We
pick up the never ending saga of “intergalactic good versus evil” in Episode 8,
“Star Wars – The Last Jedi”, with a reprisal of one of the main characters
from the original 1977 effort named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
In
this 2018 installment, we find Jedi Master Luke Skywalker living on his own
alone. He has intentionally retreated to a life in total exile on an obscure planet
on an obscure island for the purpose of achieving (in his mind) peaceful harmony
through complete solitary existence; away from the galactic mayhem from his
youth. But his plans to never to return to the ways of his Jedi teachings - skills
are upended when he encounters Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young woman who shows
strong signs of the Force he is so familiar with. Her desire to learn the ways
of the Jedi forces Luke to make a hard decision that changes their lives
forever.
Meanwhile
back in deep space we see the battle between the Resistance and the Evil Empire
(now known as the “First Order”) continuing with Kylo Ren aka as Hans Solo and
Princess Leia’s son (Adam Driver) and a dried up looking lizard with his head half
caved in named General Hux combining their evil talents to lead the First Order regime
in an all-out assault against (now) General Leia and her fighters for the survival
and supremacy of the galaxy.
REVIEW: Hey, nothing I say here is ever going
to sway anyone’s opinion about whether they will see this film or not. If you
are a fan, as I am, you will be compelled to see it as much on impulse as well
as a matter of it simply being a part of your youth. So to that point, with a
running time of 2:30 minutes, “Star Wars – The Last Jedi” overall was pleasant,
beautiful to look at and generally entertaining. It is much truer to the first
3 original installments (1977 – 1983) than the later 3 installments (1999 –
2005). So for all of the “SW” fanatics out
there who like to dress up each year at the premieres of these films as Storm Troopers
or Jedi or Lord Vader none of you will be disappointed at all in “The Last Jedi”.
HOWEVER, my problem with the film, especially as
an older man, is I realized now this film franchise has clearly moved towards the
direction of youth and youth only, seemingly catering only to millennials per-se
in the way they need instant gratification from their I-Phones every second of
the day. While easy enough to follow, I still found the overall story
very unimaginative as part of the continuing saga of Star Wars, with equally underwhelming subplots
that seemed even more mired in murkiness. And while Director Rian Johnson
did a solid job in this 8th effort, structurally speaking he seemed way too preoccupied with moving his story along with pace from scene to scene as his first priority
rather than to occasionally taking his foot off the camera accelerator for some emotional balance. To his credit he valiantly tried to accomplish
this in key moments where deep personal reflection and introspection were required between important principles in the film, still what came across still felt way too rushed and falling a bit flat to hear and see..
In all fairness to Director Rian Johnson he has made a fun movie to watch. But substantively
speaking it is the plot's execution that seemed to being only coherent for those devoted fans who now suffer from ADHA (attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder). Filled with repetitive dialog that never takes you anywhere
new and certainly never offering anything in the way of magical or
stirring crescendo moments to hold on to or to remember. Instead the film is just basic and solid with just a
good enough beginning, just a good enough middle and just enough of an OK ending to connect viewers to the next installment probably 3 years from now.
“Star
Wars – The Last Jedi” has all of the visual swashbuckling swagger of its predecessors
just not the emotional purity.
3.00 Stars
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