Friday, 15 December 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi


Well, it's that time of year again when Disney releases another Star Wars film. Last year it was the anthology film Rogue One. This year, it's the next instalment in the main saga, The Last Jedi.

Picking up from where we left off, the Resistance have been forced to evacuate their main base, but The First Order are close behind. The ace pilot Poe Dameron carries out a heroic but costly assault on one of the First Order's most fearsome ships, and is demoted by General Leia for his recklessness. After she is taken out of action in an attack led by emo Darth Vader Kylo Ren, Vice Admiral Holdo assumes command of the fleet, but her apparent inaction puts her at odds with Dameron. In another thread, Dameron sends reformed Stormtrooper Finn on an unauthorised mission to sabotage the First Order's flagship in order to help the Resistance escape. Finn enlists the aid of mechanic Rose Tico and the droid BB-8, travelling to a Roaring Twenties version of the Mos Eisley cantina to find a computer expert. Meanwhile, scavenger Rey seeks out Luke Skywalker and tries to persuade the cynical former Jedi to train her in the Force, but soon finds a mental connection with Kylo Ren and realises she has to confront him. Oh, and there are Porgs.

So yeah, there's quite a bit to take in. I've stated previously that The Force Awakens was pretty much a rehash of A New Hope, but that was more or less what people wanted. The Last Jedi, not so much. I did think that Rey's story arc does seem to be re-treading old ground from both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but I will give them some credit in that they try and play with alternate outcomes of the scenarios we knew and loved.

It's quite a long film, and I think some of the brooding scenes could have been cut, but the action is great and I love the snarky humour. I'm also glad that they didn't put too much emphasis on the Porgs.

Overall, it's no Empire Strikes Back, but it is nonetheless a superior follow-up to The Force Awakens.

Right, same time next year for the Han Solo movie.

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