The end of an era… but did it go out with a bang?
It’s finally here, the conclusion of a story decades in the making. The Skywalker story line has reached its conclusion and in Star Wars fashion, everyone is conflicted on it. It seems like the fan base for this franchise is constantly arguing about whether its content is good or not, and this one is no different.
I will start off this review by warning everyone that I am a big advocate for The Last Jedi, so my opinion may differ from you, the readers. With that said, just take everything I say with a grain of salt and as always, I encourage watching for yourself and making your own opinion.
The story follows the Resistance as it concludes the journey of our heroic trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe. The band of fighters faces its greatest threat yet: a Sith lord that returns for his vengeance.
So I don’t want to say I was disappointed because I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as a whole. I mean come on, it’s the same Star Wars we all know and love. I did, however, feel that there was a lot of potential wasted. Let’s start from the beginning.
From the very first scene, the pacing of the movie is extremely fast. A big part of this is because JJ Abrams (the director of the film) wants to finish the story his own way, which is fair, but it makes it confusing and hard to follow at times. Star Wars super fans that nitpick everything will find countless plot holes I’m sure, but just know: the writing and story isn’t perfect and there’s a ridiculous amount of plot to sort through in the two and a half hours we’re given.
It all makes sense when you look back at the context of it all. I mean, who thought that bringing in multiple different writers and directors trying to keep one singular trilogy consistent was a good idea? The tone of the movie just felt conflicted because the story direction of Rian Johnson completely went against what Abrams was trying to do. The film felt like it was at war with itself, and that’s pretty much never a good sign for a solid and complete story.
I also feel like they played things extremely safe. Similar to The Force Awakens, it has a very formulaic style to it that relies on nostalgia and doesn’t want to take risks. Again, there’s a reason for this, that being that they didn’t want another The Last Jedi situation of an entire fan base going to war and creating controversy. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I said earlier, it loses a lot of its potential for greatness. There’s so much that can be done here with a bit of artistic liberty, but alas, we get the same old same old. There were actually some decisions made that I vehemently disagree with but I see why they did them.
BUT in the end this is still a Star Wars film above all else. It has the magic that has been there from the beginning of the very first film. You still have all the light sabers and force powers and stupid jokes that brought us into this expansive universe and kept us there. The music from the legendary John Williams is ever-present and wonderful. There are still moments of awe and pure fun that define this franchise. You’re going to see a Star Wars film and that’s what you get, flaws and all.
I should probably say something about the actual ending but to be honest, it felt similar to the rest of the movie: rushed. It’s unoriginal and forgetful, but it wrapped things up at the very minimum level that it should have. It’s a low effort send off, but certainly not at a Game of Thrones level where it will ruin the image of the property for many people.
They could’ve done more to make this one a true conclusion to remember, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch it. I can recommend this one to all Star Wars fans, picky or not, and say that I look forward to what comes next in this universe past the Skywalkers. It’ll be interesting to say the least. Hopefully the fans will calm down by then.
The Movie Hall 
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