This review won’t contain spoilers in the first few paragraphs, but after that, there may be some minor spoilers mentioned. So why only 2.5 stars for what is sure to be one of the biggest films of 2017?
Before I answer that; let me just preface this review with a couple of facts about myself and Star Wars:
I am a massive Star Wars fan; I enjoy the films, play the games, and have a couple of merchandise items here and there. That said, I’m not an uber-nerd about Star Wars. I can’t quote obscure characters’ names; I don’t blog or go to meet-ups nor do I dress up at events etc. But, I am enough of a fan to be passionate about the franchise
I’m 35 years old; meaning that in my pre-teen childhood I grew up on (heavily worn out) VHS tape copies of the original trilogy. As a child, that magic stuck with me and gave way to a passion for the story and universe
That said, it also means that I consumed the prequal trilogy when they launched; during my late teens/early 20’s. And now the sequel trilogy in my more mature 30’s
I guess I’m telling you all of this to say that my maturity levels have increased with age; in line with the release of the three trilogies.
With that said, I was super hyped and excited for The Last Jedi. Down in Melbourne, pre-release, they even branded Australia’s largest train station (Southern Cross Station), with Last Jedi character posters, robots, and other fanfare. It looked epic:
So yes, I was pumped. After the captivating The Force Awakens set the tone, characters, and universe up again, and the incredibly polished stand-alone Rogue One film; I guess my expectations for The Last Jedi were pretty high.
I want to start my critique by saying that it wasn’t a ‘bad’ movie. It was a worthy instalment in the saga and easily better than any of the three prequels. So where did it disappoint? Let’s look at this review in four parts; the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The Great:
The Last Jedi picks up pretty much directly after The Force Awakens, and gets running pretty quickly. The first act of the film is fast paced; and a wonderful mix of action/adventure sequences, character progression of our existing heroes and villains, and intrigue.
The set pieces were beautiful to watch; and the overall third act of this very long film, was stunning. The Porgs didn’t overwhelm with their cuteness into ‘annoying’ territory. The ice/crystal dogs were; for me; an absolute work of living art and a great symbolism of the tone of the overall third act of the film and the delicate position our heroes found themselves in, at that point.
One of the most memorable moments for me from the entire film was Luke’s philosophical take/teachings on The Force. This was a refreshing ‘realist’ take on what The Force is; and an acknowledgement that the yin/yang nature of the Force is the reality. It is naïve to believe that either good or evil could exist in isolation.
The Good:
Leia Organa’s role within the Resistance is key and when she is on-screen, is captivating. With some of her decisions made early in the film having consequence in later part; the audience is exposed to the hardship of her fight for the last thirty years in the galaxy in a sincere and emotional way.
The return of Luke Skywalker and the twists and turns of his plotline is also (for the most part) an overall highlight. Rey and Luke’s relationship develops convincingly and genuinely; it doesn’t feel forced.
The use of humour in micro juxtaposed moments was also an interesting turn for a Star Wars film. Sure, humour is found throughout the saga, but such sharp injections of it as micro-moments (often just a single word, line of dialogue, or a hand gesture) amongst otherwise serious moments.
Finally, there were some incredible performances by the actors here. Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill were the standouts. Rey’s tears as she learns of her family origins; Leia’s pensive nature and inability to sit still during otherwise horrible moments for her character-arc were played subtly and carefully by Carrie Fisher. Mark Hamill’s mature Luke brought a new dynamic and conflict to a character we’d otherwise assumed was more sure of himself at this point in his life (spoiler: he isn’t).
The Bad:
Pacing and tone-wise, this film was a bit of a mess. It was overlong, and whilst the first and third acts were tight and captivating, the film is completely pulled down by a waffly and largely useless second act.
The entire Casino and Horse-Camel (whatever they were) piece was completely irrelevant and did not progress the story in any way. The ‘ethics’ moments which were clearly intended to be life-lessons for the “under-12’s” sitting in the audience (animal cruelty; gambling; consumerism; superficiality of appearance; largesse etc.) just came off as hammy and out of place in amongst a more intimate, character-struggle overall plotline.
Rose was an interesting enough character; but the series already had a Rose in Rogue One’s Jyn – did it really need another? By pairing her with Finn for much of the film; the great dynamic Finn and Poe had in the previous film fails to get picked up again and as a result; the Casino sequences fall completely flat.
The Ugly:
It is during the above-mentioned overlong second-act that some of the worst elements of this film appear front and centre.
First, let’s start with the introduction of new characters that were just awful, useless, or a mixture of the two. Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo was completely unnecessary. Whilst I respect and enjoy Laura Dern as an actress, her performance here was weak. She was simply miscast. Her style works well in the David Lynch films she is known for, but not for this universe.
Benicio Del Toro was a wasted talent. The series has already had/got a Poe, a Han Solo, and a Lando Calrissian. Does it really need another character that is a lazy hybrid of these three?
Second, the introduction of these weak characters resulted in our primary characters (you know; the ones we are actually emotionally invested in from previous films); often taking second seat. Yet the film – despite its overblown run-time – poorly attempts to give every character their sentence or two of screen-time to make up for it.
You that expression “jack of all trades, master of none”? That’s how it felt watching this movie. Far better to focus on fewer characters and do each one well, than rush over 20+ characters with very little depth.
For instance, the time given to the above new characters saw for very little screen time of the following: BB8, Phasma, C3PO, Snoke, R2D2, Chewbacca, Hux, and even Kylo Ren. Phasma was particularly wasted.
Finally, and perhaps most controversially: yes I’m going to go there and touch on the already-bemoaned ‘identity politics’ influence in this film. It seems to be that the majority of the ‘heroes’ are either ethnic minorities, or females, or a mix of both. During the casino scenes, almost all of the ‘human’ vapid/indulgent characters are white. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But at the same time, it seems that most of the villains are white males. This was then called out when Poe was making remarks about Hux’s “pasty” white skin. One wonders; had the ethnicity roles been reversed in that scene, would a similar racial/skin joke be made? E.g. Hux remarking Poe’s skin as “greasy”?
In a film that takes such moral grandstanding for the under-12’s crowd on things like animal cruelty and self-absorption and greed; picking on a character (yes, even a villain) simply on the colour of their skin, is probably not a great lesson in tolerance we should be teaching children.
Summing it up:
A 2.5 star review I believe is fair for this film. The things it gets right are so incredibly enjoyable. But there’s too much wrong with this film that cannot be swept under the rug. Pacing, a poor second act, and unnecessary characters and moral virtues are the distractions that drag down the overall score for this worthy but underwhelming franchise installment.