Movie Review - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

SPOILER WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN PLOT DETAILS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE PLOT OF THE STORY.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" the most recent iteration and second arc in the latest Star Wars Trilogy, was written and directed by Rian Johnson. It's highly recommended that you approach this film with an open mind. Avoid reading reviews if you can, this one included (unless you're like me and truly don't care about spoilers. You might be more curious as to the HOW and WHY something happened, not so much that it did happen).

So when I went to my local theater I caught the 3:30p.m. showing on Monday, December 18, 2017. It was relatively empty (so no crying children, no teenagers on their cellphones) and overall a pleasant experience. I had to opt for that particular showing due to time constraints and it forced me to catch the film in 3D, but I didn't mind the added charge.

Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is shown to be as hot-headed and rash as ever, especially after aiding in the destruction of the First Order's Dreadnaught battleship. The scene resonates with raw energy as we see that extreme sacrifices yet again are made in order to strike a devastating blow against the Empirical battalion of Tie-Fighters. General Organa however, is not pleased with Poe's insistence that the move was a victory as she views it as more Pyrrhic than anything else. The lesson he eventually does learn is that sometimes it is best to lose a battle, in favor of a tactical retreat.

I was mildly disappointed that Finn (John Boyega) didn't make an appearance until later than I had anticipated. Apparently he was recuperating from a punishing last battle with the proto-fascist Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). (For those of you unfamiliar, proto-facism is a conceptual belief that liberal democracy is obsolete and those of a fascist mindset regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary in order to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic problems.) Finn suffered severe shoulder burns and a large diagonal slash across his back from the red lightsaber Ben Solo used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The major dilemma of this film is that while Rey (Daisy Ridley) is trying to get Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammil) to come back to the fold and fight alongside the resistance (which he wants no part of), Finn and Poe along with newcomer Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) are trying to help the transport ship they're on escape from Supreme Leader Snoke's personal cruiser while their vessel is low on fuel and options.

Old man Sywalker

The one thing that sort of annoyed me was that the plot threads required a specific "master coder" with a red lapel flower pin on his person. He was to be located in this casino on the planet and while Rose and Finn have a nice bonding moment, they find an alternative hacker and the one that they were SUPPOSED to have found falls into complete obscurity and irrelevance. That, to me, was a bit unnecessary from an audience perspective. It's a poor rehashing of the Mos Eisley cantina scene in “A New Hope.”

The reason that they need this individual is to bypass the security on the lead ship attacking the resistance so that they can temporarily disable the tracking mechanism and allow for a hyperspace jump with the limited remaining fuel available.

Meanwhile, Rey has given up on Skywalker and decided to return on her own accord in an attempt to turn Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) back to the light side of the Force. She is subsequently captured and brought before Snoke, who wants to snuff her out after obtaining Luke's whereabouts. He offers his apprentice the opportunity to end her himself and in a totally expected manner, Kylo Ren manages to kill his mentor with Luke's lightsaber. It's a bit frustrating because his end was so anti-climactic and predictable. The rest of the guardsmen coming to defend him however managed to be an interesting clash as both Rey and Kylo Ren fight side-by-side, back-to-back. The truce is temporary however, and Kylo tells Ren that the one thing she seeks out most (her parents) aren't even worth mentioning.

The Millennium Falcon, A Relic of the Past

Her parents aren't some noble warriors, nor lost Jedi, or members of some secret society. No, according to him, she always knew that they were nobodies that sold her to traders on Jakku for drinking money. It's a sad, deflated delivery and although its perhaps supposed to show that ANYONE can be a hero and rise to the challenge, it leaves Rey quite defeated emotionally and mentally. He then offers to rule the galaxy with her by his side, but only if she lets the past die.

Unfortunately, (perhaps unsurprisingly) there's a double-cross by the hacker while Finn is captured with Rose to be executed by Phasma. (She's still not as cool as Boba Fett and never will be. I truly wish Rian Johnson would stop trying to hype her up.) A battle ensues and during the chaos, General Organa's second in command does something that is a basic, fundamental prohibition when operating a spacecraft. She hyperspace jumps the vessel THROUGH SNOKE'S SHIP. Honestly, I never thought I'd ever see that on the big screen (let alone in 3D). That was hands down the most badass way to sacrificially decimate someone. Everyone had made it to escape pods headed towards a planet made of...red salt. (Probably made from all of the tears of the fans of the previous trilogies.)

I find it incredibly ironic that Kylo Ren wants the "past to die" when he has been living off the heel of Darth Vader's legacy and using the Empire's Tie-Fighter and All Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) technology, with minor upgrades, if any. Rey and General Organa perhaps are among the few that know that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Kylo Ren

Luke Skywalker finally musters up the courage to re-connect with the Force and the Rebel Resistance and he does so without ever leaving his serene planet. He confronts Kylo Ren and he manages to stall him long enough for his sister and allies to escape their last fortified outpost. It's eerily reminiscent of the planet Hoth, complete with the AT-ATs (All Terrain Armored Transports).

Personally, I enjoyed the movie overall. There were enough jokes to go around and the tone of the movie was eased a bit with some of the self-aware jabs at the drama of the series. Rey's scenes tend to be the most humorous of the collection (specifically Kylo Ren's somewhat cringe-worthy shirtless scene), but in particular, I couldn't help but laugh at inappropriate opportunities, particularly the campfire scene with Chewbacca and the Porgs. This movie isn't afraid to make poke fun at its own history and the current state of affairs. There are some controversial scenes (like General Leia Organa "Force-Floating" through space to reach the hangar and doing so in the vaccuum of space, but I was fine with that too. The Jedi are "space-wizards" for all intensive purposes and anything they do should not break the immersion. After all, Darth Plagueis was a Sith Lord that "could prevent death itself". So nothing is off the table, so to speak.

There are a few important figures and events that I've deliberately left out (as they're a bit of a treat) but they're nice subtle nods to the past trilogies and I hope that for those of you that have yet to see the film, you'll make an effort to do so to form your own opinions. It will always be difficult to capture the novelty and sheer exhilaration of the original films, but thus far, these new additions seem to hold their own.

Rating Score

8.0/10.0
Letter Grade: B

Movie Review - Wonder Woman Makes Her Big Cinematic Debut

In Wonder Woman, the new smash-hit superhero movie, audiences see Gal Gadot as Diana, a valiant heroine, leaving on a journey away from the only home she's ever known, the idyllic and isolated all-female island of Themyscira heading toward the gritty, violent, and often confusing “world of man” in order to defeat the God of War, Ares as per her destiny.

I went to see the film myself on Thursday June 8, 2017 at 4:00p.m. (Admission price was $11.53).

Now, from my young adult, heterosexual male perspective and limited knowledge of Wonder Woman from the comics, all I can say is that I'm grateful that DC finally has Diana on the big screen. I think all of the great superheroes need their time to shine in the limelight. She's seldom made an appearance in mainstream media and this was a long overdue change of pace. I am aware of the television show and seen some of the animated features but there are so few that she usually ends up in cameo appearances to other more notable male counterparts that one can not say definitively who her antagonists are at the drop of a hat like one could for the others. Batman has the Joker and several other rogues (Bane, Scarecrow, the Penguin, the Riddler, etc.), Superman has Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Parasyte, Livewire, etc. What about Wonder Woman though? Her most portrayed antagonists that I could name easily would be Cheetah and Ares but I only know of this through the video games (Injustice series) and a few animated movies. It's a shame that she's been sidelined so many times.

From what I can gather, she symbolizes in many ways, the feminist movement and empowers women to be bold as she fights for equality & justice. That's not what I intend to focus on with this review. The political aspects are always a fun perspective to shed light upon, but I want to discuss my thoughts on how she was portrayed in this film and whether or not it had a strong plot.

Overall, I'm satisfied with a majority of the film, however, I wasn't content with certain scenes or director's choices in casting. Particularly, I felt that Ares should've been far more menacing and gruff in his appearance. David Thewlis was a questionable choice for Ares. He looks far too thin and not as muscular to me for some divine entity that is running such a complex operation. I suppose my expectations are a bit high considering that I'm gleaning mental imagery from Injustice: Gods Among Us and the 2009 film. The mustache just doesn't do it for me either. My expectation of a God of War is a ruthless, merciless, cold-hearted savage who has no place for honor in his heart. Thewlis looks like a goofy uncle.

I would've preferred that David Thewlis's form was a temporary one picked by Ares and that we as the audience would not have seen his face from beyond his helmet. Just glowing red eyes and his menacing presence. That's not to say that David Thewlis is a poor actor or anything, but merely that it might've been better for him to do the voiceover once the deception was revealed.

Some of the dialogue could've been better too, I feel, if, for example Steve had said "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." rather than what was initially spoken. Also, Gal Gadot's performance upon leaving the island and speaking with her mother felt a bit flat on delivery and didn't seem to have the right pained expression one would typically expect leaving home. It might be nitpicking, but I would've expected more of an emotional impact in that short moment.

Another problematic aspect is the frustratingly incremental screentime that Etta Candy, Steve’s quippy secretary, has. She's delightfully humorous and it's a travesty that she did not have nearly the impact that she could have had on screen.

However, I enjoyed the innocence and dare I say, sense of "wonder" that Gal Gadot emulated with Diana as a character especially with the ice-cream scene as well as the slow dancing under snowfall. She even shows a motherly side with her delight in seeing babies. She is a beautiful and talented actress that portrays a strong yet approachable character very well. The movie at times made me tear up a bit. I won't deny that. However, it's by no means perfect. It needed some fine tuning. I would've liked to have learned what led Lady Poison to hate humanity so much that she turned to chemical warfare and development. Overall, a couple of missed opportunities, but a decent film nonetheless.

Overal Score:

8.5/10.0 B+ Great movie, but with some minor issues.