Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

This review may contain spoilers!

I haven't seen a Star Wars film this bad since Attack of the Clones. I would give Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi a 6.5/10.

This film does a really good job of showing the relationship that forms between Rey and Luke as they become master and apprentice; the conflict that exists between them is great and often entertaining. I found the discussion around the Jedi that happened in this film to be an exceptionally interesting aspect, there was clearly some rich insight here into the world of Star Wars. However, ultimately this is a predominantly visual film and a Star Wars film in appearance rather than plot. The cinematography for the film is really sharp, every scene looks well constructed and has an impact on the audience. The special effects used throughout are incredibly grand scale; the hyperspace jump through the Dreadnought, the lightsaber battles, the starship fights and many of the CGI characters are all very impressive. The score for the feature is a powerful accompaniment; the music lends that classic Star Wars magic that the film is mostly devoid of.

Daisy Ridley, who played Rey, remains a strong leading protagonist for this latest trilogy; Ridley has a fierce determination that lends itself well to her role's underdog status. Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren, is a very conflicted antagonist this time around which makes his performance rather interesting; Driver's performance shines when his character is riddled and overcome with blinding rage. Domhnall Gleeson, who played General Hux, was used to much better effect this film; Gleeson rages and commands his forces brilliantly while also balancing out the more comedic moments where his role's authority gets undermined. Andy Serkis, who played Supreme Leader Snoke, is an incredibly malevolent antagonist; the ferocity and power he exudes over both Ridley and Driver's roles in this film is simply impressive. Oscar Isaac, who played Poe Dameron, really brings forth his role's more impulsive and reckless traits; Isaac really has a natural way of showing the chemistry his character has with others throughout. John Boyega, who played Finn, is quite the likeable role who is easy to relate to from the perspective of the audience; Boyega's sarcastic wit makes him one of the funnier roles. Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO, is a performer who has always managed to bring this classic role to life; Daniels' brings forth the droid's natural cowardice in a way that lends a good deal of humour to scenes.

However, the best performance came from Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker. Hamill excels as the grouchy hermit who tends towards sarcasm and wry humour. This is a role who is stoic and feels detached from the greater conflict of the film when first we meet him, he is very much at odds with Ridley. Yet as we see him connect with Chewie and the Falcon, rekindle joy at seeing R2 and place his hope in Rey we start seeing a Skywalker who feels more familiar to us. The witty moments where Luke jokes at Rey's expense or mocks Kylo are some of the best in the film and really show a side to the new Star Wars that I enjoy. Yet this feels balanced with the way in which Hamill expresses Luke's pain over failing Kylo and the hard exterior that has come to mould this character into who we see throughout the film.

The plot of this film is pretty good for the first twenty minutes and then it peters off and fails to resemble a Star Wars film in anything beyond aesthetics. The narrative takes place in one general location for most the film, where all the main characters are staged in a high stakes ship battle. However, this location is only used as a high stakes plot for some of the characters to try and enable the Resistance to escape resulting in several questionable forms of travel and some locations that just don't resemble Star Wars at all. Ultimately after most of the runtime has passed by it is revealed that this whole arc of the story was for nothing and that the narrative takes a different direction instead, rendering most of the film rather pointless. The way the Force is portrayed in this film feels rather ridiculous with many of the characters exhibiting the ability to affect things when they're whole galaxies away or should, by all means, be dead in space. It's frustrating that the film pushes for a lot of cute and cuddly critter moments that work as poor comic relief to populate the film, while actual interesting moments are undercut; such as Finn's self-sacrifice or the fact that Luke died inexplicitly. Episode VIII really doesn't work well as a sequel, with major continuity issues or questionable decisions scattered throughout; with the First Order seemingly taking no fallout after Episode VII and the destruction of Starkiller Base. The wasted potential of Snoke as an antagonist is disappointing, and Kylo Ren wasn't built up to take a leadership role as a villain.

Gwendoline Christie, who played Captain Phasma, is just a dull antagonist like she was in the first film; it's hard to understand why they felt there was even a need to bring Phasma back. Carrie Fisher, who played Leia, is one of the worst performances of the film; Fisher's toneless delivery grates on the ears and as a character she adds little to the film. Laura Dern, who played Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, is a confusing character to watch who feels very late to be introduced; the fact Dern plays this role to be suspicious means that she is hard to like even after she sacrifices herself to save the Resistance. Benicio Del Toro, who played DJ, is such an awkward character and really isn't at all necessary to the film; Del Toro's stutter is awful and this isn't a role who really does anything. Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose, seems exciting when she first appears onscreen but she quickly grows annoying after a couple of scenes; Tran feels like a role that should have been introduced sooner and now that she has appeared is pushed to the spotlight a bit too quickly and forcefully to the narrative's expense. Lupita Nyong'o, who played Maz Kanata, was all well good in the last film but now she feels like she's just being pushed in for the sake of it. Nyong'o doesn't make her scene feel noteworthy and this just comes off as a gratuitous cameo. Frank Oz, who voiced Yoda, really does a dismal job on what is an already questionable cameo; when Yoda shows up out of nowhere in this film he already looks awful in appearance but his ridiculous nature pulls you out of the film completely.