last-jedi-movie

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi ★★★

I can’t think of another filmmaker who has been given as much creative control over a Star Wars film as Rian Johnson was just given. Other than George Lucas, no other person has had solo writing and directing credits in this franchise. The trend of younger directors gaining unprecedented access to major film work has been around for years now, but Colin Trevorrow or Josh Trank have never been trusted this completely, let alone with the most important Hollywood entity in the business right now. The investment in Johnson is smart. He’s a talented director still on the cusp of what he may be able to do. He still hasn’t made his Great Movie and I’m not convinced that The Last Jedi is that, but its proof that Disney is putting a lot of emphasis on the new Star Wars trilogy being good, complicated stories, paying off on the commitment it already has from its audience.

The Force Awakens left us with Rey (Daisy Ridley) – our spunky young (possibly Force-positive) protagonist – catching up with the legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on a remote island. The Last Jedi picks up there, with Luke adamantly stating his case for staying out of the current conflict. His legend is overblown, he tells Rey, his power is not what it was, he came to this island to die alone. Over time, he reveals his dealings with the First Order leader Kylo Ren (an extra-brooding Adam Driver), and how he went from light to dark and tried to kill him. Many thought Kylo Ren had succeeded in killing Skywalker, which gave Luke the chance he needed to escape without a trace. Rey persists, though, asking him to return to fight with the Resistance against the First Order, and to teach her the ways of The Force.

The Resistance, meanwhile, must fight off the First Order, which is picking off their dwindling reserves little by little. Led, as always, by Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), the Resistance takes casualties fighting against the ruthless First Order Star Destroyers, led by the hyperventilating General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). Supreme Leader General Snoke (another transformative motion-capture performance from the great Andy Serkis) commands an unmerciful attack, and Kylo Ren is there as well, fighting along with the TIE Fighters, attempting to wipe out the entire Resistance in a fit of temper. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (Jon Boyega) do their best to help the Resistance, by recruiting a maintenance worker named Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) to help take down the First Order’s defenses. As we cross-cut between these two stories, we also learn that Kylo Ren and Rey are connected through The Force, communicating with one another as their fellow armies continue bloody carnage.

The toll of battle is a major theme throughout The Last Jedi, and Johnson imbues his script with a special attention to human cost unlike any other Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen. Johnson is a director who understands violence and how to use it in a movie (well, except for Looper). He doesn’t take it for granted and he doesn’t allow it to be used as fleeting entertainment. The actions of the men in The Last Jedi cost countless lives. Some for better reasons than others. Johnson placing the Star Wars universe in a context of moral complexity seems to run against the entire structure that George Lucas created – ie, a world where the moral lines were definitively drawn. Perhaps that is why The Last Jedi feels so fresh. It suggests an intricacy in behavior that none of the previous films ever tangled with. It suggests a true humanity beyond the broad strokes we’re used to. It seems to be saying that light v. dark is not a direct translation to good v. evil.

Like Force AwakensThe Last Jedi is filled with thrilling sequences and dazzling effects. Johnson brings along with him his usual cinematographer, Steve Yedlin, to shoot both the intimate shores of Luke’s hideaway island as well as the infinite spread of outer space. Johnson is not the commercial director that J.J. Abrams is, though, and its stirring to see how he crafts a sequence, with small idiosyncratic stamps. Details are difficult when writing about a film that conjures such dramatic SPOILER ALERT fears, but I’ll venture a small one here: A sequence about two-thirds into the film, taking place in the velvet-red chamber of General Snoke is just about the most fascinating fight sequence I’ve seen in a movie this year. Its cutting, its choreography, its vivacious John Williams score, made it everything Star Wars is, while also being more violent than anything I’d ever seen in the series.

The new core cast of Ridley, Isaac, Driver and Boyega feels more confident here, and surprise supporting turns from Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro really give The Last Jedi a truly unique feel. But again, the film reaches its peak when we get our reintroductions to Fisher and Hamill. In Last Jedi, Hamill’s Luke functions not unlike Ford’s Han Solo did in Force Awakens, but Johnson plays it with less sentimentally. Hamill and Johnson both seem to be in a race to see who can tear down Luke Skywalker’s reputation the quickest. We’ve seen a good handful of turns from Skywalker, but ashamed luminary is a different take, and Hamill is doing strong work here. As does the late Carrie Fisher as Leia. Fisher’s thoughtfulness and talent for humor always made every film she was in better, and The Last Jedi is no different. How they’ll proceed with Leia’s storyline for Episode IX is one of the series’ greatest questions.

My main issues with Force Awakens was how little it left on the table. The Last Jedi is the payoff that Force Awakens had foregone in exchange for more anticipation. That kind of cynical storytelling is what turns me off of these movies in the first place, and it didn’t help that the strongest scenes in Force Awakens involved Harrison Ford, the major relic of the franchise’s past. The Last Jedi doesn’t overcome these tired constructs, but it does try something new, which counts for something (a similar, less-successful attempt was made with last year’s Rogue One, but that film’s messiness is occasionally impossible to ignore). The original trilogy had a bright exciting debut followed by a better, more downtrodden sequel. Disney is mirroring that sequence now, though only time will tell if The Last Jedi gains the cultural significance of Empire Strikes Back. That’s asking a lot of a film that’s been out less than a week, but The Last Jedi recognizes that level of anticipation and rises to the occasion.

 

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson