The Last Jedi: Not just for superfans
Confession: I'm not a Star Wars superfan. I like it, but I haven't seen the movies a million times. I like the Ewoks but hate Jar Jar Binks. I didn't like the prequels. I am a fan of Chewbacca. I think that covers it. If you want to read a review by a super fan, I suggest this one by Demetri Ravanos.
I loved everything about The Force Awakens - Rey, BB-8, Poe, Finn and brooding Emo teen, Kylo Ren. The Last Jedi really captures a lot of the same energy as its predecessor, but it takes things to a new level.
Without being too spoilery, I can tell you that Luke Skywalker is back. You saw him and Rey at the end of the last film. Luke is very much that "old guy who yells at kids to get off his lawn" through much of the film.
The late Carrie Fisher is back as Princess Leia, a role filmed before her death last year. It is really emotional to see her on screen, especially since her daughter, Bille Lourd, is playing one of the members of the Resistance.
Chewbacca is back and he has a few new friends - Porgs! These adorable puffin, bird, penguin creatures that inhabit the island where Luke Skywalker is living. (How can someone be so cranky when they live on an island populated with such cute creatures??) Anyway, the Porgs aren't in the movie very much at all. You see them every now and then. I could have used more Porgs, especially baby Porgs.
Finn has a new BFF - Rose. She is smart and a great match for him. A great addition to the team. Finn, Rose and BB-8 go on a mission together and basically anything that involves BB-8 is pretty much fantastic.
Kylo Ren spends the entire movie brooding and acting like a teenager who listens to too much emo music. He hates his parents. He hates his uncle. He hates pretty much everyone. He even hates his helmet so much he breaks it, which I think he did because he wanted to show off his cool hair. I dated a lot of "Kylo Ren's" in college and high school. Nothing but drama.
Other interesting tidbits:
- Rey is getting better at mastering the force and she gets to do a lot of light sabering on top of mountains. I want to be Rey when I grow up.
- Poe is all alpha male - "Let's blow up stuff and ask questions later." I can understand wanting to blow up the bad guys, but he needs to think first. One of my favorite Poe moments is when he rubs BB-8's belly like you would a dog.
- Laura Dern shows up with purple hair and wearing a very expensive looking gown.
- We get to see Snoke and he looks a lot like a really old dude wearing a gold robe.
What did you think of the movie?
WRAL.com Digital Content Director Jodi Glusco weighs in on the new Star Wars movie
In the 1970s, Star Wars taught the girls of Generation X some universal truths: every princess needs a little bit of sass, you’ll need to rein in – again and again – your brothers when testosterone gets the better them. The hardest lesson of the Star Wars saga, the one that Luke Skywalker and the Resistance face in The Last Jedi, is that the good guys don’t always win.
Sure there is self-sacrifice, precise last-second blasts and a boatload of underdog spirit. But darkness, temptation – in Star Wars and in life – just keeps coming.
I found The Last Jedi to be the most satisfying of the series yet. While I am a Star Wars fan – probably because the timing of the first trilogy coincided with the meat of my childhood – I am not a fan of most science fiction or most action movies. The Last Jedi has plenty of character and storyline development. It’s not the blink-and-it’s-passed reference of The Force Awakens, not the hints to be hashed over on message boards. We’re talking actual conversations between Luke and Rey, between Rey and Keylo Ren, that help flesh out the thought processes behind all that gritted teeth conflict.
This movie delivers on the promise of a series that’s now spanned 40 years and demands long waits between feature films. In addition to the characters, new and old, who’ve become well known, it’s got creative creatures, imaginative scenery, moments that will make you gasp and make you laugh out loud.
The theme of the movie is hope, an although this episode sees the resistance take a lot of losses, that hope returns time and again and has me eager to see where we go in part 9.
