Whoa, baby! Could a film as hyped as The Last Jedi actually live up to it? We'll get into that. But first, I want to throw out my spoiler free thoughts on the movie event of the year. The Last Jedi picks up where The Force Awakens left off. The Resistance is in retreat as The First Order has taken full control of the galaxy. As its numbers dwindle, The Resistance is forced to flee for its survival. General Leia Solo (a fantastically stoic Carrie Fisher, in her farewell performance), Poe Dameron and Finn lead the remains of The Resistance across our favorite far, far away galaxy - barely holding off Kylo Ren's First Order. And that's essentially what a large part of this film is... a chase. A race across the galaxy towards an uncertain future.
Whereas The Force Awakens was essentially a refresher course in what made us all fall in love with Star Wars (after its initial critical and commercial success, it's been unfairly labaled as a clone of A New Hope), The Last Jedi treads new water. The new actors take center stage in this film - each further fleshing out their characters in new and exciting ways. New actors are introduced here (the best being Kelly Marie Tran's Rose) in fun and creative ways.
That's not to say that the Star Wars universe is done with the old guard quite yet. Mark Hamill delivers the performance of his career in his 4th performance as Luke Skywalker (well, 5th if you include his cameo at the end of Force). Hamill plays Skywalker as a jaded Jedi, who is reluctant to train Rey in the ways of The Force. He's been burned in the past by Kylo Ren, and wants The Jedi to come to an end. I really this angry, older version of Luke. Carrie Fisher seems emboldened at playing Leia once again. She's wise, strong and motherly in a way we haven't seen out of her yet.
I absolutely loved this film. For a film that's supposed to be this trilogy's Empire, it certainly lives up to that legendary film. It launches the Star Wars universe towards a new future. One that will be defined by this wonderful cast of characters in a way that the prequels completely failed. It's filled with life, love and loss. The color palatte of this film is an absolute joy to look at for 2.5 hours. There's a bunch of unexpected twists and turns that I won't ruin here. Director Rian Johnson delivered a fantastic film.
Now, back to the cute factor. This film is full of wonderfully cute moments... but cute moments that don't totally distract from the moment at hand, and the depth of the story going on. The porgs are a wondeful addition to the Star Wars canon. They were cute in a way that didn't annoy me like Jar Jar Binks or the Ewoks. There's also a lot of humor that reminds us that at the end the day, we're watching a space odyssey that's supposed to give us an escape and a sense of wonderment.
I'm giving Star Wars: The Last Jedi 3.9 stars out of 4. There are a few things I could do without... the entire casino sequence for example... but these are so minute that they're hardly worth mentioning.
I can't wait to relive this wonderful film again and again.
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