STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI REVIEW BY DAVID DE GROOT

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2017)

Rian Johnson finally had the guts to divert from the standard Star Wars formula, something that lacked in The Force Awakens. This is very much Rian Johnson's version of Star Wars, playing with comic relief, being creative with audio to build tension and surprising us with the plot over and over. My viewing party laughed, cried and celebrated.
All of this however, needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The movie admittingly had its fair share of excellent moments, however some were amply abysmal.
MISSES
Firstly, there were plenty of things that grinded my gears; Rebel bombers being useless due to their lack of speed and large size. Fighters being able to blast capital ship turrets without any problems and the Rebel celebration at the end of the movie after being utterly decimated by the First Order.
Secondly, I am disappointed by how the movie handles Leia's near-death-experience. I am all for Leia having Force powers, however her flying back to the ship all Mary Poppins style seems over-the-top, especially considering her lack of impact in the rest of the movie. I would have preferred Leia to have piloted the Rebel Capital into the First Order's fleet, instead of Holdo. Finally, some dialogue was downright terrible, on level with the prequels. For instance, that moment when Leia and Holdo said goodbye and they both go "may the fo-" and then laugh nervously; I didn't come to watch a teen romcom.
PLOT
The plot, however, was excellent, finally delving into the relationship between Kylo and Rey. Learning about the turn of Kylo to the Dark Side and Luke's reason for hiding was an interesting revelation. It makes Luke seem less of the hero we thought he was, although he does redeem himself fantastically on Crait at the end of the movie. I would have loved for Snoke to live longer, so we could get to know him and his story better, however Kylo rising to the position of Surpreme Leader is very promising, and Snoke dying was a beautiful twist. On the other hand, the arc between Finn and Rose seemed bland. They search for the 'master codebreaker', however they divert from this quickly and hook up with another dude. The guy Maz sent them after was only given about five seconds of screen-time!
A point that I haven't seen made yet is that this film resonates very much with the current political scenario:
The Original Trilogy was a cold war film, where huge empires were taken down by ragtag heroic organizations. The Prequel Trilogy was a critique of Bush Era politics (even with a direct quote by Anakin), how war can be a tool in consolidating power, how many of the conflicts are fictitious.
The Sequel Trilogy is set in an era where we are becoming seemingly overwhelmed by forces of evil. Intolerance, cyberwarfare, an almost unstoppable surge of populist strongmen... all at the leisure of a super-rich elite. I thought Canto Bight was the most important part of the film. It threw in everybody's face how rich people profit from suffering, how they enslave, humiliate and exclude for their own gain.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the movie excellently builds further on the plot established by The Force Awakens, and it will be interesting how the Rey and Kylo conflict continues. It is, however, plagued by some bad
dialogue and mis-timed humour. Luckily the great moments outweigh the terrible; Yoda's appearance, the Rey and Luke plotline and the break in to Snokes ship save the day.
VERDICT: 8/10
Plagued by some terrible mistakes, the movie expands the force-users plotlines excellently and manages to entice the audience with an amazing story.