After having seen the film this Friday after much anticipation and waiting for two whole years, I can safely say my thoughts on this film are not fully developed and mature yet. This is a film that demands a second viewing to fully grasp the concept and understand it. But to be more expressive about how this movie has numbed my thought process, I need to talk spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Every Star Wars film has expectations which soar high so naturally, I had high expectations for this film. I wanted it to answer the questions raised in The Force Awakens such as Rey’s parental heritage, I wanted it to do justice to a world post-Han Solo, I wanted it to do justice to the late great Carrie Fisher’s character Princess/General Leia Organa, I wanted it to do justice to Luke Skywalker, I wanted it to do justice to the characters introduced in the last movie and to do justice to the legacy of Star Wars all the while being a good movie. — The question which arises is ‘Did it do all that?’ and I am not sure I have an answer that’s well formulated.
There are things I can say confidently and things I need to think and ponder about before I can talk about them with opinions that are fully formed. Things that I am sure about include the fact that this movie is visually spectacular. It looks beautiful and has a very pleasing colour scheme and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at it, Rian Johnson has proven that not only can he make indie classics but can also successfully handle making a great looking Star Wars (the biggest franchise ever) film. And once again I’m interested to see what Steve Yedlin as cinematographer brings to the big picture in the future because he is fantastic in this one. I can also say with great confidence that the performances in this movie were terrific. Daisy Ridley as Rey is again mesmerizing, Adam Driver as the conflicted villain Kylo Ren is again nothing short of breathtaking, and Carrie Fisher obviously makes you feel broken as she brings her character to life as the last role she ever played in a perfect performance. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker is a complete treasure and most definitely my favourite part of the whole film and reminded me how much I missed his character in the last few films. We got to see more of Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron this time around which was amazing and much-needed since he was my favourite character in the new character additions from The Force Awakens. I didn’t like John Boyega’s Finn in the previous film and I didn’t necessarily like him in this one. Some of the new character additions were stupid and unnecessary while some were fun and enjoyable. The Porgs are not as annoying as they look like they’re going to be, they actually won’t really bother you much. Chewbacca and R2-D2 are briefly featured but are obviously extremely entertaining and lovable as they always have been. I also am sure that the lightsaber scenes in this movie are extremely well choreographed and shot very well, they’re cinematic and picturesque.
It’s unique in its presentation, I’d even go to the extent of saying ‘very unique’ but then it would be grammatically incorrect, this movie goes places no Star Wars film has gone before.
But as far as being sure about things go, I’m pretty sure that’s about it. I’m not sure about the character decisions or the plotline or any other major decision the movie makes, which has altered the franchise and the forthcoming movies to come forever.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
My favourite parts of the movie are the scenes with Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren. These characters are the most interesting and the events taking place in their lives have the most levity. The scenes with any of these characters involved are wonderful and exciting and worth your ticket, especially if they’re sharing the screen. I thoroughly enjoyed these characters and spending time with them as they develop and thicken. They all shared excellent chemistry and were spectacular.
I particularly liked what they did with Rey’s and Kylo Ren’s characters, it provides a new insight and explores new areas that are beyond interesting, the action scene with Rey and Kylo Ren killing of Snoke’s guards was nothing short of marvellous, and yes I actually don’t think I had a problem with Snoke being killed off as it thickened Kylo Ren’s character and made him stronger and more radical, possibly my favourite parts of the movie are the scenes with him and Rey conversing trying to make each other understand and see what the other sees, it was endearing and added to not only both their characters but also to the very nature of Star Wars and it’s commentary and belief in ‘Hope’.
I didn’t really enjoy Finn’s storyline with him and the new character Rose, them constantly cutting back from the visceral scenes of tension with Rey to this seemed inappropriate and unnecessary and took out the real, raw intensity of the film. This arc was quite easily the most pointless of all of them as it fails to deliver on the message this movie was going for. ‘Failure is the best teacher’. Finn inevitably fails to protect The Resistance as he goes to infiltrate Snoke’s ship to disable a tracking device that helps them track our heroes’ ship in lightspeed. But his failure teaches him nothing and doesn’t develop his character in any way as he failed due to circumstantial issues and not because of something that he did. It fails to add any character to the existing characters and although it is quite enjoyable, it doesn’t progress the story in a way that couldn’t be bested.
Among the character arcs the most difficult to comprehend, mind-bending, hard to talk about and explain and the one providing the most food for thought and the one that requires you to watch it a second time is that of Luke Skywalker. As I said, Mark Hamill is amazing as said character but it’s not easy to talk about or explain what Luke becomes in this film. He is a Luke without hope. He is a Luke full of regret. He is a Luke who failed his students, his nephew, his sister and his friend and in doing so threatened the entire galaxy. My dilemma arises in this very character and the decisions he makes. Sure, Rose Tico made one of the stupidest decisions we’ve seen a character make in a movie, but I didn’t necessarily care about that arc. I treated it like a filler. Luke was the reason I was there, watching the film. My moral dilemma was tested in the scenes with this character and it was unbelievably difficult to comprehend. Luke in this movie is not the same, he is a changed man, not the great Jedi legend people call him, he is old and grumpy and just wants to be left alone and repent the mistakes he’s made. And the arc they created for his character was unconventional and endearing but confusing and one that definitely requires a second watch. At the end of the movie where he stares at the horizon just like he did in the first movie and the binary sunset plays gave me the chills but I was left with a void in my heart and full of confusion.
It’s tonally perhaps the darkest film of the franchise and I am beyond excited for how they handle everything in the conclusion to this chapter that is episode XI.
This movie offers a lot of food for thought and is very unconventional in its presentation. It’s unique and completely different from any Star Wars movie before it. It has interesting characters but I still cannot decide how I feel about it. I can only talk about it after I’ve seen it a few more times so obviously this isn’t the end of my articles related to The Last Jedi.
Out Of The Blue 