The force is strong with this movie!

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2017)

This review is spoiler-free meaning it does not contain spoilers, but I will genuinely share with you how "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" affects me as a movie fan, as a Star Wars fan,.. and whether or not it does what it's supposed to do. Audiences around the world tend to agree with the statement that "Empire Strikes Back" is one of the best sequels ever made, well, I think "The Last Jedi" can easily take that honor now. This movie is astonishing and spectacular. It pushes many of this franchise's familiar elements to their limits and it really digs deep into the key characters and brings forth everything that stands out about them. Writer/director Rian Johnson is an impeccable storyteller.
The story picks up after the events in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," by this time the First Order grows stronger as it corners the resistance to an impossible situation. Poe Dameron, Finn and Rose come up with a plan that could work but time is of the essence. Meanwhile Rey is doing her best to convince Luke Skywalker to join in on the fight, but Luke doesn't want to be a jedi or a master, let alone the resistance's final hope.
Ok, so if you're wondering what happens with Kylo Ren, Rey, Poe Dameron and Finn and how they affect each other this time around, without giving it away, what "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" does is essentially flesh out these characters. Not only will you get to know some of their history and their background and what truly compels them, but this time they're also facing some very difficult choices. And the film also lays out judgement on some of them, it puts an end to some parts of the story that doesn't need to be continued anymore in the next episode. And what's brilliant about the story that Rian Johnson has crafted is that it makes you the audience think that each of those characters has their own respective path that they're going on, you expect them to see it through but bam, other plans take over but turns out these new unexpected plans actually make sense to the overall arc.
Johnson wants these characters' personal journeys to be a refined in the fire type of journeys. Each revelation, each aspect, brings them one step closer to being the lead stars, front and center of this new trilogy as the old icons take a step back further away from the spotlight. Speaking of whom, it's so awesome Mark Hamill be Luke Skywalker again, he has a bigger role this time, such a larger than life legend, and Hamill actually gives his best performance in years in this one.
I know that a lot of fans consider "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to be more or less a rehash of "A New Hope" and I don't blame them for thinking that because to a certain extent, it was a rehash. But it's a necessary one because after the super boring parliamentary-heavy prequels by George Lucas. So it was important for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to remind us that this franchise was once super fun and exciting. So because that problem was taken care of, so now Rian Johnson doesn't need to do such reminder anymore with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." It is not a Empire Strikes Back rehash. Rian can freely do what he does best, similar to what he did with "Brick," "The Brothers Bloom," and "Looper, and that is to further explore the possible consequences of the characters' decisions while at the same time amplifying everything you love about Star Wars, it even brings back some familiar faces. If you've always been fascinated with the force, this movie emphasizes the force all the more. If you miss Carrie Fisher, this movie has heavy dose of general Leia, if light speed gets you stoked, there's plenty of those here, and if you're a big fan of jedi mindtrick, boy does "Star Wars: the Last Jedi" have a big motherload surprise for you or what!
Such incredible breathtaking new locations as well, especially that vast salt land in Bolivia that serves as the backdrop for the planet Crait. The battle sequences in this film are pulse-pounding, explosive and intense. The light saber fights are thrilling, you just get enough of it, you'll be begging for more, you'll want the film to display more of those laser swords in action. The way the new characters integrate themselves with the stories of Kylo Ren, Finn and Poe Cameron is quite seamless. Whatever conflicts amongst them or their collision only lead to some of this film's most heroic moments which are highlighted by the remarkable sound mix and sound editing. This is a movie that entirely looks and moves and feels and breathes like a Star Wars movie with an Oscar level deeply affecting drama that stays with you long after the end credits roll. The force is strong with "Star Wars: the Last Jedi."
-- Rama's Screen --