I recently went to the movies and watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I decided I would write a review and share my thoughts on the film. Proceed with caution as there are spoilers below!
I expected a lot from this legendary franchise, and I was not disappointed. Firstly, the movie is quite long, much longer than the standard movie length, which would be about 90 minutes or so. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is 2 hours and 35 minutes long. Although the movie is longer than average, I felt like it lasted 10 minutes. In the movie there are battle scenes left and right. There is never a dull moment.
The actors do a fantastic job of portraying their characters. They each bring their character to life and the story line offers new budding romances.
A character who I believe brings a whole new aspect to the film is Kylo Ren. Kylo, also known as Ben Solo, struggles with the light and the dark inside him. In this episode, Kylo's character is really developed. Viewers begin to root for Kylo in this movie and many people also find the actor, Adam Driver, to be attractive.
During the movie, Kylo is connected to Rey through the force, and it seems that this is where their romance begins. In The Last Jedi, their story together is being told, but they end on bad terms. But, not before they fight together in an epic battle against Snoke's guards.
Besides Rey and Kylo's connection, Finn goes on a mission with a woman named Rose, whose sister had recently died during a previous attack on the First Order. Rose's character is shown to be kind and brave. During a battle scene, Finn decides to sacrifice himself to help the rebellion. Rose then endangers herself by rescuing him. From this point on, Finn and Rose share a budding romance as well.
Besides the new romances, the numerous battles make you forget about everything else and make you sit on the edge of your seat. In this episode, the rebellion is slowly dwindling and often losing people. There are many fight scenes that are well put together. Every battle between the First Order and the Resistance is exhilarating and full of surprises. The one-on-one battles between some characters such as Finn and Captain Phasma, Luke and Kylo, and the Kylo and Ren battle against the guards, are very realistic and add interesting concepts to the plot.
Although I have spoken highly of the new episode, there are a couple things that I would change, if I could.
Firstly, Kylo and Rey leave on such bad terms after their epic battle. Had they parted on even slightly better terms, I would be even more fully satisfied with the movie.
Another thing that I was confused about was the ending, where Luke dies so suddenly. Yes, he did use all of his energy to help the rebellion escape, so that's supposed to be the reason for his death. Rey does announce that he died peacefully. After he uses all of his energy, he collapses and stands up and looks out at his island. After this, he just evaporates or disappears into thin air. I understand why he was killed off, but there are other ways that he could have died, that would have made more sense.
Despite those flaws, I do believe that Carrie Fisher's character was integrated well and that this episode of Star Wars properly honored her.
Overall, the movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is, in my humble opinion, one of the most memorable episodes of the series. I enjoyed seeing the newer characters' developments, their backstories, and their relationships. The older characters are also handled well and the plot has many new twists that nobody could have ever imagined.
All in all, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a great movie and an amazing addition to the Star Wars series. I highly recommend seeing this movie!