Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Written by: Rian Johnson - Based on characters created by George Lucas
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Domhnall Glesson, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Billie Lourd, Peter Mayhew, Gwendoline Christie, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong'o, Veronica Ngo, Mark Lewis Jones, Jimmy Vee, Tim Rose
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 152 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 12 Dec 2017
Written by: Rian Johnson - Based on characters created by George Lucas
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Domhnall Glesson, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Billie Lourd, Peter Mayhew, Gwendoline Christie, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong'o, Veronica Ngo, Mark Lewis Jones, Jimmy Vee, Tim Rose
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 152 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 12 Dec 2017
The current Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 7, 8 & 9) are using the original trilogy from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s as a roadmap. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a more than faithful follower of A New Hope. No need to rehash the similarities, but lonely kid on an out of the way planet falls in with the rebellion, discovers magic powers, and there’s a Death Star to destroy. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is more Empire Strikes Back but with less metaphysics in favor of action, near misses, and a quick trip to Monte Carlo. Rey needs to learn how to manage this ‘force’ she has tapped into, Luke Skywalker is a hermit not looking to instruct, and the rebellion is on its last legs as only a handful of very old faces, some recent additions, and brand new characters focus their efforts on surviving one more day against the First Order.
The Empire Strikes Back kicked off with a bang as the Empire discovered the rebel base on the ice planet Hoth with our heroes only escaping in the nick of time. The Last Jedi skips the sleeping inside the tauntaun business but the Galactic superpower shows up to wipe out the last of the rebels as they haphazardly pack up and evacuate. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac, Suburbicon), all fight now, think later ala Han Solo, chafes under his rebel chain of command as General Leia (Carrie Fisher), urges him to act more like a leader and strategic thinker than just another hotshot pilot. Laura Dern (Wild), one of a few new faces as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo with an outrageous purple coiffure straight out Capital City in The Hunger Games, directly squares off with Dameron setting in place the rebel alliance’s tacticians versus the strategists.
The Empire Strikes Back kicked off with a bang as the Empire discovered the rebel base on the ice planet Hoth with our heroes only escaping in the nick of time. The Last Jedi skips the sleeping inside the tauntaun business but the Galactic superpower shows up to wipe out the last of the rebels as they haphazardly pack up and evacuate. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac, Suburbicon), all fight now, think later ala Han Solo, chafes under his rebel chain of command as General Leia (Carrie Fisher), urges him to act more like a leader and strategic thinker than just another hotshot pilot. Laura Dern (Wild), one of a few new faces as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo with an outrageous purple coiffure straight out Capital City in The Hunger Games, directly squares off with Dameron setting in place the rebel alliance’s tacticians versus the strategists.
Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley), who was the MVP superstar from The Force Awakens is a little less impressive this time around. She has bulked up physically and is stuck in frustration mode as she cannot convince Luke (Mark Hamill) to train her in the ways of the Jedi. Seems like only yesterday Luke had no patience with Master Yoda back on Dagobah. However, Luke is not testing Rey; he is genuinely afraid of her. He failed as a Jedi Master, his student turned to the dark side, and Luke is sure the only way forward is for the institution, practice, and idea of the Jedi religion to perish and fade away. While Rey and Luke are geographically isolated in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, Rey is not completely alone mentally.
There is a psychic connection between Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver, Logan Lucky). While all of Dameron’s scenes blasting holes in spacecraft and the handful of other battles are thrilling, the true pulse of director Rian Johnson’s film are these back-and-forth, hesitant verbal sparring exhibitions between Rey and the Darth Vader wannabe. They recognize each others’ power, they tempt one another with turning to the other side with ideas of the adrenaline of ruthless dictatorship on one side and fighting for the underdog on the other. Wondering where this cautious, borderline flirting, relationship is headed adds more suspense to the atmosphere than any laser canon.
There are still more lead characters in this 152 minute not nearly long enough marathon. Finn (John Boyega, Detroit) and a new sidekick, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), are on a side quest to find a master codebreaker who can break into the main bad guy ship, but that is merely filler plot. The radical shift of the prism here is the reminder that even in a long ago galaxy far, far away, the military industrial complex does not care whether or not the First Order or the rebels win whatever battle. They sell spaceships and munitions to all sides and revel in their hideaway shrine to hedonistic capitalism. Finn and Rose peek behind the scenes at the victims exploited by the system and the fact that a Star Wars audience is even thinking about arms dealers and shady supply chains is fascinating.
Rian Johnson, best known for the mind-bending sci-fi flick Looper and the high school noir Brick, effectively takes over the helm from J.J. Abrams. The Last Jedi is a more time-compressed Star Wars episode like last year’s Rogue One as it takes place in a just a day and a half or so, but Johnson's vision is compelling and one to root for. If all of this mayhem can happen within what looks like 36 hours, then I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow. Chewbacca and C-3PO must be included somewhere in the script but they are treated as throwaway characters and almost distract from the momentum; especially the droid. Carrie Fisher performs as a genuine leader and torch bearer, calm but worried, which is a fitting send off. She preaches consequences, mourns casualties, and stokes the vision for the future. Where Luke is pure regret and cynicism, Leia keeps the spark of rebellion alive. Fans can only guess how future films will be impacted by Fisher’s tragic passing.
Abrams is back on as director for Episode 9; however, he will have to compete hard to try and equal the absorbing use of color in The Last Jedi. The color red is a character all by itself. The movie poster alludes to to it, but Johnson’s use of red in a key battle scene toward the end resembling streaks of blood and the all-red throne room surrounding Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) add enhanced feelings of danger and alarm because many scenes in cold and empty space can have a sterilizing effect on a film's tone. A strong, vibrant frequency emits from the screen along with the eye-pleasing sets. As the eighth film in the Star Wars story arc, not including Rogue One, with more main story films and stand-alones on the way, I do not detect any Star Wars fatigue yet from the fans or critics. As long as the quality remains steady, the faithful Jedi legions will remain grateful we no longer have to wait 15 or so years between installments.
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