Another year, another Star Wars movie, and unless you've been living under a rock, you'd know just how mad the hype got for The Last Jedi, the film which appears to have really pissed a lot of people off, judging by how many videos there are on YouTube of people tearing the film apart. So, knowing the scorn this film is getting from Star Wars diehards, this might become an unpopular opinion, it's too early to tell, but I really like The Last Jedi, even though as I will admit in this review, I think it has flaws, so let's go.
Worry not, detractors of Rogue One's lack of the opening crawl, this film has one, and as it should be; we are immediately shown the might of the First order, as the resistance scramble to evacuate their base with Star Destroyers jumping in from light speed in the skies above. The film's opening space battle also highlights two of the film's greatest strengths; the characters and the action, Poe taking on a First order Dreadnought is intense and exciting, and him pissing off General Hux, while a bit weird to see, is still pretty funny. Something excellently carried over from The Force Awakens is the film's excellent characters, who fortunately get expanded on in this film. Right off the bat, we need to talk about Rey's parents; anyone who's been tireless theorising as to who Rey's parents are will be left very, very disappointed by the truth, and in fact I've heard that the reveal makes Rey un-compelling, not less compelling, un-compelling, which is utter nonsense. I personally really like the poetry of the reveal, what it stands for, it's not grand and mysterious like a lot of people were hoping, it's dark and cruel, and I think it works, as does the message that anyone can become a hero. But her dad not being Luke or Han makes her a shit character, that's a mindset I think is completely stupid in all honesty. Rey is a character I still love, and who still isn't a Mary Sue, in The Last Jedi we see her trying to get help from Luke Skywalker, though that's not really what she gets, as like many, many things in the film, her relationship with Skywalker defies expectations, as does what becomes of her relationship with Kylo Ren. Luke Skywalker is a character a lot of people are pissed off about, though again, I really like the poetry of the film; Skywalker isn't the hero that the rest of the galaxy thinks he is in this film, and I know a lot of people don't like that. Saying how exactly they've changed Luke Skywalker is obviously spoiler territory, but I will say that I like what they did, the film doesn't show Luke Skywalker, the legend, the hero who saved the galaxy, it instead takes a much more human approach, giving us a Luke Skywalker who is flawed, and has clearly seen a lot of shit, and again, I think it works, as does the conclusion of his story in the film, which I absolutely loved. Leia's naturally a hard one to talk about, but it is actually one of the things that took me out of the film briefly, in the film she does something, and it doesn't make a lot of sense, it was a very strange moment, and I that felt actually did take away from what could have been an emotional moment with her and her son, but I really can't say anymore about it, though people who've seen the film will know the scene, and know how absurd it is. Her story in the film ties very closely into Poe's ark in the film, which is probably the most extensive character ark in the film, and it is cool to see the situation first from Poe's perspective, and then from Leia's, but the problem is how the entire conflict that Poe has in this film seems to have come from a simple case of poor communication, it sounds spoilerish, I know, but had Poe simply been told something early in the film, the entire conflict he has with Holdo might never have happened, and that forced conflict is stupid and does hurt the film. What really hurts the film however is that that isn't the only forced conflict the film has, as there's also an entire subplot with Finn and series newcomer Rose, who go to a planet in search of someone who can smuggle them aboard the First Order's flagship, and it's a completely pointless subplot that adds hideously little to the overall film. The film throws in Benicio Del Toro's Han Solo lite, who's a cool character, but doesn't add anything to the story outside of forced conflict, which is by far the film biggest issue from a narrative standpoint, and it really makes me dislike Admiral Holdo, whose decision to be passive aggressive to Poe resulted in two pointless subplots and even more dead rebels, it's stupid.
Something I found very funny while looking at the online response is people complaining that the film changes things about Star Wars, which I find funny given how much people were complaining about The Force Awakens being too similar to previous Star Wars films. This film does take narrative elements from previous Star Wars films, most notably The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but where this film dabbles in the formula the most is how it constantly defies expectations; Luke is not a hero in this film, Snoke, who was built up to be Palpatine 2.0 in The Force Awakens, is revealed to be a red herring in this film, and Porgs aren't the annoyingly blatant toy sellers that the trailers made them look, the film does a good job of throwing curveballs, and it's moral muddying of the water is fantastic, as is its remystifying of the Force, the thematic elements of the film are all absolutely amazing, as is this film's version of the battle of Hoth, this time on the visually breathtaking salt flats of Crait, as is the Gareth Edwards cameo, but maybe that one's just me. Something else that this film nails is presentation; the battle on the salt flats is amazing to look at, and some of this film's imagery is just gorgeous, not only is a lot of it symbolically powerful, but it's just really nice to look at; the film's obligatory lightsaber fight in particular has one of the best wide shots of the entire year, as sad as that makes me sound. The in-camera effects and sets are all stunning, even the ones on Canto Bight, and a scene with Luke and a badass cameo is made so much better by the use of practical effects. This is the best looking Star Wars film, by a mile, even shoving out Rogue One in my opinion, the effects and cinematography, combined with the film's gripping thematic elements are where this film becomes my Favourite film in the series, and that honestly isn't a joke. In key areas however it's also my least favourite in the series, not including the Prequels, as already stated, the film has a serious issue with forcing conflicts onto its characters, which is weird given how well the film does other conflicts, Kylo Ren in particular is one of the film's strongest characters, as his conflict is actually really good, and not pointless like Poe's or Finn's. But something that scares me is how in addition to forced conflict, the film forces a romance, and I'll be blunt about it, it was absolutely terrible; it just happens, with no build-up, and happens amidst a very crucial sequence in the film's climax. How it scares me is how the film explores the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren, I really don't want a romance between those two, nor do I want a romance between Poe and Rey, or Rey and Finn, or Finn and Rose, or, god forbid, a love triangle, forced romance is something the film really doesn't need, since these characters have been shown to be compelling without a romantic subplot, which is why the random romance bothers me so much. Seriously though, not a love triangle, please god, anything but a love triangle.
The Last Jedi is a very interesting film; in some areas, it's the highlight of the series, and in others, it's really stupid. Thematically, the film is amazing, I love this film's little poetries, and its portrayal of the Force, while clearly incredibly divisive among Star Wars fans, is something I personally love. The film is also Blade Runner levels of good looking, with gorgeous visual effects, both digital and practical, and breathtaking cinematography. But if you've not appreciative of the cinematography, you'll have a much harder time forgiving the film's narrative shortcomings, as the film suffers from forced conflict, long and effectively pointless subplots, and scenes that either don't make sense or are just stupid. This is definitely a more technically impressive film than The Force Awakens, and it's good that it takes risks, but with the good comes a fair bit of bad, and there's just no apologia I can give to excuse all of it. People saying that this is the worst Star Wars film ever and Disney ruining Star Wars need to calm the fuck down however, because it's really not that, I mean, seriously, do these people not remember the Battlefront II debacle from just last month. The Last Jedi is an enjoyable film, even if it wasn't perfect, and I'd say it's definitely worth watching.
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