Compelling watch!

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2017)

We met Luke Skywalker 40 years ago in Star Wars: A New Hope, and while many thought fan favorite Hans Solo would be the central character of the trilogy, it was actually Luke's journey that formed the crux of the original trilogy- from a peasant to a rebel and then to a Jedi. He defeated the Empire back in 1983 and disappeared, only to make an appearance in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as the last Jedi. Or not?
The Last Jedi picks up from where the Force Awakens ended- Rey meets Luke and wants him to teach her to master the Force, while Leia evacuates the Resistance base in spectacular fashion, as the First Order forces chases them. Both of them are unlucky though- Luke grieves over his failure in teaching Kylo and so has lost his faith in the ways of the Jedi. And Leia loses a huge chunk of her fleet in the initial First Order attack, and is incapacitated later on.
The Rebel forces are on the run, and Poe Dameron and Finn devise an alternate plan to escape from the clutches of the First Order. Meanwhile Kylo and Rey develop a telepathic connection which leads to a confrontation between them that has drastic results for everyone, including Snoke. At the same time, a movie titled The Last Jedi has it's final act devoted to the supposed Last Jedi, as Luke finally appears, and lights the spark that keeps the Resistance alive.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is probably the best of all Star Wars movies. It has the right mix of humor, emotion, and action. Light saber duels, X-wing dogfights, messy relations- it is all there. Director Rian Johnson clear direction almost makes it difficult to choose between the dark side, and light. It is impeccably paced, and all the actors do a great job while they are at it.
Some of the newer characters are fleshed out- Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaacs are rousing. And Mark Hamill gives the performance of his lifetime, and keeping up with the theme of old giving way to the new, gracefully relieves himself from the series, even though we expect him to appear Yoda like in future.
It is not all perfect though- the movie is too long, there are plot holes, unanswered questions and questionable logic, and similarities with The Empire Strikes Back abound, but at the end of it, we are left at a far brighter place than The Empire Strikes Back.
Change is the only thing that is constant. This is Star Wars, for this generation. And the good news for fans is that there seemingly is no end to the story