“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is anything but disappointing. Just by seeing how fans worldwide have spat on this film makes my stomach ache. It’s a brilliant film, by all means, focusing more on storytelling and originality rather than cramming it with fan service. Almost all the actors shine in their roles; especially Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac. Yes, the first half is a little slow and low on punches but that’s called build up and when you see where that build up is going and jaw dropping moments you get in the second half. It’s almost forgivable (except for one arc).
The storyline of Finn and Rose was utterly useless. It was filled with cheesy moments and jokes and toy ideas for children. I’m pretty sure the crew was like, “We need something for kids, they’re the reason Star Wars exist.” So we got a complete segment of 20-25 min which would have been best on Nick or CN. Not saying that characters were bad, Rose seemed a good addition to the cast in her introduction but what bugged me was the direction writers took her into. There was no need for romance between her and Finn. There was no need for that awful kiss in the end. Hell, why not just make her the hacker and remove that shite sequence of the casino.
Now, let’s move onto the prominent sequence: Luke teaching Rey to be a Jedi. In Force Awakens, (SPOILER ALERT) Han Solo death shattered my heart to pieces and I was pretty sure that both Luke and Leia combined can’t fill his shoes. I still hold on to that (He was my favourite character) but Luke brought his own things on the table as Mark Hamill brilliantly played the role of a wise mentor. Daisy Ridley performance was phenomenon, she was maybe even better than young Luke in the original. She was determined, she was reckless and all the things that every student is.
(Now What I am going to talk about is seriously going to spoil your experience of new Star Wars, so if you haven’t watched it, stop reading this article.)
So there were certain things I am pretty sure bugged some people, and out of them, maybe the most controversial scene is the flashback to Jedi Temple where Luke pulls Lightsaber on his sleeping nephew, Ben Solo. I call that scene creative writing. Take that scene out, would you still consider Kylo a conflicted villain? Would you still consider Luke a layered character? He had it man, he fought the emperor, and he lost his villagers to him. Now he senses the same danger, don’t you think the thought would cross his mind? But he quickly realizes what he is going to do is wrong but it’s too late.
Another controversial scene is the Snoke’s death. To me, that was the most badass scene of 2017. Hell man, the way music shifted as Rey grabbed that Lightsaber and Ren’s also. Who needs a 1 on 1 when you have 2 vs. Imperial Guards (or whatever they were.) Snoke never intrigued me as much as Kylo. Even in Force Awakens, he just felt an empty character unlike the Emperor in the Original Trilogy. Well, Kylo Ren on the other hand is a fantastic villain, with several layers, he is immaculately frightening when he is on full Vader mode but you also feel for him when he’s vulnerable and the scenes between him and Rey were beyond spectacular.
Another character that I absolutely loved was Poe Dameron. He was not your usual type hero. He was a hot head, who made serious mistakes which got lot of people killed. But then he learned from his mistakes and in the end made right call. I would really like to see him leading the Resistance in the sequel. Oscar Isaac’s performance was damn satisfying.
And certain Carrie Fisher scenes just brought tears in eyes. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH HER
VERDICT
Star Wars: The Last Jedi comes from a franchise which was introduced almost 40 years ago and by Hollywood Mathematics, it should have failed by now. But fortunately, it’s in the right hands, Director/Writer Ryan Johnson put more effort on crafting a sublime story which would easily stand on its own without the alpha label.
MY SCORE: 9/10