A Short, Non-Spoiler Review





Star Wars The Last Jedi opening night was buzzing with fanfare. Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders and Mandalorian Warriors posed with excited star wars fans (especially me!) and the air was filled with expectation. JJ Abrams brought us an impressive, well-executed, original-trilogy-inspired beginning to the new trilogy. He left us with more questions then any of us could have imagined, and now the Last Jedi has taken us and our beloved universe to new, unexpected places, and has answered many of our most burning questions… or did it?





I won’t discuss the spoilers (which means I can’t say much), but I thought I would let you in on my thoughts about the movie as a whole.





The Last Jedi shares a similar pace to that of Rogue One. We were zipped from one action scene to another, to ahch-to, then back again, and before you know it we are in a separate action sequence on another planet and zapped back again. The movies fast paced story telling was gripping and left me breathless. This provides a very different feel from JJ’s Force Awakens where we spent much more time slowly journeying with Rey from Jakku to Ahch-To. The Force Awakens seemed to build momentum as the movie went one. The best way to explain the Last Jedi is that there are three main lanes. One lane with Rey, Luke, Kylo and Snoke, the second lane with Finn and Rose, and the Third, with the overall conflict of the Resistance and First Order. All three lanes were moving forward at pace and filled with action. The movie jumped from lane to lane until they all converged at the latter end of the film culminating in a grand ending.





Does this story telling technique inhibit the story or does it flesh out the beautiful intricacies of it? That would be up to you decide for yourself, after all, we each have our own preferences to filmmaking techniques and different techniques resonate with different people. Personally, I found that there were times when the fast paced, jumping to and fro did inhibit the story. The reason? Everything in the Last Jedi was deeply intriguing, adding depth to the universe, and throwing unseen twists and turns. Jumping from one story to another prevents someone from dwelling on what just took place. This is almost a pro and a con for the film. The film is filled to the brim of exciting new developments, yet I almost had no time to digest it in time to appreciate the next scene. Overall: The movie was an exciting and gripping story, but could have benefitted from having slower pace in some parts. A solid 8.5/10





What about the characters?

There isn’t much I can say in this area without spoiling the movie, but what Luke says in the trailer could not be more true: “This isn’t going to go the way you think!” The standout characters for me; Kylo Ren, Rey and Rose.





Kylo Ren’s character is wonderfully complex. His unusual struggle with being tempted by the Light Side is fascinating, and he is simply fantastic in this movie. Well done Adam Driver for playing this role perfectly. His complex character adds a feel of unpredictability to him, and so there are many doors open for this great character.

Rey was amazing as expected. Star Wars has made me feel like I actually know Rey, and so that is why I expected her to be her in this movie. Her journey in the Last Jedi is so intriguing and I am positive that you all will love her character!

In terms of the side characters of the film, my favourite was Rose. I enjoyed all her scenes and built empathy for her almost instantly. A great minor character who brought a nice touch, and potentially one of the more quotable lines from the movie.





All characters were good, some had their flaws, but overall I cannot complain just yet, about the characters and their developments. The Force Awakens, in light of the Last Jedi, sets the characters and their journeys up very well.





The characters earn a 8/10





The Story?





Unexpected to say the least. Your knowledge of the Force will grow, expand, widen and deepen in significant ways because of this film. The Force is beautifully explored and any true star wars fan will enjoy this journey of discovery! The other parts of the story regarding the Jedi, Luke, Snoke and The galactic conflict all contain exciting twists and turns that will have you shocked, surprised and leave you guessing. The fact that this movie was so unpredictable makes it one of, if not, the best star wars movie. Everyone was very confident in their own little theories about what will take place, and I’m glad Star Wars did something far more unexpected. Imagine how unexciting a trilogy of movies would be if we could so easily predict everything?



