I finally got to see the newest Star Wars film and here’s what I thought.
Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and more.
The last Jedi picks up right where The Force Awakens ended with Rey meeting Luke Skywalker. While Rey tried to find her place in all of it with Luke’s help the Resistance is being hunted down by the first order led by Kylo Ren and General Hux.
The last Jedi was a suspenseful and exhilarating experience, with its gorgeous visuals and fantastic cinematography. The film boasts some stunning sequences, some of the best I’ve ever seen. The world of Star Wars has never felt so expansive and grand. The last jedi for me does everything the force awakens did right and some more.
Let’s talk a bit about the characters. I’ll begin with the classic characters starting with the late Carrie Fisher’s delightful performance as the beloved Leia. Mark Hamill reprises his role as Luke Skywalker and he is splendid and of course Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C3PO are great though they have smaller roles. Rey is a superb protagonist with a compelling story arc. Daisy Ridley is a fantastic actress and I’m excited to see her in future film both in Star Wars and other stuff. Adam Driver gives an excellent performance as Kylo Ren. His inner conflicts gave him more depth and as a result makes him a very compelling villain. Oscar Isaac was once again excellent as the charismatic Rebel commander of the black squadron Poe Dameron. John Boyega’s Finn was wonderful and BB-8 is very entertaining and my favorite droid in the star wars universe. The new character Rose played very well by Kelly Marie Tran was a welcome addition to the roster. Domnhall Gleeson is a fantastic actor and potrayed the obnoxious General Hux really well.
The Last Jedi has several compelling characters but my main gripe with the movie is with specifically two characters, Snoke and Phasma. Captain Phasma played by Gwendoline Christie(Brienne from Game of Thrones) had a very brief role in The Force Awakens and left audiences eager to see more of her but The Last Jedi does not give the character much to do except show her immense hatred for Finn. Snoke was a mysterious figure when The force awaken first came out. There was a lot of speculation about who Snoke was, what his identity is. There were many such theories some stating that Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu from the prequel films was Snoke. I didn’t think Windu would be Snoke but I was intrigued by the character. Andy Serkis is one of the best actors in Hollywood and he’s played amazing characters like King kong, Gollum and Caesar. Serkis gives a powerful and menacing performance as Snoke but the films treatment to the character was disappointing to me.
The action sequences were spectacular. From lightsaber duels to gigantic battles all very well directed and choreographed. The film doesn’t travel to many locations but the few that are shown are beautiful. There are quite a few well placed comedic moments the lighten up the mood. The film is filled with high tension moments that kept me at the edge of my seat. The twists in the film were surprising and earned. The film just kept me hooked from the get go.
Apart from the few character related issues The Last Jedi is a suspenseful edge of the seat thrill ride. Majestic visuals and exciting action scenes make The Last Jedi a memorable experience and I’m already eager to watch it again.
Go watch this spectacular movie guys.
I give Star Wars The Last Jedi a 4/5 stars.