Much more emotional and comical than it appears, "The Last Jedi" is an unusual follow-up in deified Star Wars canon

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2017)

The most successful, celebrated and cherished franchise of all time is already here brimming with brand new, groundbreaking and laudable proposals, stamped in the story by a potential filmmaker who has achieved the impossible: get the endorsement of Lucasfilm about to conceive another radically different trilogy, with characters, scenarios, approaches and themes never seen before; he calls himself as Rian Johnson and is here to stay.
"The Last Jedi" is titled the latest entry in this huge galaxy. Dynamited controversy arose at the time when it was announced officially and publicly the name of this episode, causing hundreds of suspicions and therefore theories that connected and disconnected hypothesis about whether a possibility would be provided to find more than one Jedi in the tale. Did they allude Luke Skywalker as the last one? End the Jedi? Who are Rey's parents? What has the real reason Kylo Ren murdered his father? Is this movie featuring a new lightsaber color? Will Finn and Poe have a more personal relationship? Thousands and thousands of attractive questions came up on the web daily, Internet-using fans who theorized about the possible course of the second part, in which most of their questions have been solved.
Again, we return with Poe Damen as a daring pilot on a suicide mission, undaunted and over-confident along his army with the goal etched in his head: Fade the Dark Side. The first good thing to come to light about this character is that, with respect to the seventh installment, we have the pleasure of witnessing an Oscar Isaac more mature, just as fearless and less superficial, partly thanks to the increase of his time on screen; Resistance well-liked pilot gets the treatment he deserves for honor, although he remains a grateful time inside his spaceship struggling, he has the opportunity to guide the crew momentarily; likewise, Guatemalan actor's performance is human, charismatic and certainly charming. The second narrative arc corresponds to Finn and a brave new rebel played by Kelly Marie Tran. The duo embarks on an epic adventure almost like a buddy movie, fulfilling their function of fighting face to face with the aberrant amount of ships and enemies that stand in the way of the Light Side. It's important to underline the romantic impact that the couple gives, an interesting and fresh play that benefits from the good feeling that each actor permeates their characters. To close the narrative trio and, clearly, no less fundamental, is Rey, exactly in the same place where the previous flick ended. She is there to receive a formal training in order to, in one way or another, be enlighten by mighty Skywalker's force, as well as gets answers and holds the last Jedi's purpose high and proud: Start a new, focused and well-directed revolution. At this point, writer-actor Mark Hamill's character has more weight, teaching Rey the true meaning of the force through directives, keys, and advices that will turn her into the last great hope, one to which the future clings fearfully. Luke's living arrangements and reasons for the choice of hiding in such off-the-radar island are emotionally diffused, also, much of the conflict originated between the light and the dark side is clarified, allowing the introduction of old acquaintances with the aim of breaking down, once and for all, this war in the galaxies, we all know the ending. Although the first and much of the second act Rey shares the screen with Mr. Skywalker most times, there is a portentous narrative technique that connects her, in a very original spiritual way, with Kylo Ren. This pessimistic-thought, morally ambiguous and dictator boy shows an openly unaccustomed human perspective, it's perceptible in his eyes of neglect, loss and sorrow, Ren is stuck in a grey world, his actions are not fully dominated by wickedness and rancor toward Skywalker, in the same way, with the help of we witnessed, he exhibits an inevitable connection with the Light Side that leads him to strike up a certain relationship with Rey, he doesn't know what to do, doesn't know what to defend, however, over time, his heart is in cold, vileness and hatred, while his soul tries to emancipate, be honest and repent, his brain and heart are in full discompassing.
Watching Princess Leia Organa on screen for the very last time breaks everyone's heart, with every scene running something inside of me was really happy, but at the same time, something inside me was deeply sad to feel like I was saying goodbye to a loved one. The narrative arc of the princess is still based on women's empowerment, a peaceful warrior woman, in the heart and kindness of an unfading lady. I consider modern audiences will remember her by this last performance, full of hope, power and strength. It should be mentioned that although she's simply perfect within the story, this is not fully closed, IE everything looks as if she was going to be at the close of the trilogy, an alarming signal because Disney confirmed not resort to CGI to bring her back, then what will they be doing?
As an advice or a warning, there is a great surprise factor - of the many - that will replace the death of Solo in the previous installment, IE, this flick keeps shocking cardinal events for the course of the story that will leave you on the edge of your seats, with an analogue or more powerful impact that this one of Ren hurting his father's torso with a vengeful lightsaber. What is this obsession Mr. Vader has for killing characters with lightsabers?
Regarding the new adds in terms of characters, three roles are those that stand out in importance and presence. The first one is the aforementioned Rose Tico, a three-dimensional maintenance worker introduced in a key point and although it presents absolutely nothing of her past, she stars one of the most poignant and deeply romantic scenes of the franchise. The second one concerns Golden-Globe-nominated Laura Dern, who, thanks to Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, must be placed at the forefront of the Resistance. Her tenacity and courage make this woman a fundamental character for the progress of the story, while on the way delivers a sophisticated, determined and as always superb Dern. Finally and personally the most unexpected participation is Puerto Rican Benicio del Toro's performance. Surrounded by complete secrecy and theories, DJ, the character played by "Sicario" actor, is a kind of intergalactic mercenary, corrupt moral, an expert in deciphering ultra-confidential codes. Currently, one of the most potential roles for following installments.
Technically, just wide-open eyes. The creative journeys the film proposes are irrefutably evocative, captivating and professionally realistic, enabling a thorough immersion in the voyage. Cinematography doesn't go far from its predecessor, however, it's important the radical change that gives Steve Yedlin for the pictures; Camera angles and movements (characteristic of the films) harmonize different technical components of the film, making a drastic improvement at the cinematographic level, the movements are more intimate and personal, there are a greater presence of close-ups, fast and dynamic movements in the battles and dolly variations or precise approaches in situations where more than two characters are on screen. The costumes keep the trend and the gigantic art team does a neatly magnificent job. It's known that this department designed a catastrophic amount of new creatures, many of which were left out of the movie, however, the few strange-animals seen are peculiar, original, unpleasant and engaging. A film of universal importance in cinema world cannot afford to insinuate the presence of green screen in the pictures, perhaps it's due to my congestion of knowledge a little more advanced in this type of features, maybe yes, however, there were whole sequences where I could only focus my attention on the dissonance between actors and background scenarios, I saw the green or blue screen, not literally, the contrast, in my view, is perceptible, nothing serious, but very detectable.
John Williams, the always perfect John Williams. Master in compositions of sound masterpieces, the score manufactured for this film is, without hesitation, one of the most melodic, portentous and powerful of the entire franchise. Staying on traditional strings, the composer manages to beautify each scene with his traditional symphonies, melodies that are masterfully joined with the advance of the story. Ineffably, I had an inexplicable connection with the soundtrack of this feature film, it was something wonderful to listen again the emblematic anthem of the saga at the beginning, that made my heart stop, an act that would be repeated a couple of times later. Bravo, Maestro.
Rian Johnson's "The Last Jedi" leads the spectator placidly into a legendary voyage of lies, revelations, and transformations motivated by an unexpected comical touch, an important social message, first-class performances and an unforgettable score, sadly, the script doesn't end up being perfect and although it manages to resolve many of the unknowns of the previous installment, doesn't propose others as a substitute, any of them is sufficiently suggestive to keep in suspense the devout fanatics during two years before the arrival of the last movie. With unaccustomed twists in the genre, risky but well-received decisions, Johnson makes his official letter of presentation to the galactic universe, one in view of knowing the new trilogy that is in the hands of the promising filmmaker. Without fear of being wrong, the director will get great things for "Star Wars" future, for now, has created and delivered a great Christmas gift: magnificent action sequences, moving performances and a more acute and intimate analysis of the already legendary characters: We love Rey, Finn and Poe.