No one's ever really gone.

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2019)

'The Force Awakens' was Han Solo's final victory lap, and it is Luke Skywalker who takes center stage in 'The Last Jedi.' Mark Hamill gives the best performance of his career as a down-and-out Luke who, reluctantly inspired by a young pupil, re-discovers his heroic core.
Luke's final standoff is among the best scenes in any Star Wars film. His entire journey began by stumbling on a hologram projection of Princess Leia. Here, his journey ends by saving her life, and the entire Rebellion, with a projection of himself. His act of self-sacrifice saves the galaxy from certain oppression and perfectly completes Luke's arc from 'Return of the Jedi.'
At first Luke isn't so pleasant to be around, as Rey soon discovers. He's withdrawn himself from the fight, convinced that the endless Jedi-Sith power struggle is dooming the galaxy. He's already attempted to bring the Jedi back, passing on what he learned to his nephew, who then used that power to turn evil and slaughter his entire class.
As it turns out, Luke played a part in that turn. In a three-part flashback inspired by Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon," we see Luke go to confront his soon-to-be-murderous nephew, who we learn has already been seduced by the Dark Side. First, we get Luke's cleaned up version of events. Second, we see Kylo's manipulative spin. And lastly, we get the messy truth, that Luke did - for a split second - give in to the dark impulse to stop his nephew from committing these heinous acts. But the impulses passes - Luke can't murder a child however evil that child will become - and thus Kylo Ren is unleashed onto the galaxy.
This is who Luke Skywalker is. When we last saw him in 'Return of the Jedi,' he turns himself in to his father in non-violent surrender, hoping to show him the Light. His father, seemingly given to evil, takes him before the murderous Emperor. As Luke refuses to fight, Vader tempts him by threatening to turn Leia to the Dark Side. This sets Luke into a murderous rage, determined to prevent his sister from being corrupted. He all but kills his father, until he sees the deformed machine his father has become, and that he is setting down this same destructive path.
Luke then tosses his saber in non-violence and decides to sacrifice his life. Only then does his father, inspired by this act, turn back towards the Light and save his son from death. Luke isn't perfect but he is our hero, and in 'The Last Jedi' he eventually realizes that and rejoins the fight, inspired by an old friend and mentor.
Yoda makes a brief and loving cameo, in one of the best scenes of the film, to remind Luke that 'passing on what you have learned' also includes passing on your failures, because failure is often the best teacher of all. If all masters live to see their pupils grow beyond them, as Yoda reminds Luke, then Luke must be there for Rey. Luke realizes he was wrong to withdraw from the eternal fight between good and evil.
The resulting stand is powerful, Luke delivering some of his best dialogue in the whole series. His death under the twin suns is perfect. He can now be with Rey to help her, and his non-violent sacrifice, not only fulfills his character arc but inspires people in every corner of the galaxy, as we see in the beautiful last shot of the film. He has singlehandedly turned the war on its head, stealing all momentum from Kylo Ren and the First Order just when it looked like they had it won.
As the bilocular Kylo Ren, Adam Diver is the unquestioned star of this new trilogy. He's immensely engaging, living in a constant state of turmoil. He never seems fully given to his dark intentions, as dark as they remain. His chemistry with Daisy Ridley is the heart of the film, as the two of them form a connection through the Force, another innovative device by Rian Johnson that breaths fresh life into this 40 year-old franchise.
It would have been easy to make a movie where Luke and Han and Leia ride around in the Falcon dodging asteroids and starships. They've already made those movies. I love them. I also love what JJ and Rian and Kathleen are doing with the new trilogy. The Force is so much bigger than what we saw in the prequels, and they've gotten Star Wars back to its roots by reminding us it isn't midichlorians. The Force isn't a blood test you get at the doc-in-a-box. It's the living balance between everything, just as Obi Wan and Yoda explain in the very first two Star Wars films.
"The Last Jedi" isn't perfect, but when it soars it really soars, as the best film in this series since 1980. These new Star Wars films are both familiar and surprising in all the right ways. I'm glad they're finishing George Lucas's nine part saga the right way. I'm glad they've consulted with him along the way. It was the right move, despite the prequels, and it shows. They've done right by his vision without blindly following it, because anyone who lived through Jar Jar Binks knows we needed a fresh perspective on the franchise.
I love that these new movies are some of the biggest box office hits in the history of American cinema. I love that America has fallen back in love with Star Wars. Once given up for dead in a sea of CGI and stilted dialogue, Star Wars is once again everywhere you look.
No one's ever really gone. And the Force is here to stay.