Star Wars: The Last Jedi (SPOILER FREE REVIEW)

The Last Jedi takes place immediately after the events of 2015's The Force Awakens and picks up with Rey handing Luke Skywalker his father's blue lightsaber and the Resistance fleeing the First Order after the destruction of Starkiller Base. Rey begins her journey to develop her newly discovered Force abilities under Luke's guidance, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. The film breaks off into three sections, Luke and Rey doing their training on Ahch-To, Leia, Poe and the Resistance struggling to escape the First Order and Finn and newcomer Rose off searching for a master slicer on the planet Canto Bight. Some of these plot points are extremely riveting and compelling where as other really slowed the pacing down and made me want to return back to the more exciting parts of the story as soon as possible.

There were some moments that I loved which took my breath away and amazed me in the best way possible but there were other moments that I felt were bizarre and weird and didn't fit within the mold of what we know Star Wars movies to be.

Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher all provided standout performances. Ridley continued to show Rey's growth throughout the film and was able to express her struggles and emotions about trying to find her place with great care and detail and she is fast becoming my favourite Star Wars character. She was so cool and badass but also showed a very relatable vulnerability as well. Driver's portrayal of Kylo Ren actually made me sympathise with the character more than in The Force Awakens where all I saw him as was a bratish young man. Here in The Last Jedi we get to delve more into his character and understand his motivations a lot better. Hamill was simply outstanding as Luke Skywalker. His ability to convey Luke's anguish and regrets was so powerful and made me appreciate the legendary character even more. But perhaps the most inspired performance in The Last Jedi came from the late Carrie Fisher who's character of General Leia felt like more of a welcome return to what we all know and love her to be. She was emotional and humourous and going into the movie I thought I was going to be very sad watching her final film performance but instead I was immensely proud of it.

Like The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi has plenty of jokes and humour spread throughout. Some of it was brilliant and had me genuinely laughing but other times the gags fell flat and failed to deliver, often coming in during serious moments that didn't call for it. And another question remains, will these jokes hold up in years to come? Only time will tell. 

The action sequences were amazing. Set pieces flowed effortlessly and were so beautiful. One set piece in particular could go down as the best in the whole saga. The choreography was crisp and you could tell that the actors had put in many hours of training and practice to make the scenes work.

The Last Jedi was visually so stunning to look at. The wizards at ILM deserve so much more recognition and credit for the work that they do. Such care and attention was taken with every single shot of the film whether that was with scenes in space or on different planets, through to the many different creatures that you encounter, right down to things such as costuming. Everything felt and looked unique and very much fitted into the Star Wars mold. 

John Williams has produced yet another stellar score for The Last Jedi. Many themes featured in The Force Awakens make triumphant returns such as Rey's Theme, both of Kylo Ren's Themes, March of the Resistance and The Jedi Steps. All of which were expanded upon and explored in further detail that has made me appreciate them more if that's even humanly possible. A handful of older themes from the original trilogy make appearances as well which were so heartwarming and immensely added to what was happening on screen. There weren't a whole lot of stand out motifs or themes created for this movie to the extent that there was in The Force Awakens but I feel as though building upon what was already established was the right move to make here and the handful of new tunes such as Finn and Rose's Theme and the music for Canto Bight were very well done and will, in time become greatly appreciated and memorable for fans of the saga.    

The Last Jedi takes many of its theatrical beats from The Empire Strikes Back but none of them feel all that cliche and in fact they had more of a modern spin to them which helped to set it apart from its predecessor and never did it share comparisons like The Force Awakens had with A New Hope. 

I'll be completely honest this movie left me speechless when it was over. When the credits started to roll I felt 100% dumbfounded over what I had just watched. I walked out of the theatre feeling like I had more questions than answers and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. I came home feeling so conflicted about how I felt about the movie. I wanted to love it with all my heart but there were parts that just didn't sit right with me. In saying that there were so many moments that were amazing and blew me away in the best way possible so it's not all doom and gloom. Director Rian Johnson has taken the saga in a vastly different direction than ever before and at this moment in time when the film is so fresh and new it feels very polarising and strange, but hopefully over time and with the addition of Episode 9 everything will become much more clearer. Like The Force Awakens I feel as though The Last Jedi will take many viewings to fully understand and appreciate because it is so layered, deep and dense.

Unfortunately, I feel as though way too much was revealed in the trailers released before the film. One portion in particular, that being the training Rey undertakes on Ahch-To was almost completely shown through various trailers and therefore became a bit of a disappointment for me when I saw the film as I was expecting more to happen and it didn't. In the future I think I will make more of an effort to avoid marketing material for the film. 

I never thought I’d say this but I’m so glad that JJ Abrams is returning to direct episode 9. I feel that after this drastic change for the saga a safe return to what we know is needed to right the ship and that is something I know JJ will be able to do. Rian Johnson, Disney and Lucasfilm took some huge risks with The Last Jedi and some of them paid off while others pulled up short in my opinion. Everything was a bit too mythical and fantasy for my liking and seeds for a number of what I thought were key plot points were both followed through with. 

The Last Jedi could quite possibly the most decisive film in the whole saga amongst fans. Some will 100% love it and others will wholeheartedly hate it. I feel as though I fall into somewhat of a middle ground. It is by no means a the best Star Wars movie, it does have its flaws but in the end it was for the most part an enjoyable film experience.

A full spoiler review will be posted in the coming months after everyone has had a chance to see the film.

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