I’ve been waiting for this movie for 2 years ever since the last one.
I had so much thought, anticipation, speculation and were finally here.
Now many people complain about The Force Awakens being a remake of A New Hope. While it had similar beats, I loved that movie. But if The Last Jedi was a remake of The Empire Strikes Back, that would be an issue. And I could gladly say that it wasn’t.
The Last Jedi is truly a mind blowing and surprising sequel that went beyond my expectations.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker was AMAZING. He was one of the best parts of this movie. We all knew that he would be a mentor figure to Rey, but he was more than that. He’s a mentor/Jedi master but he’s also the Luke that we loved from the original trilogy.
The character interactions between Rey, Luke, and Kylo Ren were some of the most impactful moments of this movie.
We get to learn more about Rey. Where does she stand in this whole Star Ears universe? Is she meant to become a Jedi? What happened to her parents? She’s such a complex and well written character and Daisy Ridley embodies her perfectly.
I loved Kylo Ren in the last movie, but this was the movie where I think he’s going to go down as one of the most iconic villains in movie history. He’s not just a bad guy.
He’s a PERSON. He has issues, conflicts, he’s not the powerful Sith Lord that’s unbeatable. But that’s not what makes him so unique. It’s his growth and discovery that makes him stand out as a great movie villain.
Leia and Poe had some great moments as well. Their interactions were so fun to watch. Leia went from Princess to General and to see her gain full authority just shows how much power and confidence she has. Poe also, he was a cool ,badass, doesn’t-abide-by-the-rules kind of a guy. And he also gets some really good development on how to become a leader in the rebellion.
Finn’s story was my least favorite. And one that could have been shortened up. I loved seeing Finn go on a solo adventure and to see his personality shine. But the story surrounding him was a bit unnecessary and almost felt like an afterthought. This storyline was the one that made the movie drag a bit.
This movie takes so many twists and turns that I was not expecting. And they made Star Wars all the more better.
Really, there’s only so much you can do when you try to take course on a 40 year running series. You have to take risks and change things or it gets stale. Director Ryan Johnson took major risks with the story and it paid off well.
This movie made the characters we love, have so much more layer and development. It was really surprising and heart pounding. I loved this movie for the boldness that it had, in-spite of some weak spots.
A lot of people aren’t gonna like this because it takes a route that doesn’t seem very Star Wars-ish. But in my opinion, if you keep giving fans what to expect, it becomes a fan service movie and the franchise will get tiring. New directions have to be taken, and I’m glad Disney had the nerves to take risks and test the audience.
