Written by James Reilly – Student Pages Entertainment Journalist/Film Critic
Film Rating:
★★★
I had high hopes for this film. I went to the midnight showing, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dir. Abrams, 2016) preceding and leading up to the main event itself. It was nice seeing The Force Awakens in cinemas again, such a big screen spectacle that I feel cannot be given true justice on a home television or laptop. After watching the 2016 continuation to a franchise that is in the hearts of many, the latest entry into the main saga began to play; The Last Jedi. The question is though, was the film the last hope for a tiring franchise, or the spark that will light a new breath for the films to come? Well it was a bit of both.
There are many positives with the movie, and calling some of the moments in this film “jaw dropping” might do the film be an understatement. Star Wars: The Last Jedi has some moments that I would consider some of the greatest Star Wars moments of all time, if not in blockbusters in general. All the characters had dominant scenes that will prove to be many a fan highlight, and the film left with more questions than answers.
If you’re a fan of Star Wars, especially the Original Trilogy, you will be VERY pleased by some choices Rian Johnson made in this film, including one that I would consider to be one of the greatest Star Wars moments in history.
The main issue I have with not just this film, but with Star Wars lately, is how much more can we watch a film about a rag-tag team of Rebels fight against the Empire/First Order, under basically impossible odds yet somehow still come out on top?
After the well setup film that was The Force Awakens, the trilogy looked to really have a shape and a placement amongst the Star Wars lineage, however it gets rid of a lot of it. The safe building blocks we were given in Force Awakens are destroyed in Last Jedi, and time will tell in the third instalment whether this was a wise move or not. It was nice to see a big blockbuster franchise take risks, I just wish in some cases they took greater risks with some of the other characters, rather than just use the ol’ bait and switch that big blockbusters are accustomed to using.
Overall the film was a mixed bag. When it worked – boy did it work well. Yet it’s the too all familiar Rebellion story-lines that I felt myself get slightly tired with. I hope after this trilogy we can move away from the Rebellion/First Order story-lines and into something more fresh and original. I am glad Rian Johnson is not returning for the third instalment, yet I am equally ecstatic he has been given the keys to a fresh trilogy set in the Star Wars universe. I felt he delivered a good film under the circumstances, but perhaps the main trilogy is not for him. I cannot wait until he is let loose in his own playground without rules, and can create something truly original in this truly breathing universe.
Follow James at @JamesisGinger
