Star Wars: The Last Jedi (SPOILER REVIEW)

I've seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi a total of 3 times and each time I came out of the theatre I felt a range of different emotions. The first time I felt confused, annoyed and mislead. The second time I felt marginally better about the film as a whole but still felt like I was forcing myself to be in love with it when deep down I wasn't happy. The third time however was the key in opening my eyes and making me realise that The Last Jedi isn't as bad as I first thought it was. It's by no means the best Star Wars movie ever made but it's also not the worst either. It falls somewhere in the middle. There are aspects of the movie that I love so much and also other parts that I have real issues with.

This film has greatly divided the Star Wars community. Reading comments and reactions online you'll see that some people love it and others hate it. There are valid arguments for both sides but there is also a lot of unnecessary hate towards the film that is driven only by people's racist and sexist views which is very disappointing as there are better ways to go about voicing your dislike of the film than to boil it down to Rey would be better if she was a man and hollow arguments along those lines. I believe this film could be similar to The Empire Strikes Back in terms of it being both loved and hated at the time of its release and then as time passed people saw it in a different light and it ultimately became majority of people's favourite Star Wars film. The Last Jedi is a film that needs to be viewed multiple times to fully understand and appreciate. It is so dense and full of information that you see something new each time you watch it.

The Last Jedi is an intriguing film as it shares many similarities to The Empire Strikes Back such as a young force user seeking an old teacher, a battle where the bad guys are attacking the good guys in a fortified base and we leave our heroes in a situation where things are pretty dire. But at the same time The Last Jedi is so vastly different from any other Star Wars film. I like how the beats of a previous film have been used to create something we've never seen before.

The Last Jedi tried way too hard to be funny. Some of the jokes are actually really good such as Poe’s prank call to Hux, Luke punking Rey with the blade of grass, Snoke smacking Rey in the head with her lightsaber, Luke and Rey’s conversation about her coming from nowhere, Rey constantly destroying things that belonged to the Caretakers. These were all really good quips that stuck their landing. However, there were other jokes that fell flat on their face with two in particular standing out. Luke milking the alien which was downright nasty & Luke throwing the saber over his shoulder. After two years of anticipation, this moment that was meant to be dramatic and meaningful was boiled down to a stupid joke for laughs. The same outcome could have been achieved if Luke had simply dropped it back at Rey’s feet and walked off but instead they went for comedy which was disappointing.

Apart from those two things I really enjoyed the way they handled Luke Skywalker throughout this film. You could see the pain and suffering he was feeling about failing Ben Solo and failing to live up to his legacy. It was great that they showed us the daily routine that he goes through and watching him spear a fish was so cool.

His relationship with Rey was very interesting but would have benefited more if it had been further developed. The concept of the three lessons was a good idea but we only saw two of the three lessons and none of them involved any sort of combat training which was something I was really looking forward to seeing. Speaking of combat, I loved the scene of Rey practicing with both her staff and saber but I expected and wanted more. Nearly all of this footage was shown in trailers which was a shame and makes me want to avoid watching trailers for future movies.

Luke’s scene with R2D2 was one of my favourites. It was so sweet and nostalgic, showing us that softer side of Luke that we knew in the Original Trilogy. The icing on the cake was R2 showing the hologram of Leia’s message to Obi-Wan from A New Hope. That was a beautiful moment which takes us right back to the beginning. I love when films and tv include nods to the past and this was a big one.

Another really outstanding scene that Luke had was his reunion with Leia. With the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher, it was something that I desperately wanted to happen and the scene did not disappoint. The music and dialogue, some of which Fisher wrote was simply amazing and gets me every time I watch it. The music was so good, the Force Theme weaving into Luke and Leia’s Theme with Han Solo and The Princess making an appearance as well, something which I personally didn’t think we’d ever hear in a new Star Wars film again. That combined with what was happening on scene made for one of the best scenes in the film. Luke has a very poinent line “no one’s ever really gone” that at the time was probably just like any other line but now with Carrie no longer with us stood out to me as a line reflecting real life. It was a beautiful moment that many Star Wars fans will cherish.

The relationship between Luke and Kylo was very interesting. Even though it was quite different for a Star Wars film to show flashbacks, I enjoyed seeing the different perspectives of Ben Solo’s turn to the dark side. Each time we revisited it we got a little more and another piece of the puzzle until in the end we see a clear picture of what happened. It was a good way to go about it. The fight between Luke and Kylo was amazing. The cinematography used to make it look like a western showdown was outstanding. It was epic and cool and the reveal at the end that Luke had been projecting himself on Crait while still being on Ahch-To blew my mind the first time. And I love how they left subtle hints during the battle that he wasn’t really there such as him not leaving red footprints while Kylo and everyone else did. It was such a standout sequence.

Luke’s final scene was a culmination of his whole story. The Force Theme plays in all its glory and the twin suns appear on the horizon. It brought everything into a full circle and harkened right back to Luke looked out at the twin suns on Tatooine at the start of his adventure. To have that same thing happen coupled with the music as he becomes one with the Force was such a meaningful and purposeful way to end his physical journey.

I love Rey so much and what she did in The Last Jedi continued to fuel my enjoyment of the character. Her struggle to discover who she is and find her place in the world is very relatable. Her new Jedi Training outfit is by far my favourite so far. It’s such a cool look that showed that grey line between the light and the dark that she toyed with throughout the film.

Like I mentioned before, the training montage was so great. I loved seeing Rey confidently swinging her staff and saber around and you can see the effort Daisy Ridley put into her training leading up to filming. I just wanted more than what we got. Some tutelage from Luke would have been great.

The first time I watched the cave scene I was so bamboozled by it. I had no idea what was going on and the whole thing seemed so weird. The way it was shot, Rey doing a voiceover and the nerve wracking anticipation about who her parents were going to be revealed as was a lot to take in the first time. But after multiple viewings, the scene makes a lot more sense and I actually really enjoy it now. I find the cinematography to be very unique and different for a Star Wars movie. The mirrored versions of Rey reminded me heaps of that scene in Interstellar where Matthew McConaughey’s character is trying to contact his daughter from behind the bookcase. The voiceover was kind of strange but then when you have the context of her speaking to Kylo it all adds up. I hope that there is more explanation for this scene either in the novelisation or episode 9. I think there’s more to be told there, so hopefully it comes sometime in the future.

The topic of Rey’s parents was a really point of contention for me going into and then coming out of this film. After my first viewing I was legitimately angry and felt cheated that Rey had been branded a nobody. Going into the film this question had been built up so highly by fans, media and the cast and creators of the film to be this massive reveal that was going to blow people’s minds, but it ended up being a fizzer in my book. I personally don’t think we’ve been told the whole story. When Rey and Kylo touched hands they both saw futures for each other that they believed to be 100% true. Rey believed Kylo would turn to the light and Kylo believed that Rey would turn to the darkness. He also believed that he saw who her parents were. Both of their visions turned out to be false, so who’s to say that what he saw about Rey’s parents is true either. The cave scene also shows us that apparently Rey is her own parent and doesn’t truly show her what she wants to see. I believe that Luke could have somehow manipulate what she saw due to him not thinking she was ready to know the truth. Remember that he had just reopened himself up to the force in the previous scene. In saying all of this, the more times I watched the film the more I began to accept the idea of Rey being a normal person like you or I. It sends a really powerful and positive message that anyone can be a powerful force user regardless of their heritage. I reckon I would have been more accepting of this if the anticipation behind who Rey’s parents were hadn’t been so blown out of proportion and I hadn’t let myself get so sucked into it.

All in all I was really pleased every time Rey was on screen. Her scenes had a lot of depth to them and took her on a journey of discovery that gave us an answer but kinda didn’t at the same time, leaving the door open for changes down the road. I thought that she went along a similar path that Luke did in The Empire Strikes Back, making stupid, reckless decisions that came back and bit her. It will be interesting to see how she learns and grows from mistakes in episode 9. I went into The Last Jedi with Rey as my favourite character and that continues to be the case after multiple viewings of the film.

So who’s everyone shipping Rey with? I personally either hopes she gets with no one at all or Poe. Their first meeting was so cute and sweet that I was instantly on board the Damerey train. The way Poe says “I’m Poe” was just too adorable.

The more I watch the film the more I find Rey and Kylo’s relationship to be interesting. I thought that their force connection fabricated by Snoke was a great way to have them interacting without actually having them face to face. We learnt a lot about Kylo through Rey but there is absolutely nothing romantic about their relationship at all and anyone who thinks there is clearly wasn’t watching the same film as me. Kylo May have been nice to Rey until they met in person but once she knocked back his offer to join him on the dark side he was once again abusive and manipulative towards her just like he had been in The Force Awakens. He called her nothing and a nobody and then proceeded to kill her & Chewie when they were flying in the Falcon on Crait along with him saying to Luke that he will destroy her. There is not, has not and never will be any romance between Kylo and Rey.

That being said, the throne room fight was downright epic. The choreography was outstanding and they utilised moves which we’ve never seen before such as Rey dropping the saber to get out of the Pratorian’s choke hold and Kylo igniting the saber in another Pratorian’s eye. It’s one of the best action set pieces in any Star Wars film and gets me so excited every time I watch it. And I love how both Kylo and Rey’s fighting styles are still reckless and unfocused, showing how their training has yet to be fully completed. It may not have been the typical lightsaber fight that we’ve grown accustomed to but this fight is one that I think will stand the test of time.

Although Finn had only one scene with Rey much of his motivation throughout the first half of the film focused very much on him seeking her out. Rey also asks about Finn as well and their hug at the end was very emotionally charged and earned after all they had been through. A romantic relationship was hinted at between these two throughout The Force Awakens and was briefly touched upon here even though it seems as though they may be trying to set Finn up with Rose. It will be interesting to see which path JJ Abrams decides to go down for episode 9.

Kylo Ren was a character who I outright hated when we were introduced to him in The Force Awakens. He came across as a whiny crybaby and I never found him to be intimidating to the standards that other Star Wars villains have achieved. And then he had to go and kill my favourite character from the Original Trilogy, Han Solo and that was the end of him for me. Here in The Last Jedi I’ve found myself liking his character a lot more. They developed his character in much greater detail and made the audience understand the motivations behind his actions. That being said by the end of the film he’s just as big a shit head as he was in The Force Awakens and is still my most hated character because of what he’s done throughout these two films. After The Last Jedi I feel as though Kylo is much more dangerous and threatening now that he’s at the helm of the First Order and it will be intriguing to see where his journey ends in episode 9. Also where on earth were the Knights of Ren? That whole plot line seemed to be dropped on its head which was a huge letdown.

Snoke was a character who I really wanted to know more about after seeing The Force Awakens. Who was he? Where did he come from? Did he know Darth Vader? How did he create the First Order? How did he corrupt Ben Solo? None, zero of these pressing questions were answered in The Last Jedi and that was a massive disappointment for me. I desperately wanted answers and I walked out of the theatre after a two year wait with nothing. These questions will most likely be addressed in a book or comic, but quite frankly that's not quite good enough for me. People will argue that the same thing happened with The Emperor back when The Empire Strikes Back came out but we must remember that he ended up getting three films worth of backstory through the prequels. I don't think we are going to get that with Snoke. There is a very likely chance that Snoke could return in episode 9 as some sort of Sith force ghost. A very interesting piece of concept art can be found in the Art of The Last Jedi book which depicts an idea of Luke being visited by dark side force ghosts so it is a real possibility that this notion could be revisited in the future which excites me greatly. Overall though at this current point in time I am deeply disappointing with how the character of Snoke has been handled, but I still hold out hope that this can be corrected somehow in episode 9.

I never liked Finn and that still remains the case after The Last Jedi. He had hardly any character growth. By taking him away from Rey and Poe I feel that his character may have actually regressed somewhat. Sure he might have done some more heroic things just like in The Force Awakens but why couldn't we have a bit more information on his past? Everyone's so tied up on Rey's backstory but I think that Finn's character would benefit so much from some revelations about his family and his time serving in the First Order under Phasma that isn't just confined to books. Another thing with Finn that annoyed the hell out of me was his extraordinarily cheesy one liners. "Chrome dome" & "crystal critters" were such cringe worthy moments that totally took me out of the moment. Less of these crappy lines would be much appreciated going forward.

Rose in my opinion was so poorly written and directed that she was pretty much unbearable to watch for majority of the film. Nothing against Kelly Marie Tran, she's not a bad actor by any means and she can't help the lines that were given to her or the direction that Rian Johnson gave her. They just missed the mark. She always felt over the top and way too dramatic, from the way she spoke to the way she held herself it was all just too over the top compared to everyone else and it stood out like an eyesore. And why did they make her look legitimately dead after she crashed her speeder? I thought she was cooked but them moments later Finn arrives with her back at the base alive and still hanging in there. It's just another example of the drama they forced onto her. I really hope that JJ Abrams can write and direct her better because the character needs saving.

Finn and Rose's relationship felt so forced. There was no depth to it. Rose obviously knew who Finn was before they met, they go on an adventure together, almost die and then she's madly in love with him and shares one of the most awkward looking cinema kisses I've ever seen after what like two to three days tops. I never bought into it and still feel nothing for it even after watching the film multiple times. Maybe I'll like it more if they give it more time to develop and mature in episode 9 instead of the rush job they did here.

Finn and Phasma's big, hyped up fight was severely underwhelming. Like Rey's training, the bulk of it was shown off in trailers and the overall sequence was so much shorter than I expected it to be boiling down into Finn getting in a cheap shot that finishes it. This fight could have been so much more, could have been as cool as the throne room fight, but instead it fizzled out and will end up being very forgetful.

I lost my breath when I first saw Yoda come on screen. I always had an inkling that he would be returning due to many rumours surrounding Frank Oz. But my god when he came back my heart skipped a beat. Again they gave Yoda some very poignant dialogue that really resonated with me. "The greatest teacher, failure is" and "We are what they grow beyond" were such wise words not just for Luke Skywalker, but for us as the audience as well. I do however have some issues with how Yoda looked throughout his scene. There was something off about his face like it was more squished in or his chin. It's something that I can't quite put my finger on. His force ghost also looses its aura in some of the shots and I'm not sure if this was an intentional decision or due to the lighting that was used but it did make me question what was going on. The fact that Yoda was able to interact with the living environment was another very interesting development with regards to force ghosts. Yoda is able to summon lightning and also physically touch Luke with his cane. It begs the question, will Luke too be able to achieve this ability? All in all, I was thrilled to see Yoda return despite his somewhat awkward appearance and hope that this isn't the last time.

DJ is someone who's grown on each time I've watched the film. To begin with I found him to be pointless and really unnecessary but after focusing more on him he's actually quite a dryly humourous character who makes those pretty dull scenes with Finn and Rose that little bit more bearable. I love his lisp, it makes me giggle every time and his general brand of humour is very similar to mine which is why I think I like him more now. Again, I would like to know a bit more about him but I believe this will come in the next film and possibly in the upcoming Solo film.

My number one homeboy BB-8 did not disappoint at all. He was just as cute and sassy as always. It was so cool that they showed off some of his other unique abilities such as being able to go down into Poe's X-Wing to make on the go repairs and his head being able to detach itself from his body. But the moment that warmed my heart the most came when he was reunited with Poe and he scratched him like a dog and BB-8 purred like a cat just like in The Force Awakens. This was such a small thing that I wanted to happen again so badly and for it to actually happen makes me so happy. Someone give BB-8 his own movie stat!!

Poe continues to grow on me more and more. I wasn't really swayed either way with him after The Force Awakens but in The Last Jedi they gave him some serious character development that progresses him along and has set him up for really great things in episode 9. He went from being this brash hot shot who was always looking for a fight to someone who learnt from his past mistakes and now shows the potential to be a strong leader. Plus Oscar Issac is a total hottie who I could look at all day, so there's that too.

The Porgs are no Ewoks but they were a lot better than I thought they'd be. In the lead up to the film I feared that the movie would be saturated with them, but thankfully a good balance for them was achieved that made the cute little creatures a joy to see. The comedy surrounding the Porgs was really well crafted, from them stepping on the ignition button of the lightsaber (which in concept art actually saw the lightsaber ignite and kill a Porg) to them constantly bombarding Chewie and destroying the interior of the Falcon. It was these kinds of laughs that were the good stuff and not like the more cheesy crap that can also be found. Did you know that Chewbacca's stowaway Porg was originally meant to have some visual differences to set it apart from the other Porgs? The creative team toyed with giving it a different fur colour or eye colour but ultimately decided to stick with the generic look. I would have liked this idea to have been carried over into the film. Here's hoping we see our little Porg friend in the future. They're too cute to only have in one film.

Vice Admiral Holdo was another character that takes a little getting used to. They went down the road of is she a baddie, no wait she's a goodie and I get the motive behind doing that but it just didn't make a whole lot of sense for her not to tell anyone about her plan to get the fleet to Crait. A lot of angst and drama would have been saved if she had spoken up. Her touching moment saying goodbye to Leia was really sweet and when you take into consideration that Carrie Fisher helped write that scene it makes it all the more emotional. Easily one of my favourite little moments from the film. Holdo's best moment was easily her last act of doing a hyperspace jump into Snoke's Super Star Destroyer. That was one of the most killer moments Star Wars has ever produced and will 100% become one of those timeless scenes that people talk about for years to come. It's up there with the two Star Destroyers crashing into each other in Rogue One.

So many characters were once again neglected in this movie and provided with such little screen time that the time they got ended up being pretty much pointless. Captain Phasma was again not utilised at all. After the disappointment from The Force Awakens and the fan outcry over how little she was used I expected so much more, but was sadly met with the exact same disappointment from two years ago. It sucks, big time, but I don't think they've killed her off for good. For those of you who may not know, in the novel, 'Phasma' it is revealed that her armour is made from Emperor Palpatine's yacht which is polished with a mineral called chromium which very conveniently happens to be both radiation and heat resistant making me think that it could very well be possible for her to survive what happened. Who knows what path they are going to take, but I'm hoping that they have one last crack to get her character right in episode 9.

Maz Kanata what even was the point of her being in the film? There wasn't one. She didn't need to be there.

BB-9e a character who had been hyped up during the promotion of the film amounted to little more than a cameo appearance. I was fully expecting some sort of full blown chase scene between him and BB-8 but it appears to have been cut which is very disappointing. Part of me regrets buying a little stuffed toy of him when he was just in two scenes. And he was such a cool looking character. I love how they made him look distinctly different from all the other BB droids seen in the film, especially how the panels on his body are grates. Such intricate detail by the production team!!

Last but not least poor R2D2 has been well and truly relegated to the back of the stands which is such a damn waist. He's gone from being the poster boy droid to a character we've hardly see do anything in this new trilogy. I bloody love BB-8 but R2 deserves way more respect than he's been given.

How stunningly beautiful is Ahch-To? It has to be one of my favourite locations featured in any of the films. The environment is so lush and green and the ancient huts and rocky steps are just so beautiful to look at. After seeing Ahch-To in these two films, visiting the real life location Skellig Michael in Ireland has definitely gone up on my list of places I want to visit in the future.

The only thing about Canto Bight that I remotely liked was the music which was unique and different helping it to stand out among the rest of the score. Everything else about Canto Bight however was bland and boring. The main problem is that everything about the casino was painted in these dull, pale beige colours that lacked any kind of heart or soul. It was sad to see no classic aliens make any kind of appearance at all. It would have been great to see a Gungan, Aqualish, Rodian, Togruta, Twi’lek or Hutt but unfortunately all we got was a bunch of bland, forgettable creatures. There were also way too many plain old humans for my liking. You could see they were trying to make this the cantina scene of the film but the alien to human ratio was so off.

The Battle of Crait was by far my favourite action sequence in the whole film. It was reminiscent of The Battle of Hoth with the bad guys attacking the good guys who were hold up in a fortified shelter. The little joke that the planet's surface is salt was a neat nod that it's not snow like Hoth. Visually the contrasting of the salt and red soil underneath as the old speeders zipped towards the cannon was soooo pretty. It was a great creative choice and the whole theme of red that permeates throughout the film shone through here really well. The best part in my mind was when the Falcon arrived on the scene and that iconic TIE Fighter Attack music made a magnificent return. This was my standout scene and when people ask me what one of my favourite scenes from the saga is, this will be one that fast comes to mind.

The space battles that have been featured in these recent films just seem to keep getting better and better. Each new film seems to introduce some exciting new form of tactile combat that keeps everything really fresh. Here we had the Resistance Bombers which fun fact have hand written messages on the bombs saying things like "Hi Snoke" and "Han says hi". Poe's X-Wing was also pretty rad, shame it got blown up :(

Also must pay my respects to the dearly departed Admiral Akbar. So sad to see him go after all this time. Sad reacts only :(

Moving forward towards episode 9 I reckon there will be quite a significant time jump of between 5-10 years that will help accommodate for Carrie Fisher's passing as well as moving along the rebuilding of the new Rebellion. Leia's passing will most likely be announced in the opening crawl which will be sad and kind of underwhelming but that's just how the creators have unfortunately been backed into a corner due to real life events. I believe the concept of grey jedi will be explored in some sort of fashion. You can see through out The Last Jedi the pull towards both the light and dark that Rey and Kylo struggle with and I think that this will be further expanded on in episode 9. Rey will start to rebuild the Jedi Order and Poe will work to establish the new Rebel Alliance. And that's about all I can really solidly predict at this very early stage.

The great scenes that I personally loved the most such as the throne room fight and TIE Fighter chase on Crait all feel earned by the time you reach them. They became the parts of the movie that I was most looking forward to and anticipating. This is a common occurrence with many other Star Wars films. A particular moment or scene stands out and it’s the part of the movie that you hang out to see. The Rey vs Kylo snow fight in The Force Awakens, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, etc, etc. They’re moments that keep you coming back to revisit the film and these two moments in The Last Jedi are those for me.

The Last Jedi is a movie that needs to be watched more than one to fully appreciate the deepness of the story being showcased. It's one of the most dense films I've ever watched. There's so much to take in and digest that you'll never be able to pick everything up on the first go through. Part of me is annoyed that the franchise I love so dearly has been shaken up so much but another part of me is also kind of pleased that certain risks were taken. Is The Last Jedi a perfect film? No way. Are any of the Star Wars films 100% flawless? Nope. Like every other film in the series there are problems and that's ok. I think that the thing that The Last Jedi and the trilogy as a whole suffers from the most is the clashing of ideas from the two directors JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson. They both had different visions and that resulted in two vastly different films that don't connect to each other all that well. And this isn't the fault of either JJ or Rian. The blame more falls to the feet of Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger for not laying down the ground work for the trilogy with both directors before going into pre-production. That would have been the way to do it, not this unclear vision that seems to be getting slopped together as they go along. I'm so glad that JJ is coming back to do episode 9. I hope to god that it brings back some consistency to the trilogy. My overall hope for The Last Jedi is that it continues to grow on me over time and allows me to look past the bad stuff like I am able to do with all of the other films. And right now thankfully that is definitely what is happening.

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