As 2017 begins to wind down and close with the holiday season, the last big film for 2017 has finally arrived in theaters - bringing with it a lot of excitement, expectations, and intrigue as to how the next chapter of George Lucas' brainchild of a space opera will play out. After two years since the first installment of the "Sequel Trilogy" debuted and shocked the world, Star Wars fans are now ready to see "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" - which picks up directly after the events of 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and sees viewers reunite with new characters Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren, as well as veterans like Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher, who reprise their legendary roles of Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia Organa respectively.
Thanks to Walt Disney Studios Philippines, I attended the advance premiere screening of "The Last Jedi" this past Tuesday December 12th - being one of the lucky viewers to see the film a day ahead of its Philippine release and a few days before the US! Watching as a fan and eager to finally cosplay one of the characters from the Sequel Trilogy, I debuted my Last Jedi era Kylo Ren -
As I am not one to give big SPOILERS about this movie (and it has to be experienced by fans first hand) - consider this review not to heavy on revelations but touching on some important things that make this a unique entry into the Disney era Star Wars saga. So diving into the ongoing saga of a galaxy far, far away once more - here is my review for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi".
Opening at a time when the Resistance is struggling to escape from the devastating pursuit of The First Order, Star Wars: The Last Jedi finds our rebel heroes all but defeated as General Hux and his forces execute Supreme Leader Snoke's will to snuff out any trace of the freedom fighters in the entire galaxy. To that end, all hope rests on the shoulders of Rey - the young Force sensitive woman who finally finds the long lost Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Seeking answers as to why he disappeared and what her purpose is in all of this struggle, Rey manages to convince a reluctant Luke to teach her in the ways of The Force.
Unfortunately Rey's power also comes into conflict with Kylo Ren - the dark alter ego of Ben Solo who has become the right hand of Snoke and The First Order. As battles are waged and losses grow on the side of The Resistance, it will take the combined efforts of Rey, Luke, Leia, Finn, Poe, and the rest of The Resistance to light up that spark of hope to defeat the Dark Side and restore freedom in the galaxy once more.
Much like the last Star Wars movie, "The Last Jedi" is a film that expects viewers to have seen or have a grasp of the previous films before diving into this latest chapter in the space opera saga. Two years in and assuming everyone has seen "The Force Awakens", the players are set and established -especially when it comes to Rey and Kylo Ren - who are positioned as the lead characters representing the light and the dark, good and evil, yin and yang. That's fairly true for the most part, but there's more to it that simply being colored as black and white. Daisy Ridley adds that young and energetic archetype we expect of a new heroine like Rey, and her quest to discover more about her powers and The Jedi leads her to train with Luke Skywalker, the titular "Last Jedi" and the legendary
hero of the Rebel Alliance who disappeared after a great tragedy in trying to rebuild the Jedi Order.
To see Mark Hamill play the role of mentor and Jedi Master is a huge deal for Star Wars fans, as "The Last Jedi" sees Luke's journey come full circle yet not in the way we expected. Here he lies broken, disillusioned, and set to live his last days in isolation. Only through the persistence and arrival of Rey does he reluctantly decide to teach her and tell his story - yet it also reveals what became of his last apprentice and nephew Ben Solo, who was seduced by the Dark Side and became the Sith-like warrior known as Kylo Ren. To see Luke in this position is both sad and disheartening, yet it also allows us to piece together things that led to his recluse life in the island where the First Jedi temple supposedly started.
Then we have Kylo Ren - humiliated and barely the confident emissary of Supreme Leader Snoke we last saw in "The Force Awakens". Thanks to his defeat at the hands of Rey and getting a "pep talk" from his master, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa has embraced his new calling to "Let The Past Die", symbolized by the destruction of his iconic mask. As someone who idolized his grandfather Darth Vader and finish what he started, Ren takes a step further and goes beyond his grandpa's shadow - and is easily the most complex character of the sequel trilogy saga yet.
Aside from the main cast, we'll see the other players of the new generation come into their own, with John Boyega back as the defecting Stormtrooper Finn, Oscar Isaac as the skilled yet hot headed ace pilot Poe Dameron, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, and of course Chewbacca, the Millennium Falcon, and the droids in C-3PO, BB-8, and R2-D2. Then we're introduced to a new character in Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico, who helps Finn in his latest mission to stop the First Order from destroying the surviving members of The Resistance.
Of course we can't forget about General Leia Organa, played by the late Carrie Fisher in what will be her final performance as the iconic leader of The Resistance in "The Last Jedi". Fisher tragically passed away last year after completing her scenes for the sequel, which remain unaltered and should be appreciated by fans who have come to know her through the years. Even if she is gone, her mark has been made and will live on in the hearts of Star Wars fans for all time to come.
As the second film in the Disney era of Star Wars films, The Last Jedi keeps up the pace and brings a lot of plot threads together that are more or less resolved. However it also opens up new mysteries and questions that will leave fans speculating and coming up with theories well until 2019 - when the third and final chapter in the sequel trilogy with the as of yet untitled "Episode IX" hits theaters. Director Rian Johnson has put out a rare achievement - in which he manages to place a balance and open up new things for the saga that will both please and divide the most loyal of Star Wars fans. Think of this film as a good compromise - with elements of "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" mixed with some new stuff that should define the saga for a new generation.
Rating - 5/5
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now playing in theaters courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Philippines.
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