Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Ravi%20 T — 06 Aug 2018

"You failed your highness, I am a Jedi like my father before me.".

When I was a boy, watching Return of the Jedi on VHS, I began to realize I was watching something more than just a grand spectacle with action and adventure. By the end of that film Luke Skywalker saves the day, not by blowing something up or wielding a light sabre. Instead, he throws his sword away and sacrifices himself. He does something that most cinematic heroes do not do. He forgoes violence and puts his faith in the humanity found in the destructive and corrupt monster he was meant to slay. Learning that the entertaining action film I was watching was also a story of forgiveness and redemption, left a mark on me at a young age. I believe it is why my love of the Star Wars films endured into my adulthood.

In the Last Jedi, Rian Johnson also succeeds in his attempt to create a movie that was more than just an adolescent spectacle. He does give us a film with desperate space battles, wondrous creatures and emotional duels with laser swords. However, he also takes the time to create an unexpected journey for each of the main characters. In this film the reckless hotshot doesn't get to be the hero with a foolhardy act of youthful bravado that ignores the costs of war. The hard-driven general, who has always been the strongest soldier no matter what the cruel galaxy takes from her, finally feels the burden of all she has lost. The survivalist learns why he must sacrifice. And in this saga, the villain and the hero are left with no clear quest or mentors to guide them.

The film ends with Luke Skywalker saving the day in a unique and unexpected twist that upon reflection is very familiar. Like in Return of the Jedi, he does not use his laser sword or grab or push something with the force. But instead, through an act of sacrifice and faith, he inspires a new galaxy of heroes and redeems himself.

The Last Jedi did not go the way I thought. It was a more complicated, daring and complete film and it will hopefully leave a mark on young fans for a lifetime.