Act 2 does its duty

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2017)

It's finally here-- The Last Jedi-- and after two years of waiting, it looks like we got a more than fulfilling result. The film picks up where The Force Awakens ended with Rey, Chewie and R2D2 on Achh-To with Luke and the rest of the Rebels trying to escape from the First Order. It echoes The Empire Strikes Back in some ways, one of them being that it's essentially a story about survival and defence, not attack. The stakes are set high and right from the first scene, we are plunged into action.
The Dark Side, lead by Supreme Leader Snoke is shown getting stronger with each passing second and the Resistance is seen struggling to keep up their fight but hope is kept alive even in the toughest of times. Some early losses in the film set a somber tone and weaken the Resistance fairly, allowing the enemy to take advantage. But the Dark Side isn't perfectly focused either. With an inefficient General and a rather conflicted warrior at the face of it, their decisions don't always seem to be the best (as usual) but due to the sheer power they possess in this film in terms of artillery and manpower, the fight between the two sides makes for an exciting watch.
Talking about conflict, we see it rising in the minds of almost all of the key characters in the film. The many different layers to everyone's psyche are explored and that's always something to love. Kylo, shown previously being torn between the Light and the Dark and having to carry the burden of being his own father's killer is more disturbed than ever and even Rey, tired of not knowing what her lineage is faces some moments of weakness. To add to this, the two are shown to be "connected" by the Force (the reason behind which is later explained) and this just increases the complications. In one rather cathartic scene, we see the possibility of redemption in Kylo but that is short lived and despite an inexplicable bond set up between the two characters, they resume their positions on opposite sides of the battlefield soon afterwards. Luke himself is an old and grumpy man with no interest in what is happening in the galaxy and it takes a fair amount of coaxing and our ever-so-cheeky R2D2, pulling a "cheap trick" in a really sweet throwback moment (you'll see), to get him to agree to train Rey. In a later scene, we see another character from the past, a Jedi Master whose name begins with the second last letter of the alphabet, make a small appearance and it warms our hearts to know that everyone and everything really is connected and those ties remain even after the physical selves cease to exist. However there remains a lot of tension in Luke's mind and a whole lot of back-and-forth about whether or not he should involve himself, even if indirectly, in the war again, takes place there. Haunted by what he believes is his failure as a master and his creation, Kylo Ren, he is never fully committed to what he is doing. We are told how Kylo Ren came to be and why he turned to the Dark. But in the end, Luke, very grandly and in a very unique way, regains his place as a Jedi hero.
One of the dialogues in the film where he tells Rey that things are not going to go as planned runs true through every turn of this movie. Learning from The Force Awakens, this plot was created starkly different. Nothing seems to work out and nothing comes easy. The film has three parallel stories-- one with Luke and Rey, one with Finn and Rose Tico and the other with Poe and Leia trying to protect their army and the plans of all of these people fail when they needed to work the most. Even though it rendered the subplots practically useless and is one of the biggest reasons behind the big divide between the fans and the critics about how the film was (the fans disliking the movie, for a change), it's a take that I liked as it made the story seem more real because not everything goes according to plan in life. Rose is a new addition to the cast and is similar to Finn's character in that she too is an underdog who rises to glory through her will. Some other characters should have been given meatier roles like Maz Kanata and Captain Phasma, whose potentials weren't fully tapped. Hopefully the former shows up more strongly in Episode IX.
One of the biggest questions from the previous installment was about Rey's parents. That is answered but it's not what was expected and even more frustratingly we don't know if it's completely true because we don't see anything play out in any scene, clearly, but instead just hear someone tell her about her family. I wish we'd have been given more of a definite revelation, in this film, like the one from the "I am your father" scene from its twin in the original trilogy. If the answer is true however, it would make the 'force' a more open power-- something that can be wielded by anyone and not just a special group of people.
The film has been made funnier than the others in the saga but in just the right way and only when needed. After all, the events are very grave in nature and emotion rules stronger throughout. Since the story references the past more than The Force Awakens, it reminds us of what used to be and how the lives of the people we know have changed and those ignited memories create just the slightest tinge of nostalgia. Every time the Resistance takes a blow and boy do they take a lot of those, it hurts a bit more because it really does feel like we're losing a part of our family and the fact that the dashing Han Solo is missing doesn't help either. One such loss right at the end was especially heartbreaking. Star Wars just isn't Star Wars without some of the characters that have died recently but I guess that's life. Hopefully this person will return as a force-ghost in the last of this trilogy. The death was beautifully sentimental though as it mirrored one of the very first scenes we ever see of this character, symbolically closing the circle of life, so to speak.
The Resistance is left lessened in number but 'reborn' as Luke says in the end. Their future is uncertain but they are safe, for now, and the final showdown in Episode IX will be one for the ages.