Daisy
Ridley Domhnall
Gleeson Adam
Driver Oscar
Isaac
Mark Hamill Carrie Fisher John Boyega Kelly Marie Tran
Benecio
Del Toro Andy Serkis Laura Dern Justin Theroux
Not many films and filmmakers can keep up the
momentum that the two space fantasies Star
Wars and Star Trek have, and in
this eighth sequence of Star Wars,
writer/director Rion Johnson proves that this franchise is still good to
go. He does a good job in
preserving and renewing beloved themes and images while introducing new ones
that point toward the future. We see
two of the original characters, Luke Skywalker (Hamill) and Princess Leia
(Fisher); and new interactions between Rey (Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Driver)—both
introduced in the last episode, The Force
Awakens—set up so that we know they will meet again.
The Last
Jedi opens with an attack on the Jedi resistance forces, which now consist
of only 400 fighters on three ships.
The story will shift back and forth between attacks from the Jedi’s arch
enemy, the First Order, commanded by General Hux (Gleason) and their own
attacks, commanded by General Leia Organa, upon the First Order. General Hux must answer to the supreme
leader, Snoke (Serkis), who initially denigrates him for his failure to stop
the destruction of some major artillery.
Meanwhile, Rey, who finally located Luke
Skywalker on the planet Ahch-To in the last picture, revisits him with the
message that his presence in the battle is critical for the survival of the
Jedi. He has been coming to the
philosophical conclusion that the survival of the Jedi is not that important,
so her job will involve many hurdles, meditations, and encounters. Will she convince him to go?
There are additional scenarios and encounters
to keep the story intriguing, like the relationship between Finn (Boyega),
Rey’s missing co-pilot, and Rose (Tran) a mechanic with impressive knowledge
and skills; Poe (Isaac) and whoever is in charge of the Jedi at the time; and
the triangle of Snoke (Serkis), General Hux, and Kylo Ren.
It’s not all drama; there are many scenes that
make the audience laugh out loud, like that with Chewbaca and the bird-like
creatures, the Porgs; the trip through the casino planet and recruitment of the
code-breaker DJ (Del Toro); and Poe’s hacking into the First Order’s
communication system.
This episode in the Star Wars saga boasts a huge cast of talented, actors already
famous for other roles and for previous Star
Wars productions: Mark Hamill
(still packing a punch of the rebel Luke Skywalker; Adam Driver (writhing under
the struggle within himself about identifying with the dark side); Domhnall
Gleeson [reveling in his shaky command of the First Order, which is threatened
by Kylo Ren (Driver) and, ultimately by Snoke himself (Serkis)]; Oscar Isaac,
the “trigger-happy” Poe trying to influence the Jedi leadership of General Leia
and Vice Admiral Holdo (Dern); Benecio Del Toro emerging in the casino to
volunteer his hacking skills as DJ; and, finally, the funny, flirting, techno
skilled interactions between Finn (Boyega) and Rose (Tran).
The star, Daisy Ridley, has held onto her
success in capturing the previous role of Luke Skywalker in the Jedi forces as
Rey, a fearless, persistent, cheeky young woman who is relentless in pursuing
her goals. This involves her own
personal exploration (who she is, where she came from) as well as perfecting
the art of The Force.
Star Wars
fans are likely to be jubilant over this production that seems to have
preserved much of the character of the previous films and ventured into new
territory, all while keeping the elements of surprise and humor.
Rion Johnson’s production appears to
cover all the bases for fans in its preservation of the beloved, surprising
twists and turns, and comedic bursts.
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