STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI (2017) ****

You know a movie is special when a father and daughter are simultaneously on the edge of their seat during the final minutes.  The fact that the film in question is the latest installment of the Star Wars saga makes it even more special.  I still remember the feeling of awe I had as a child when I saw the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi in the theater for the first time in 1983.  I can only hope my daughter feels the same way thirty years from now when she looks back on The Last Jedi.  

I think it’s safe to say that she will.  When we got home from the theater, she emulated Rey by sitting in the floor and shutting her eyes.  Concentrating, she reached out her hand and tried to make a book move by using The Force.  If that isn’t a testament to the magic of Star Wars, I don’t know what is.

Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars movie since 1983.  It takes what George Lucas, and later, J.J. Abrams did, subverts it, and makes it feel fresh and new.  Yes, after the fan service-heavy likes of The Force Awakens and Rogue One, I thought the spark of originality was almost lost in the franchise.  Johnson protects that spark and ignites it into something much bigger.

George Lucas had a knack for making science fiction stories that had personality, quirkiness, and a fierce independence.  Even though they were epics, they still felt like personal independent films.  Whereas The Force Awakens and Rogue One felt like products off an assembly line, this one feels like it could’ve only come from the mind of Johnson.

Coming from someone who had issues with The Force Awakens, it was a sheer delight to see how Johnson thumbed his nose at Abrams’ “safe” storytelling decisions.  I won’t spoil anything, but you pretty much get all the answers you wanted to know from The Force Awakens and then some.  Like a Jedi Mind Trick, Johnson resolves just about every lingering plot thread with the wave of a hand.  (He even answers a question fans have been asking since the original trilogy:  Just where does blue milk come from?)  In fact, the film almost feels like the conclusion to a trilogy in many ways.  

Speaking of trilogies, there’s enough stuff in here to fill an entire Star Wars trilogy.  Much has been made of the length of The Last Jedi.  What is so amazing is that it never feels long.  Could Johnson have trimmed some stuff here and there?  Maybe, but I was so engrossed over every second of it that I honestly didn’t want it to end.

The Last Jedi is what Star Wars, and movies in general are all about.  It’s moving, harrowing, hilarious, tragic, and exhilarating; sometimes all at the same time.  I laughed.  I cried.  I was literally on the edge of my seat multiple times.  Johnson really puts you through the wringer.  Few blockbusters nowadays truly move viewers.  If you walk away nonplussed by this one, you might be a droid.    

Even if you don’t like the directions Johnson is taking the franchise (and judging by the internet, there are some that don’t), you’re guaranteed to feel at least SOMETHING when you leave the theater.  At least Johnson is taking chances, ones that pay off big time in the finale.  After J.J.’s safe bet greatest-hits collection, this is a breath of fresh air.  

I felt cheated by the lack of Luke in the last episode.  He was always my favorite character, so I felt shortchanged to have him reduced to a mere cameo.  I mean I waited thirty-four years to know what happened to Luke after the Battle of Endor and Johnson doesn’t disappoint at all.  While Luke isn’t really front-and-center that much (there are a LOT of characters to juggle, which is fine because Johnson can juggle with the best of them), when he is… well… all I can say is that it’s 1983 and I’m five years old again and I’m clapping and cheering over a Star Wars movie. 

EVERYONE has a moment to shine.  Most poignant of course is Leia because of Carrie Fisher’s untimely passing.  There was only one cheesy bit of the movie, and that belonged to her, but everything else she did was beautiful.  From arguing with Poe Dameron to commanding the fleet, this is a grown and mature Leia that still has a heap of spunk to her.  It’s unfortunate Fisher’s no longer with us because her presence will be sorely missed in Episode IX.

I liked where Kylo Ren was at.  He’s still feels haunted by the murder of Han Solo.  Will the guilt of killing his father pull him towards the light, or set him off into a more extremely unstable path?  His arc is one of the more interesting and unpredictable in the movie.

Then there’s of course Rey, who spends most of the film begging to be taught the ways of The Force.  Her interactions with Luke (who is clearly relishing a chance to play a cantankerous mentor) are some of the funniest and most heartfelt in the entire series.  The fact that Luke pushes her away gives her something in common with Kylo, and their shared recognition of that (and possible allegiance to one another) is one of the gray areas the film has fun exploring.

As someone who’s favorite new character from The Force Awakens was BB-8, I was not disappointed.  I’m glad to report he has plenty of hilarious moments in this one.  He even got at least one big hero moment that made me cheer.  

Even the new characters, who arrive hitting the ground running, are likeable, fully realized, and feel fresh.  Vice Admiral Holdo, Rose, and DJ still follow motifs from previous episodes, but they are integrated with the older cast so seamlessly that it feels like they’ve been around forever.  I certainly hope to see more of them in episodes to come. 

Speaking of new characters:  Porgs.  They’re further proof that, like the Ewoks, Star Wars characters can be cute AND awesome at the same time.  I loved them.

The action is off the chain.  This is a Star Wars film, and Johnson brings the wars.  It often feels like a non-stop assault.  Like some of the best entries in the franchise, this is a Chase Movie in the best sense.  It almost feels like Stephen King’s The Long Walk, but with space ships.  On the ground, in outer space, and with the lightsabers, there are some all-time Star Wars moments to be had.  The Praetorian Guard scene melted my brain.  It was like watching a futuristic Shaw Brothers Venom Mob movie.  Although it’s still a little early to tell, I have a feeling these guys might be the new Boba Fett.  This sequence also contains one of the most crowd-pleasing moments in a Star Wars flick since Han swooped in on the Millennium Falcon in the original.  Yes, it’s that good.

The new planets are great too.  Canto Bight, the casino planet (which is basically like a Cantina version of Monte Carlo), gives us a glimpse of how the class system works in the Star Wars universe.  While some of this was a little on-the-nose, I wouldn’t change a moment, especially when it leads us to the stirring final shot.

I honestly have no idea where the series can go from here.  It’s like Johnson mic dropped the series back into J.J.’s lap.  One thing’s for sure, J.J. has some big shoes to fill.