Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review

"This is not going to go the way you think!"



NO SPOILERS!


Star Wars: The Last Jedi was directed by Rian Johnson and is the eighth entry into the saga films (Episode 1-8) and the ninth overall Star Wars film in universe (including 2016's Rogue One). The film stars the likes of Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie and introduces new characters portrayed by Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro and Kelly Maire Tran. Without giving any spoilers away the film takes place just after the events of The Force Awakens and sees The First Order taking out revenge on the fleeing Resistance forces. Don't worry this review will contain NO SPOILERS!!)

Yes it is that time of year when we are treated to another entry into the ever expanding Star Wars universe, and boy was this film worth the two year wait from when we last saw these characters in The Force Awakens. The Star Wars Saga has always been a talking point about which film is better or which preferred trilogy fans enjoy more, and whilst The Force Awakens was sometimes criticized for borrowing to many elements from A New Hope, Star Wars: The Last Jedi redeems itself and provides a film that is not just entertaining to watch but unique within the Star Wars universe, but also puts audience on a emotional roller coaster and leaving you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire film (I know I certainly was!). The main credit has to go to Director Rian Johnson and his cast. Johnson creates not just a great story and a great entry into the Star Wars canon, but also creates a Star Wars story that pushes the boundaries of the original films and is not afraid to introduce new ideas and concepts into the franchise to keep the franchise feeling fresh and constantly moving forward. Whilst I understand some fans will struggle to accept these new ideas and some of the events that took place during this film (hey Star Wars fans will always disagree on something!) I personally believe that the new ideas are fresh and exciting and introduces audiences to a whole world of new possibilities and mythology that will keep the franchise moving forward and exciting for future entries into the Saga (I'm sure there will be plenty more films to come!). Another element of the film that is extremely successful is the visuals of the film, visually this has to be up there with some of the best visuals of the entire franchise and it just looks absolutely stunning on the big screen, especially scenes set on the salt planet of Crait, which we have seen in the trailers, but when it's on the big screen it looks even more impressive.

The cast of the film also give good performances. Credit is due to Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Mark Hamill who give great performances in the films, which is aided by their great chemistry whenever they are on screen together. Whilst there are a number of side plots during the film, the side plot revolving around Rey (Ridley), Kylo Ren (Driver) and Luke Skywalker (Hamill) is certainly one of the best side plots of the entire film (and is going to be the one which fans will absolutely love without a doubt!). New characters such as Vice Admiral Holdo (Dern), DJ (Del Toro) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) are worthy new characters to the franchise and are portrayed well during the film (obviously some more successful than others but I won't spoil that for you!). As with all Star Wars films comes great action sequences and The Last Jedi certainly does not disappoint, giving audiences intense space battles to visually stunning ground battles on Crait and the use of CGI really helps to enhance the realistic feel to the battles and really helps to encase audiences in the conflict (well I know I certainly was!).

Whilst there are loads of elements that I really enjoyed about the latest entry into the franchise, there are a couple of small elements that did not hit the mark all the time. Sometimes during the film there would be strange cuts in the sequence, whereby a scene would be building tension or about to make a reveal, and then the film would cut to another scene or another side plot that was going on at the same time. Whilst I understand that it is a extremely difficult process to be balancing so many stories and events in a single film, but I would of preferred the continuation of tension or a reveal for example, and then move on to the other side plot, otherwise you as an audience member are chucked out of feeling the tension to trying to recapture that felling later on when the film returns to the scene. Whilst this certainly does not happen throughout the entire film, it is certainly noticeable when it does happen. Also whilst there is a good use of comedic timing during the film to break up the bleak tone of the film (which works well), but as with any comedy in film, there are some moments when the jokes don't land, whilst this is not a major problem with the overall film, but does sometimes lose the effect that the film was trying to achieve.

Overall I really and I mean really enjoyed the latest entry into the Star Wars: The Last Jedi, its bold and exciting and I am sure if you are a Star Wars fan then you will love it, just remember go in to the cinema with and open mind and remember "This is not going to go the way you think it is!"

Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars