The Last Jedi Goes in a Different Direction With a Focus on Character Development and Shocking Plot Twists

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2017)

The beginning of Disney's Star Wars universe was marred by controversy and criticism. I really loved the Force Awakens but I don't feel the need to argue about it or challenge people on their opposite opinion. Its not perfect (just as this movie isn't) but I dug it anyway. Rogue One was also really good and as much as there is so much debate around these movies, I was still excited for this. Rian Johnson is a respected filmmaker and although I'm a little mixed of his filmography, I wanted to give him a shot.
The reasons that I loved Episode VII were almost for the polar opposite that I loved The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi has 2 things that they knock out of the park and I must heap loads of praise on Rian Johnson for them. The first is that the characters are developed wonderfully. The Force Awakens introduced some interesting new characters but it was just the beginning, its not like they could go through a deep character arc in just one movie. At first, I was getting frustrated at Luke's downer attitude, self pity seemed unbecoming for him. But as the movie goes along you understand why he's abandoned the Jedi Order and the force as his actions were unbecoming of someone of his legendary status. Kylo Ren isn't just some monster, much like Vader before him, he's not of one mind. The movie plays with the parallels between him and Rey and I loved the fact that they came to a deeper understanding of each other. Leia finally gets to show that she has a measure of ability with the Force, Poe learns what it takes to be a leader, Finn finds out that his bravery wasn't fleeting, and Rey learns about how to look at events from multiple viewpoints and still choose to see the good. You also get new introductions like Vice Admiral Holdo and Rose Tico. Giving us compelling characters isn't new for the Star Wars franchise but this movie was exceptional at giving our heroes and villains more depth and it's even more astounding considering that he wasn't officially involved with the production on Episode VII. It shows how talented Rian is that he could have a deeper understanding of these characters and is just coming into this world.
The other thing that this movie deserves credit for is for having genuinely surprising twists and turns in the plot. This movie is not predictable in anyway and even though you may be familiar with these characters, if you told me you exactly guessed the major plot points I would call you a liar. You could guess that Starkiller Base was going to explode and that Rey and Kylo would face off at the end of TFA. This movie dances to a different tune and marches into a different direction and it is much better for it. I think this movie takes very real chances and we need more of that in big budget film making.
As this rebooted franchise gains more momentum, the calibre of actors is also continuing to rise. Mark Hamill is solid as Luke, Oscar nomination is a little much but instead of coasting he put in some good work. Carrie Fisher gets a little more to do and she shines. The Force Awakens holdovers are all excellent, Daisy Ridley looks like a rising star again, John Boyega gets to be a little less comedic and he excels, and Adam Driver is good again as the film's antagonist. Laura Dern was a standout, she was the perfect mix of being stern and warm. I still wish Oscar Isaac got more chances to be a bad@$$ pilot but he's still a great actor. I also liked Andy Serkis as Snoke, the guy is so magnetic and he's obviously the best at what he does.
So, my review has been nothing but praise but this movie has its flaws. They shoved some of the characters I like best to the back (are we ever going to get a decent amount of time with R2-D2 again?), some of the things that they built up from previous films are just tossed in like they don't matter (I liked the explanation of Rey's heritage but they made it seem like a bigger deal in TFA). The comedy in the movie is a little hit or miss and they hype around certain characters still falls flat (Captain Phasma is completely underwhelming again).
I want to wrap this up by saying if you hate this movie and all the Disney produced Star Wars, I honestly think that's fine. But I think people need to try to objectively put aside how amazing the original trilogy was (and me endorsing these movies are not the same thing as denouncing the original films) and judge these movies on their own individual merit. This was a brave step for the franchise and I am now really looking forward to Rian Johnson handling his own trilogy. This was an excellent movie and I recommend you give it a chance.