The Last Jedi - Movie Review

Starring Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benecio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, Billie Lourd, Justin Theroux and Anthony Daniels. 
Written & Directed by Rian Johnson.

★★★½

The action picks up right where the previous movie left off. The giant death star planet's been destroyed but most of the First Order, including Snoke, Ren, Hux and Phasma escaped. The Resistance is backpedaling and evacuating since the First Order now knows where their base is. Finn's in sick bay. Rey has just found Luke Skywalker.

So how seamless is the transition from JJ Abrams to Rian Johnson? Pretty seamless, but then Johnson is able to expand and deepen characters in ways Force Awakens wasn't able to. TFA built the world. It's fitting that one of the main words used in the Last Jedi trailers is "Breathe." Let's breathe and get to know them better.

I imagine the biggest question going into this was how was it going to be to have Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker back? Just as TFA was largely Han Solo's movie, TLJ belongs to Luke. Rey has arrived to be his eager apprentice, and Luke is the grumpy old wizard who's had it. Imagine how Star Wars would have gone if Ben Kenobi had told Luke to quit whining and go home.

It's nice to see Luke meet his old friends again. Luke and Chewie. Luke and R2-D2. It's sad we never get a Luke-Han scene. But what made me happiest about this movie is that Luke, and Hamill as Luke, is still just freaking cool.

One exciting new character is Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a fangirl Resistance fighter who finds herself pulled into an important plot thread with Finn.

I really enjoyed the character depth added to Ben Solo and Admiral Hux. Hux is still a weaselly Empire wannabe, but he feels more complete. Ben/Kylo makes some interesting decisions, and Adam Driver does a great job of presenting the conflict on his face.

I'll have to see how this one digests on a second viewing. Right now I'd say it's better than Force Awakens or Rogue One. It makes a couple plot decisions I'm not sure I like. But I respect the emphasis on human relationships that Johnson has returned to the heart of this galaxy.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Movie Review

STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS (PG-13) Starring Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Greg Grunberg and Max von Sydow.
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, JJ Abrams & Michael Arndt.
Directed by JJ Abrams.

★★★½

Rewatching the first six movies reminded me of something - the cognative dissonance required to enjoy the prequels. I have to ignore the stilted dialogue, stiff performances, over-reliance on CGI to get to the parts I like. None of that is required here. This movie is a pleasure from beginning to end, reimursing us in the original Star Wars galaxy.

One of the joys of the movie was seeing everything I didn't know was going to happen. We've gathered certain scenes and characters in general - i.e. the Millenium Falcon will fly again!  This one dives right into the action from the opening scrawl. (And yes, there were cheers when the Star Wars logo hit the screen.) We may start with some of the new characters, but we know we'll eventually see all of our old friends.

Of the new characters, there is Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger on Jakku, a junkyard planet that makes Tattooine look like a luxury resort. There is Finn (John Boyega), a stormtrooper who grows a conscience. There is Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a cocky but skilled pilot. And there's BB-8, a roller-droid that kids will love as much as they did R2-D2.

Every scene builds on the next. It hits a lot of familiar beats but it also managed to build a lot of suspense as to what direction it was going to ultimately go. I can't wait to watch it a second time to look for things I missed.

I hope this movie makes enough money that they'll decide to make Episode VIII.