An underwhelming Star Wars adventure

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2017)

Here we go. Another year, another release of a highly anticipated Star Wars film. After last years solid, yet unspectacular "Rogue One", which was more of a spinoff prequel than anything else, many fans were anxiously awaiting the next main installment of the new trilogy. This second installment of the new trilogy, titled "The Last Jedi", directed by series newcomer Rian Johnson, comes with a ton of hype. As usual with highly anticipated releases, all the hype comes with the potential of disappointment, and unfortunately, The Last Jedi is a bit of a disappointment.
The Last Jedi's story takes place right after the events of 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". At the end of that movie, we see Rey (Daisy Ridley) finding legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who is in exile on the planet of Ahch-To, and The Last Jedi picks up right from there. Rey's hope is to be trained in the ways of a jedi, but Luke is initially hesitant because of his previous experience of training a young Ben Solo, who became corrupted by the dark side and is now the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). So, predictably, Luke is reluctant at the idea of training Rey, because of his distrust of her and people in general. Eventually, however, Luke decides to train Rey, knowing that Rey is perhaps the only hope the jedi have left in restoring peace to the galaxy. Meanwhile, the Resistance is in trouble. A First Order fleet led by General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) has prompted the evacuation of their main base and Resistance fighters, led by pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and commanded by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) fight back to keep the Resistance alive. There is a lot going on in the movie, and it often switches back and forth between these two settings with other minor sub-plots getting some screen time as well. However, because there is so much going on, certain characters that we have come to care about are put on the back burner. For example, Finn was a major character in the first movie that had a good amount of character development, but here he's more of a secondary character mixed in a sub-plot with other minor, underdeveloped characters. That's one of the frustrations of The Last Jedi. Certain characters you feel like should have played a bigger part don't, and characters you don't really care about or that should have been side characters are now integral and main parts of the story. On top of that, certain characters that had the potential to be much more are either killed off or misused. There's one glaring example of this that I can't quite say as it would be a major spoiler. I can't help but think that Johnson decided to make these bold decisions just for the sake of doing something bold with Star Wars in an attempt to keep the series fresh. While it may have sounded like a good idea, all it really did was create loose ends that have no opportunity to be knotted up or answered in Episode 9.
The Last Jedi establishes its overall pace right from the start. The opening space battle between the Resistance and the First Order is fast paced and action-packed, giving the audience a taste of what's to come in the rest of the movie. The action scenes are impressive and the visuals are beautiful, which makes this arguably the best looking Star Wars movie to date. While the action is impressive and for the most part engaging, there's almost too much of it and not enough of a break from it to give some time for character interaction and development. Aside from the parts with Luke and Rey, the movie is almost non-stop action and at 2 hours and 30 minutes, it gets a bit exhausting after a while. That's not to say that the film is too long, because it does justify its runtime, but the constant action for the most part gets tiring, especially during the last act. And although the film does chug along, there are certain points where it drags, especially during the casino scene in the middle act. Quite frankly, the pacing is a bit uneven.
The Last Jedi does succeed in that it gives useful backstory and insight into certain events and ideas. One example is that it expands on our knowledge of the force and what exactly it is, which is was definitely a welcome addition. It also gives us some backstory of Ben Solo and how he eventually became corrupted by the dark side and became Kylo Ren. And throughout The Last Jedi, you get the sense that things aren't always what they seem to be, and this is only heightened by the several surprising twists and turns in the movie. No other Star Wars movie since "The Empire Strikes Back" has been able to pull that off, and The Last Jedi deserves credit for that.
As expected, the acting in the movie is superb. Mark Hamill really stands out as an old and haunted Luke Skywalker, and he gives the performance of his career. Carrie Fisher is as good as ever as Leia Organa in her last role before her unfortunate passing. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are solid in their roles as Rey and Finn, respectively. Adam Driver returns as the evil Kylo Ren, reminding everyone why he can hold his own as the main bad guy. And of course there's the ever so great score by the legendary John Williams, who mixes in some of the classic score with some new material.
All in all, what we have here is a decent, but underwhelming Star Wars film. It has its moments and it's obviously a must see if you're a Star Wars fan, but don't be surprised if you walk out of the theater feeling a bit disappointed, especially when it comes to the narrative department. Johnson obviously tried to do something bold with the Star Wars franchise, and I commend him for that, but the result is a movie that will probably divide the fan base even more over the direction of the series. Here's hoping JJ Abrams can help turn the tide around for the better in the next film.