The last Jedi and the revisiting of a whole anthology

BY ANNABELLE ROSA

As a an avid viewer of the “Star Wars” franchise, it has become increasingly difficult to feel affection for movies that have come to be a bit detached and impersonal. With director and creator George Lucas forfeiting the rights to his creations and placing them in the hands of the Disney corporation, it seemed almost like a betrayal to his audience.

When director J.J. Abrams took over the movie “The Force Awakens,” there was indeed a visible shift of direction in the Star Wars franchise that included, but was not limited to, excessive comic relief and a lighter feel than previous episodes. By no means was Abrams’ direction unsatisfactory; simply not as serious as previous films had been.

“The Force Awakens” stood as a fantastic platform for the universe to be built on; however, it visibly stood out from its predecessors. The talent put forth was astounding with the actors, such as Daisy Ridley (Rey), being able to quickly establish beloved characters over the span of the two hours and 16 minutes (to be precise).

There was nothing inherently wrong with “The Force Awakens;” it was simply “A New Hope” copied and pasted onto a larger platform with a female protagonist and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as the new Obi-Wan Kenobi, even going so far as to kill off Solo in order to set up the same losses that Luke had endured in the original film. Rather than Han and Leia (Carrie Fisher), Ray had Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac). And once again, instead of R2-D2, Ridley had BB-8.

The initial fear for “The Last Jedi” was that it would be “The Empire Strikes Back” with a new twist. In some elements, it could be compared to episode five, but, in truth, it was truly and wholistically an innovative concept.

“The Last Jedi” opens with a rather intense battle scene that sets the stage for an incredible film. Loses are had and people are lost, the rebellion seems to be on the precipice of failure, and yet, hope comes in the form of Rey, Poe and Finn as they each set out on their separate journeys that will inevitably coincide.

Rey’s plot line develops around her mission to find Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and acquire his help in order to aid the resistance. Of course, things aren’t always as simple as they are in theory so the audience is left with a rather interesting plotline and, of course, quite a lot of Porgs. Rey’s story also intertwines with that of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) which creates in interesting concept of the struggles of good and evil and how neither is exactly absolute.

The second plotline of significance is that of Poe who’s struggle to establish himself as a competent leader takes up a significant amount of the audience’s attention. His struggles also overlap heavily with Leia and a new character, Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), two characters of significance who come to admire his efforts.

As for Finn, he sets out on a mission of his own in order to save the rebellion and finds a friend in an engineer, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), who accidentally crosses his path.

The story that unfolds expresses originality and great tact amongst its writers (Rian Johnson and George Lucas) and its director (Rian Johnson). They successfully developed the lore of the Jedi by finally taking the time to explain that it’s less of a hereditary skill and more of a skill you possess based on your own ability to wield the force.

Another major, commendable point is the fact that Luke Skywalker finally develops a character. Under new direction, it seems Hamill redeems his occasionally lax acting in scene where he explains himself to Rey, tears streaking his face and horror visibly etched into his features.

Overall, “The Last Jedi” was focused on the interrelatedness of characters and how that played into the forces of good and evil. In previous “Star Wars” films, the concept of good versus evil was an absolute issue. There were only the good guys and the bad guys. Yet, in reality, good is often tainted by the dark and vice versa. The fact this was explored in “The Last Jedi” boosted its credibility significantly.

The camera shots presented were absolutely incredible as well. In order to present more parallelism, there were shots that would cut between the faces of two to three characters which would signify the opposing forces of good and evil. They also revisited a shot from “A New Hope” which also kept up the recurring theme that hope was not yet dead though temporarily lost.

Photo courtesy of  The Newyorker