Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Yes, this might get a lot of flack from the masses who either love or hate this movie, but I figured I would give my two cents anyways, because I wasn't yet reviewing at the time of its release. To quickly put it out there, no I did not love The Last Jedi, but I did like much of it, and, in fact, I think the film has a couple of the best moments in all of Star Wars.
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. Similar to most, I am not a fan of the Canto Bight sequence. I felt that it is overly long, detracts from the film's main narrative and momentum and ultimately has no pay off as the whole plan fails. I get that this ending is Rian Johnson imparting the real-world spin into Star Wars, that things don't always go as planned, and sometimes fail, even for the heroes. However, I don't think such a large amount of time needed to be given for this message, as well, that the inclusion of Benicio Del Toro and his character really goes nowhere. Additionally, I do not particularly like the Rose character, simply for the fact that I find the character itself rather uninteresting and unexciting. Coinciding with the fact that the main characters are separated for the majority of the film, I find, at times, the pacing and balance is also a bit off.
Now onto some of the more potentially-controversial points. Personally, I am not overly distraught about Luke's story and portrayal here. I understand the 'wasted potential' in having him holed up for much of the film, as well as the pretty drastic turn the character has seemingly taken since we last saw him in ROTJ. However, I think it is an interesting take and arc for him, and one that does make sense within the greater narrative of Star Wars and the Skywalker saga, even if it is not necessarily what the fans wanted and/or expected from him. Could Luke have shown up in the end to fight Kylo Ren for real, giving the fans a true-to-form lightsaber fight, showing off his jedi mastery. and simply sacrificing himself in that way? Perhaps, but his jedi-projection is still pretty cool and, in its own way, expands upon the lore of Star Wars. The dirt off the shoulder bit though is objectively terrible.
What I do love about this film (and this trilogy thus far) is the intertwining story of Rey and Kylo Ren. The frenemy dynamics that have developed throughout the first two films is one of the most interesting arcs and Kylo Ren, in particular, is a quite fascinating character and great addition to the Star Wars universe. The fight scene in the throne room when the two, at least temporarily, join forces to take down the red-armoured dudes is one of the best sequences in all of Star Wars. Not only is the action itself amazing, but the dramatic tension underlying the team-up raises the scene to even greater heights. Finding out how the story will end for these two may be one of the greatest reasons why I am looking forward to Episode IX.
Lastly, I will just say that there is still hope that this trilogy can be saved for the fans who have yet to be on-board. The final film could very well tie all of the seemingly disparate threads together for, not only this new trilogy, but the entire nine-film saga. And this point seems to be hinted at by the very fact that the final film is called The Rise of Skywalker - the element that has permeated the entire series. Will Rey be a Skywalker as so many have anticipated? Will the unexpected killing off of Snoke perhaps be explained by the return of Palpatine? Will Leia/Carrie Fisher be sent off in proper fashion? What does Porg meat really taste like? Will we ever find out why C-3PO has a red arm (okay, this one is explained in the comics...). Whatever the case , for better or worse, there will be lots more Star Wars to come even after the original series is done.
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