned in the early 2000's with their swathe of direct-to-video sequels, it's never a good idea to cheapen your brand by pumping out profitable crap. There are parts of The Last Jedi where it feels like the first draft of a script, and it really gives one pause as to whether or not the filmmakers were given enough time to properly refine what they were working with. Considering all of the sloppy problems one finds in The Last Jedi and the already infamous production issues happening behind the scenes of next year's Solo: A Star Wars Story, I think it's clear that this annual release schedule just isn't going to work out in the long run.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is a film of extreme highs and extreme lows. There are elements at play here that I would honestly rank alongside The Empire Strikes Back; at the same time, there are also elements at play here that I would rank alongside Attack of the Clones. I applaud the film for refusing to pander to fan-theories or headcanons, yet, much like an emo kid in gym class, it doesn't earn an automatic A just for rebelling against the status quo. There are legitimate issues here that have nothing to do with invalidating anyone's Snoke theory. The misplaced comedic relief rarely lands, there's a number of plot contrivances and odd creative decisions, and the entire thing is just too long and too jam-packed full of stuff for its own good. It's because of issues like this that this film has become so divisive amongst moviegoers; while there's always going to be those who angrily scream "not muh Star Wars" into the void, this is definitely a situation where I can understand the mixed reception it's been getting. I personally enjoyed Episode VIII a great deal (even taking all of its problems into account), but I certainly wouldn't fault anyone who doesn't like it (that is, unless they're just upset that Rey isn't revealed to be a female clone of Kyle Katarn). My hope is that Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and everyone else at Disney and Lucasfilm can treat The Last Jedi as a learning experience, retaining what works and refining what doesn't. And, naturally, never, ever mentioning Canto Bight ever again. Unless of course the First Order decide to use it to test out their new super-weapon in Episode IX.
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