Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Cullen R — 26 Dec 2017

***Spoilers***.

In order to help folks understand my perspective I feel a bit of extra information is necessary. As a movie lover I am able to enjoy more serious pieces (Saving Private Ryan) as much as lighter fair (Dredd, Pacific Rim). Simply because actors are not "using their dramatic voice" does not mean I can't enjoy a film. I grew up as a huge Star Wars fan, and can definitively say it is my favorite film franchise. I enjoyed The Force Awakens very much, and absolutely loved Rogue One (I thought it was the second best film behind Empire). With that primer thus my review begins;.

I did not overall enjoy The Last Jedi because of its debilitating failings as a poorly paced, thinly written story, and disagree with a few key choices that were made for the characters. There were a few points that I thoroughly did enjoy which I was sad were not more fleshed out.

The Good;.

-Kylo was less whiny, and more conflicted in what I thought was an understated yet believable way. Adam Driver makes interesting choices, and is extremely engaging to watch. His interactions with Rey were dramatic and believable which I thought was hard to do.

-The relationship between Rey and Luke as student / teacher worked for me. I wish the film makers took more time to develop their relationship as opposed to rushing it through.

-The final conflict between Kylo and Luke worked for me, and I felt it was dramatic and character appropriate.

-The film looks immaculate, and captures the classic Star Wars feel.

The Not So Good:

-The pace of the story was completely off, and had too much going on.

-The entire premise of the casino scene was poorly thought out, and it was blatantly a "we do not know how to include Finn and Rose in this so here is a side quest" kind of thing.

-The ending with Luke's parting scene I felt was unsatisfying. It was one of the largest build ups in film history, and the choice made was weak.

-The premise of this essentially being a large car chase did not work for me the way it was executed.

-The humor (especially in the first scene, but throughout) did not work for me. The dialogue felt forced, and unnatural with no real genuine humor. It was mostly just amusing phrases that reminded me of Thor: Ragnarok where the writers would say to themselves "now they are going to say something funny here.".

-Character development was too quick for me (Rey's training), and I found it to be less authentic / believable.

Please do not think I disliked this movie because it took risks. I love thoughtful change, and good storytelling (I very much enjoyed the first two recent Star Trek remakes). I feel that this movie did not have a driving story line, and the chosen plot points were very thin. If I were to hazard a guess when they got to the editing room they realized they had a mess on their hands, and just did the best that they could (hence why this director is not directing / writing Episode IX). If I were able to ask the filmmakers (director, and writing team) a few questions I would inquire as to who green lit this story, what they thought the main plot points were, and what was going through their heads? I feel they did not follow through with what is one of the great contemporary film stories. I did not have any preconceived notions of what this film shout have been, but the direction it took left me feeling dissatisfied.