Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi - SPOILER REVIEW

 
 It feels like forever since I posted a movie review, and in retrospect it truly has been. Life has a tendency to really mess with the things you want to do by giving you an insurmountable amount of things more important to do instead. But alas, I am here with a review of what was probably the most anticipated movie of the year. In fact, it was the most anticipated movie of MY year. 2015 marked the return of Star Wars in all of its glory with The Force Awakens. Now, just two years later, we finally have the next chapter in this new trilogy. With almost a week under its belt, The Last Jedi has garnished mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike. Writer/director Rian Johnson had a huge task to complete, and his Star Wars film is like nothing we've seen to date. Its unexpected narrative choices, subverted expectations, and epic breadth has given fans of the franchise, and movie-goers alike, reason to debate and discuss. So, before getting into it, let me first just say that I LOVED the movie, and with this discussion will come SPOILERS, so if you haven't seen the movie yet be sure to do so before reading this. Okay, let's do this.

   The Last Jedi picks up moments after the events of The Force Awakens, which is a first for a Star Wars movie. The evil First Order is in hot pursuit of the last of the Resistance. Finn is in a coma, Poe is still a hot head, and we were left with Rey on a literal cliffhanger with her hand stretched out to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, his light saber in hand. J.J. Abrams and his team set up so many interesting plot points in The Force Awakens that audiences around the world spent the better part of these last two years speculating and hypothesizing as to what will be revealed in the next installment. As the opening scroll fades into oblivion, we are thrust into The Last Jedi without much of a breather. The opening space battle in this movie is truly amazing, and there is no time wasted getting us back into the world previously created. The movie spends the full two and a half hours of its run time exploring Rey as she develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order. That's really it, plot wise. There's a ton of stuff that happens in between (like freaking Yoda making an appearance! *mind blown*), but I'd rather gush than recap the entire movie.

   Where I think this movie really shines is with the performances in the three pivotal characters: Rey, Luke, and Kylo Ren. Daisy Ridley has solidified herself as a force (*wink wink*) to be reckoned with. The character of Rey makes huge strides in this story, amplifying her powers as she learns to control them. Ridley brings a ferocity and determination to the character that truly makes Rey worth supporting. If for whatever reason it was a question as to her place in this new narrative, it is whole-heartily confirmed that she is the chosen hero, destined to become the savior of the galaxy. On the other side of that coin is the rising force of Kylo Ren. Next to Mark Hamill, Adam Driver gives the best performance of the movie. Kylo is such an interesting villain. No other point in any other Star Wars movie have we had a villain who wasn't fully developed. Kylo is still new to the Dark Side, still conflicted by the influence of the light. As he is continuously drawn to the power of the Dark Side, Driver is able to portray the harrowing conflict within the character. Adam Driver's performance in this movie is an absolute joy to behold, and it makes me so excited to see where he takes the character in the future. Both Rey and Kylo share what is truly one of the best scenes in the entire saga when they team up in an epic battle against some of Snoke's baddies, and it is glorious.

  Now, the moment we've all been waiting for, the return of the greatest hero in the galaxy. Mark Hamill is back as Luke Skywalker, and he actually has lines! When we meet Luke, he's been separated from the outside world, and even the Force, for many years. The fear of failure has driven him into seclusion. His attempts to train young Ben Solo and then discovering Ben's turn to the Dark Side opened an opportunity for Luke to make a choice, a choice that he ultimately regretted. Now, as a hermit, Luke is hesitant to train Rey for the same reasons. Mark Hamill's performance is everything I wanted. I was shocked by the direction they took with the character, a direction even Hamill himself was initially conflicted with. The hero of the original trilogy has been reduced to a cowering hermit left wallowing in his own sorrow and fear. Eventually, Luke begins to train Rey and we are introduced to a broader perspective of the Force, one that does not seem so constrained. I completely dug this new perspective, that the Force is not for the Jedi and Sith to wield, but that anyone could, as we see at the end with the stable boy using the Force to grab his broom. There is a balance between the dark and the light, and that balance can be maintained. Skywalker's arc in this movie is a culmination of his entire arc in the saga, and it ends beautifully in the shining wake of two setting suns. Hamill is down right awesome, and maybe it's just fanboy bias speaking, but I'd nominate the guy for an Oscar for this performance. There is so much emotion and depth to Luke after so many years, and Hamill portrays it beautifully.

   The rest of the cast does a phenomenal job as well. Both Oscar Isaac and John Boyega return as Poe and Finn respectively, each having their own arcs to traverse. Newcomers Kelly Marie Tran (Rose) and Laura Dern (Vice Admiral Holdo) do a great job at entering this story and moving it forward. Across the board the level of professionalism in this movie is of the highest quality. The story itself is completely unexpected, with twists and turns that have left some scratching their heads, while others jumping for joy. The Last Jedi answers a lot of the looming questions left from The Force Awakens, and by the end of the film it does what no other Star Wars movie has ever done: it has left us thinking "Where do they go from here?" I applaud Rian Johnson and his crew for taking some daring risks with this movie and truly giving us something new and fresh. A lot of fans think differently, ultimately feeling slighted by the way The Last Jedi approached the answers we were waiting for, which brings me to a very interesting point of discussion.

   I want to take a moment to share my opinion of the world-wide bantha in the room when it comes to this movie: fan expectation.What I mentioned before about how this movie subverts expectations is true, for just when you think you know what's going to happen or what is going to be revealed, the movie reminds us, as Luke himself states, "This is not going to go the way you think." It is within this idea that I think a lot of the negative reactions are generated. There are moments in this movie where it's almost as if they took what was established in The Force Awakens and then completely tossed it out. If that's how some people feel, I can understand that completely. Rian Johnson takes a ton of huge risks in this movie, and I'll be honest, I was shocked by all of them. But I also applaud them as well. For instance, The Force Awakens establishes this intriguing antagonist in Supreme Leader Snoke. Fan theories about who Snoke was spread like wild fire, and audiences wanted answers. Turns out, it really doesn't matter. As Snoke waxes maniacally about the imminent demise of Rey at the hands of Kylo Ren, he soon finds himself severed in half at the hands of his pupil. No explanation as to who he was, or his back story, was ever made evident. Snoke gets killed halfway through the movie, and all of a sudden these fan theories that have stoked the fires of fanboy anticipation immediately took a hit. To say that this diminishes his importance (which some do) is to negate the purpose of storytelling. Stories are emotional. They're not formulas. If a character appears for one moment and matters to another character in the story, then they matter overall. Snoke was meant to further Kylo's arc, solidifying Kylo as the main baddie in Episode IX. This is extremely exciting, because Kylo is reckless, raw, and unhinged.

 
    That's not all. The Force Awakens allowed room for speculation to crop up about who Rey's parents are. Is she the daughter of Han and Leia? Is she Kylo Ren's sister? Is she the long lost daughter of the hermit Jedi himself, Luke Skywalker? Nope. In fact her history is of no importance to the overall story. She comes from nothing, her parents were drunks who sold her for booze money. POW! Another gut punch to the foundation of fan theory. This one might be taken with a grain of salt though, for this information was given by Kylo Ren, and who's to say that he is a reliable narrator. Yes, he could've been lying, and maybe they'll change that in the next film. Personally, I hope they don't. In the beginning, Rey is convinced that she has a meaningful destiny, as does the audience. This destiny must be discovered and unlocked. By the end of the movie, she discovers that it's not who she is, but what she does that actually matters. I think it's ballsy to take this approach, to take what's been done before, what is to be 'expected' and completely shift it. Star Wars has always been a Skywalker family soap opera, and the idea that a simple nobody who isn't a Skywalker can change the course of the galaxy is a refreshing and awesome take. However, there are those who feel cheated, and I totally get that.

   The Force is another point of discussed-controversy. The Last Jedi stretches the mythology of the Force in new directions. Some aspects, like a flying General Leia, were not taken positively. Yes, Leia literally flies. After being blown out of her ship, she uses the Force to save herself. We know that she is Force-sensitive, so why not, right? Personally I thought this was great. It was weird upon first viewing but I dug it even more the second time around. I just wanted more Carrie Fisher screen time and this event happened early on in the movie, so to think that Leia's demise was to be met within the first half hour was devastating, but...EXPECTATION SUBVERTED...this was not the case. There's also cross-universe communication through the Force between Rey and Kylo, and let's not forget the epic finale with Luke's Force projection. There are purists who feel that this might have been Rian Johnson pushing things a bit too far, but to them, all I have to say is that I'll take Force projections, Force flying and Force face-timing over freakin' midi-chlorians any day!

   When it comes to fan theories, I think it's important to realize that these ideas are spawned by the fans based on what they think the movie surmises. We cannot blame Star Wars for not answering questions the way we want. At the end of the day, the story is what needs to be served, and whatever helps tell the best version of that story is ultimately the right answer, despite what we the fans might think. That's not to say that personal opinions don't matter, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Art is so subjective, so it's tough to even have this conversation. I'm just saying we can't blame a narrative for not answering questions that it doesn't necessarily pose itself, or deem important. When it comes to the biggest questions formed by fans at the end of The Force Awakens, my thought is that maybe we (the audience) are forgetting the biggest, most important narrative question, posed by the narrative itself. Think back to The Force Awakens. Nobody ever questions (in the movie) who Snoke is. They all know him, there's no mystery there. Even Rey talks about Snoke as if she knows who he is. There is also no narrative time spent speculating who Rey's parents are. Rey just believes that they'll come back. The ONLY question that EVERY character practically asks, which happens to be the crux to the whole narrative of The Force Awakens, is "Where is Luke Skywalker and why is he there?" That's the central question, and The Last Jedi spends two and a half hours answering it. Everything else is purely speculation. I was right there with the best of them. I had my theories, and those theories were bullseyed like womp rats after watching The Last Jedi. But, speaking for me, I got the answers I didn't know I wanted, and I loved that about this movie.

 
    The Last Jedi does a lot in the way of questioning Star Wars lore and then pushing it further. If there's only one thing I could take away from this movie it would be the importance of expanding the mythology, good or bad. This is a forty-plus year old franchise, and not everyone will be satisfied with the results this movie garnishes. As for the story, the movie is long but it moves. The arcs of the characters are intriguing. The central focus really falls upon Luke, Rey, and Kylo. As their journey progresses we begin to see a new perspective on the Force, the muddled ideas that separate the light from the dark, and the overall spectrum of influence within this universe. As an avid fan of Star Wars, to see Luke Skywalker there on the screen again was absolutely amazing. Mark Hamill did a phenomenal job in portraying a very different Luke than we are used to. The Last Jedi is probably going to be known as the most divisive Star Wars movie to date. But, then again, if you ask anyone alive during the time The Empire Strikes Back was released, you'll find that there was just as much as a divide in fan reaction then as there is now about this film. If anything, these passionate opinions just mean that this franchise has left a mark on the hearts of its fans. I cannot speak enough about how much I loved The Last Jedi, porgs and all. It's everything I wanted and everything I didn't know I wanted. Is it perfect? No, but it's an epic experience nonetheless, one that makes me excited to see how this is all going to end in the next episode.