Thoughts on The Last Jedi - Spoiler Free

So, this afternoon my dad and I went to see the most recent entry in the new Star Wars trilogy.

Going in, I had no idea what to expect. While this movie has been beloved by various critics, audience reactions have been very divisive, with some holding it up as one of the very best (if not THE very best) Star Wars movie, or alternately decrying it as a travesty worse than even the derided prequel trilogy.

What did I think of it? How was The Last Jedi, in comparison to The Force Awakens and Rogue One?

Personally, I enjoyed it well enough.

And those last two words are probably the best I can use. "Well enough."

There's stuff in this movie that I enjoyed. I continue to like the new heroic cast of the trilogy: Daisy Ridley offers a compelling performance as the heroine Rey; Oscar Isaac is perfectly serviceable as the daredevil ace pilot Poe Dameron; and John Boyega does a good job with what material he is given as the ex-stormtrooper Finn. On the villains' side, I have a fondness for Domnhall Gleeson's spiteful Admiral Hux (even if his role is mainly relegated to a comedic one, Gleeson sells the material).

Adam Driver as the Darth Vader-wannabe Kylo Ren is as interesting as ever. I love the character (as much as I hate his fangirls and apologists), and his growth in this movie goes in some fascinating directions. Driver gives a strong performance and brings an interesting vulnerability to Kylo (in contrast to The Force Awakens, where the character is more of an awkward, psychotic man-child), especially in his scenes with Rey (which will probably drive shippers of the two wild, despite the horrific toxicity of such a pairing)...

Of the old cast of Star Wars actors, Mark Hamill's performance as Luke Skywalker is the standout. Hamill (who disagreed with director Rian Johnson about the direction taken with Luke's character but still agreed to give it his all) delivers as the weary, cynical Jedi Master, who has exiled himself to a faraway planet because of his failures in the past, and only agrees to teach Rey with the greatest reluctance. Hamill nicely portrays the character's sorrow, distance and sarcasm (a hilarious standout being his first lesson in the Force), along with a profound sense of grief, and some stirring and poignant reminders of the younger hero he was. (A brief but absolutely touching moment is his reunion with Chewbacca.)

And, near the end of the movie's four-part climax (yes, four parts!), Luke Skywalker returns to deliver one of the most impressive displays of the Force ever seen in any Star Wars story. To say any more would simply be a crime. But let me say, that I nearly cheered in my seat, and felt that I had gotten my money's worth from that moment alone

Finally, Carrie Fisher, in her (tragically, last) outing as Leia, gives a good performance. While Leia was never my favorite character of the Star Wars series, there is a definite strength, weariness and dignity to this incarnation of the famous princess/rebel leader, that gives her a certain, special gravitas. One of her lines about loss is particular effective, knowing that this is her last appearance as the character; one can only imagine what would have happened with her in the sequel, which was purported to focus more on Leia in comparison to Luke or Han for the previous two films...

Now, despite the good things I've talked about, there are also things that I feel did not work so well in this movie.

One of these is the sad fact that certain characters just felt wasted. Gwendoline Christie is again criminally ill-used as the chrome-plated Stormtrooper commander Captain Phasma (even Boba Fett in the original trilogy accomplished more, I think). On the Resistance side of things, I felt largely apathetic towards new characters Vice-Admiral Holdo (which is a shame because I do like Laura Dern) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran). Neither of them are necessarily BAD characters (far from it, Tran has plenty of sweet energy, and Dern brings a stately dignity to her role), but I didn't much care for the way that they were used by the narrative. Holdo's conflict with Poe Dameron feels somewhat forced (the film puts most of the blame on Poe, but Holdo holds plenty of fault too in my opinion), and Rose gets a scene with Finn late in the movie that just kind of pissed me off.

Andy Serkis as the ghoulish, darkly charismatic Supreme Leader Snoke is more of a mixed bag. Serkis gives a fantastic performance, giving the overlord a fascinating mix of stateliness (despite his deformed, almost decaying appearance), charm and humor (he laughs with genuine amusement in confronting Rey) and sheer menacing power. To say too much more would just spoil things, but the scene in Snoke's throne room with him, Rey and Kylo Ren is legitimately one of my favorites, just for the incredible power that the Supreme Leader slings around. The plot twist in this scene (clearly inspired by the Emperor's throne room from Return of the Jedi) might disappoint or enrage some, but I liked it well enough. And it also leads to one of the film's best action sequences, in a wonderfully brutal fight involving Rey, Kylo and Snoke's guards. Fantastic stuff!

I said "mixed bag" before, and now I'll explain why. I do like a lot of things in this movie, but I think that there is a legitimate problem with this film, and that is in its repeated attempts to subvert various moments or tropes associated with the Star Wars movies. Sometimes they pay off (and on some occasions they do so magnificently), and other times they can fall flat or become annoying due to the film's determination to yank the rug out from under the audience's feet.

My biggest criticism of the movie is that it uncomfortably lags in the middle, where the plot splits between Rey and Luke, the First Order, and Poe trying to cover for Finn and Rose; the two of whom head to a mega-rich casino resort to hunt up a certain code-breaker to use against the First Order. The casino is lavish and there are some good jokes with the adorable droid BB-8, but it just felt like padding to me, even with Benicio del Toro's hacker character DJ added to the mix.

In the end, having said all of that, I would still say that The Last Jedi was an enjoyable enough time, and that I would recommend seeing it - even if only once - to someone.

After all, it is a new Star Wars movie. And I feel that we should count ourselves more lucky than not that we are getting these new stories from the galaxy a long time ago and far, far away.