Bold risk-taking that mostly pays off

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2017)

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is written and directed by Rian Johnson and stars most of the same cast from the previous installment with one new addition of Kelly Marie Tran who plays a character named Rose. This is the first Star Wars film written and directed by one person since the prequels with George Lucas- An important point to make since one can definitely sense that there is a singular vision at play here. The visual style is unlike anything we've seen before in this franchise and that is most likely down to Johnson's sensibilities. There is breathtaking moment at a certain point in the movie where all sound is cut out and you're just left with the images of an epic moment and it is really something to behold.
The story follows on directly from 'The Force Awakens' with Rey (Daisy Ridley) finding Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on Ahch-to and attempting to get him to train her to which he is reluctant. The depleted resistance only has one ship left, which has almost ran out of fuel, and are trying to survive against the First Order. Then we also have another subplot in which Finn (John Boyega) and the aforementioned Rose travel to a new planet Canto Bight to find a code breaker to help the resistance against the First Order. While I didn't mind this part of the film too much it does take up a tad too much time and slows the film down rather noticeably. However, once it has passed the movie is right back on track again and zips by very quickly considering its lengthy 152 minutes run time.
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who was the main villain in episode VII, retains that position here too with a lot more screen time to boot. We get some interesting conversations between him and Rey via long distance telepathy which has been briefly explored before in previous Star Wars movies but Johnson took it all the way here. I can easily see how these expansions of the lore could be considered disagreeable by some fans but personally I thought most of them worked. There is a particular moment fairly early on in the film involving Leia (Carrie Fisher) that I can definitely see annoying fans and maybe even confounding some viewers- It is something we have never seen any character do in this franchise let alone Leia.
All the performances are compelling including Carrie Fisher's which is sadly her last after her passing a year ago. Another notable one is Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader. His motion-capture work never ceases to impress and he delivers a very good menacing performance her with the memorable dialogue he is given. Oscar Isaac is also reliable here reprising his role as Poe Dameron- He takes on a Han Solo esque part in this movie and will probably continue to do so in the next chapter.
Rian Johnson has delivered a very different but also very respectful Star Wars movie which pushes the boundaries of the mythology created by George Lucas which virtually a blank slate for JJ Abrams to pick up for episode IX. Let's hope he can deliver again like he did before and like Rian Johnson has here.