Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Nate F — 07 Jan 2018

Really a fantastic film, the hate for it is completely unjustified, with so many little details getting blown out of proportion.

(Spoilers).

There are a few major problems with the film, however, such as the entire side-mission with Finn and Rose being both pointless and boring, whilst also throwing in irrelevant messages against animal cruelty and war profiteering.

Finn and Rose also manage to nearly ruin the film towards the end, where Rose stops Finn from making a sacrifice that would have been both narratively and structurally beneficial, with a ridiculous justification of "I love you".

Apart from that, this film is truly incredible, with Luke's sudden change of character being a welcome change from the binary Good Side/Bad Side trope and giving some good depth for his character.

Rey and Kylo's connection is explored very well, their questionings about the morality of the Jedi being well developed throughout the film, resulting in a pleasing and genuinely surprising climax of Kylo killing Snoke and becoming Supreme Leader himself.

Poe's character also takes a surprising arc, with his "cocky maverick" persona being notched down by his realisation of his failures, a nice departure from the usual, where the maverick is always right.

It had some good fan service as well, with Yoda's cameo being both funny and fulfilling, and the action scenes were all beautifully shot, with great wide takes making for some of the saga's best fights.

All in all, it was a great film with a few major flaws, but certainly doesn't deserve the hate it's getting.