Even better than the last

Rating: 6/10 (4 January 2018)

"Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" is as the title already states the 8th installment for the long-running Star Wars franchise and the second of 3 films from recently. Rian Johnson took over as director and writer all on his own for this 2.5-hour film and I think he did a really good job. No surprise this won box office for 2017 movies as it was as big of a financial success as it was a success with critics and reviewers like myself, probably even more. I liked episode 7 already, but I loved episode 8 occasionally. Adding Mark Hamill to the cast does so so much for it and it's a shame he won't be back for the final chapter. But this also shows how they are not scared of killing off major characters, legendary characters even, the way they did with Han Solo in the previous. The scenes with Daisy Ridley and her male partners were the absolute highlight. First all the action on the island with Hamill and then the scenes with Adam Driver exploring the complicated relationship between their two characters. I still am not sold at all when it comes to Boyega I must say as the male lead to such a strong franchise. He was clearly overshadowed by the other guys I just mentioned. But he was also hurt by the story with the Asian girl going from zero to hero in the most unrealistic unlikely hero story I have seen in quite some time. The only purpose her character eventually has is making clear there won't be a love story between the two protagonists, just like there wasn't in the old Star Wars films, even if for completely different reasons. Several other actors reprised their roles, most of all Carrie Fisher of course and her untimely death makes some situations fairly awkward as there is a great deal of references on death surrounding her character, even if she lives eventually. As for the other actors: Isaac is a much better actor than he is allowed to show here, Serkis makes for a good bad guy once more, Nyong'o is almost non-existent, Gleeson impressed me once more. Dern and Del Toro bring characters to life that teach you that the first impression isn't always right. As for BDT, I think it was a bit strange how they can't get the real guy and just take him instead, even if he may be gifted. Next best thing huh? Did not feel too smart to be honest.
From the technical perspective, this is a huge success too no denying. Visual effects, sound effects, music etc. are all top-notch and other visual stuff like make-up, costumes, sets etc are impressive too. No doubt this film will get a great deal of awards recognition probably up to some Oscar nominations too and maybe one win. The new Star Wars films profit a lot from the generally-assumed mediocrity of episodes 1-3 and this takes a great deal of pressure away from them too, but honestly what we are getting here is fairly impressive. Episode 7 was good already, but this one here has glimpses of excellence and it may be my favorite Star Wars film of them all even. Shame some weaknesses prohibit me from giving this one a ****/*****. But I wanted to at times. I sure am curious about the next one and looking at how disappointed I was by the Star Wars story from last year, this was a delightful watch. No need to avoid superlatives here as these 2.5 hours really never dragged one bit and hardly could have been executed any better. And this comes from somebody who generally includes SciFi among his least favorite genres. Speaking about the non-human characters, all the familiar ones are included too and I liked the charming friendship between Chewbacca and a bunch of space owls. Very cute, look at their faces when he wants to eat that poultry. Heartbreaking stuff there. I also really liked how they worked on the comic relief moments. They were almost always funny, but they did not feel the need to shove them in our faces constantly like a certain other really successful Galaxy-themed franchise is doing these days. Here they go for quality over quantity and it sure pays off. So looking at the cast, this is a must-see thanks to the story and performances from Ridley, Driver and Hamill most of all. I very much recommend checking it out. This is one of the 2017 films you really don't want to miss out on. And it is a worthy addition to the series and will turn Star Wars into an even bigger cultural phenomenon than it already is. Very much recommended, close to a must-see on the big screen.