Before I decided to watch this film one last time prior to this review (this will have been my fifth time seeing it), I decided to look at the reviews on Rotten Tomato to see just how specific these reviews were, both with what they loved about the film and about what they hated. It is an action I regret to this very second. The critics were giving the film heaps of praise filled with no substance, as if the same people who ran Hillary Clinton's campaign for president wrote these reviews. Constant reviews filled with sentences rambling on into nothing outside of "I really liked it!" or "It's a lot smarter than people think", which frustrated me beyond reason because it was only proving those obnoxious fans right about their perception about this divide between them. But if you thought this was bad, DEAR LORD, the audience reviews were about as coherent as a six year old's interpretation of Hamlet. I had to stop after the fifth or sixth comment because the amount of substance in these comments bashing the film was, ironically, the equivalent of the combined intellects of every theater owner in Alabama that boycotted Beauty and the Beast because Le Fou was gay. Comments filled with nothing but trollish insults with no backing behind them, no one backing up their opinions on whether or not the film was good (save for a few people on both sides), and an almost vomit inducing amount of (there's honestly nothing else to call them) Trump voters who kept screaming on and on about Social Justice Warriors ruining Star Wars, when in reality these bums were probably bashing people for liking Star Wars or Lord of the Rings back before they hit their cultural phenomenon status. Is there ANY PLACE sacred where these political hyenas can fuck off and disappear onto forums on Facebook (he says as he ironically comments with both Hillary and Trump in the same paragraph)?
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi was not the worst movie ever made, far from it. The prequels are objectively worse on virtually every standpoint, and unlike the fans, I can actually back my grievances up without just saying "DA PWEQUELS SUX!". And have these morons actually seen any other movies? My god, The Emoji Movie might have actually given me physical pain out of all the seconds I spent with a knife to my throat as the movie progressed and it's only a few months old as of this review. I must insist, however, that it is also not the best film in the Star Wars universe either. The film has it's own major...MAJOR...flaws that could take someone realistically out of the magic of seeing a Star Wars film. I compare this film from both positive and negative standpoints with The Dark Knight Rises. I thoroughly enjoyed most of this film for what it was trying to do and I did find myself engaged, entertained, and satisfied with what I got out of the product as a whole. Like I said in an earlier post when I claimed TDKR suffered from my copyrighted "Return of the Jedi Syndrome" (take this from me and I will sue!), however, there are certain decisions made in this movie's telling, execution and overall tone that I found completely alarming and almost unrecognizable to what I expected from a sequel to a film I actually really liked. But does the negative outweigh the positive, does the opposite occur, or are we at a perfect balance between perfection and complete garbage?
Plot: Picking up only a few days or so following the events of Episode VII, the Resistance is shelled by The First Order in outer space, constantly pursuing them across the galaxy. Destroyer of The Starkiller Base and galactic hero Poe Dameron attempts a counterattack, but suffers heavy losses and is demoted. Kylo Ren is at first hesitant to kill his mother (as he blames most of his anguish and turn to the Dark Side on Luke and Han), but Leia's ship is hammered by a TIE Fighter and almost kills her. Finn, having recovered from his duel with Kylo Ren, joins forces with BB-8 and a new character named Rose to embark on a secret mission to stop the First Order from tracking them.
Meanwhile, Rey is struggling to convince Luke Skywalker to train her in the ways of the Force to become a Jedi, especially when he finds out that Rey and Kylo Ren have a deep connection through the force and have been able to speak to one another. Through these sessions, Rey learns that Luke once attempted to murder Kylo because of Supreme Leader Snoke's influence on the boy, which drove a knife between Master and Apprentice (as well as Uncle and Nephew) and caused Kylo to turn on his fellow Jedi students and slay them all. Despite this knowledge, Rey believes Kylo is still good and departs to try and save him without Luke's help, especially as Luke believes the Jedi deserve to go extinct forever.
All points converge on Snoke's ship, where Kylo brings Rey before the Dark Lord, Finn and Rose are captured by Captain Phasma, and Poe considers a mutiny when he believes Leia's current replacement is leading the Resistance to disaster, prompting several chaotic events and one long lost Jedi Master to finally return to the limelight....
WARNING! THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM YET, PROCEED DOWN TO THE "OVERALL" SECTION!
What's Bad?: There were several perplexing decisions this film made that had me questioning whether or not my sanity was still within my grasp. The complete and utter uselessness this film gave to two of it's most hyped up villains, Captain Phasma, and Supreme Leader Snoke, had me wondering if they all thought the characters that could have been the most awesome had to go out like Boba Fett did in Episode VI. Let's start with Phasma, first. As a fan of "Game of Thrones", I value both Gwendolyn Christie's attitude and charisma in this role and her athleticism (something she brings quite often to Brienne of Tarth), but they misused this character to such an offensive degree that I wonder if they killed her off just to joke about how Brienne is likely not to die because of how popular she is. She's only in both The Force Awakens and this film for a few moments and seems more like a punchline than an actual villain (Something I've noticed Star Wars has plenty of, lest we forget General Grievous or Admiral Ozzel). But the reward for missed potential has got to be given to Supreme Leader Snoke. We knew nothing about who he was or what he was prior to Episode VII, still knew nothing about him afterwards, and before we knew it, Kylo Ren killed him to assume complete control of the First Order...wait what? How can you possibly make a character this mysterious so powerful and sinister that Luke feared his influence over Kylo, then kill him off in such a ridiculous way? Why the hell would you even bother having this guy in your films? What is the point of having this shadowy evil puppet master amount to absolutely FUCKING NOTHING?!?!?!
And then there's Super Leia...when I first saw this scene, I distinctly remember myself saying to my friend beside me "Oh, this movie is gonna hurt...". In this scene, Leia's command ship is shelled by TIE Fighters and she is launched into space. Then, out of what seems like thin air, her eyes open and she starts to fly...no I'm serious...she FUCKING FLIES back to her ship in a freaking Superman pose the whole time. Considering Carrie Fisher's tragic death, why didn't they just make this Leia's last moments on film? Look, I know the Force basically gives Jedi super powers, such as telepathy, telekinesis, super jumps, super speed (looking at you Qui-Gon), and whatever the hell Yoda was on when he fought Dooku in Attack of the Clones, but I seriously doubt the Force gives you the power to fly through outer space without the need to breathe as an elderly woman, otherwise the Jedi would not have been so easily slain when Palpatine issued Order 66. Even Skywalker blood has me calling "bullshit", as then I highly doubt Anakin would have ever lost to either Dooku on Geonosis, or Obi-Wan on Mustafar and could have easily slain them on both cases. This is just the dumbest thing to come out of Star Wars since...well...Yoda's caffeine fueled rampage against Dooku.
What's Good?: Considering Mark Hamill has had very minimal screen time following Return of the Jedi and has mostly been relegated to voice acting, it was quite refreshing to see him back in his element as Luke Skywalker once more. On top of that, he shows a stoicism and acting range I don't think we've quite seen from him yet. I will admit I had my doubts with Mark, especially after Harrison Ford was "meh" in his return roles as Indiana Jones and Han Solo, but he knocked this performance out of the ballpark. I guess Star Wars saves it's best roles for old men (Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee, etc.)
I also found myself really engaged in the conflict between Rey and Kylo in this film. I figured they were going to hold off on the two reuniting until the climax like they did with Luke and Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, but this film subverted my expectations quite well and convinced me that these two can really hold both sides of the Force in the coming sequel in 2019. Both Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver gave me performances I didn't expect, especially coming after their merely tolerable performances in the last film.
Speaking of subverted expectations, while I am a little miffed that the film kinda sorta halfway imitates Empire with it's unexpected and downright unsettling ending, I think the way they handled the climax of this film was flawless. I mean, I watched this climax with my friend and wondered if this was the same film with Super Leia in it, or if we wandered into another movie. The ending is left very open-ended and allows for a great deal of discussion for the next two years as we (both eagerly and begrudgingly to some) await the final chapter of this saga. I haven't been this content with the finale to a film since The Fellowship of the Ring and The Dark Knight.
As per usual in these new Star Wars films, the action set pieces and the music are sensational. John Williams is back at what he does best for these films while the action scenes are still not bogged down by obvious CGI battles like The Prequels were. I especially loved the scene where Rey and Kylo fought Snoke's bodyguards and the final showdown between Luke and his nephew. This is how Star Wars action should be done.
Overall: Not a flawless film by any means, but The Last Jedi is far from the worst thing you could see, and don't let any whiny fanboys tell you otherwise. Like I've said a dozen times before, see the movie for yourself and formulate your own opinions on it. Don't rely on critics, fanboys, audiences, or even strangers on the street. Find your own voice and see this film. I personally enjoyed this film far more than I did Rogue One, which I saw as a downer from all sides. Is it stupid? Yes. Is it convoluted? Of course. Can it get agonizing? Absolutely. But the good balances out the bad quite well in this film and had me looking for more, and I won't be giving up this mantle any time soon.
Final Grade: B or 85
Coming Up Next: Graceful Landing Vs. Tripping On Your Own Feet: Comparing the Latest Seasons of "Star Wars Rebels" and "Star vs the Forces of Evil"
After That: Overlook at Season One of "Game of Thrones"
