I walked into the movie theatre bright and early on Friday morning to watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi with some pre-conceived notions about what might happen. I might as well have tossed them over my shoulder like Jedi master Luke, or rather just burned them, like someone much wiser demonstrates in the film, because this movie certainly doesn’t “go the way you think”, ever. Rian Johnson takes everything you love about Star Wars, and takes them to a new level — a level which finally breaks free of the baggage of its 40-year-old legacy without losing the ethos of it and it’s ruddy brilliant! I screamed, shouted, clapped, chuckled and aww-ed my way through 152-minutes of what may end up being one of my favourite Star Wars films (I’m waiting to watch it a few more times before I decide).
THE OPENING CRAWL
Of course, the opening crawl. Always the opening crawl. Nothing thrills the Star Wars junkie more than that familiar font and the music. If you haven’t watched the previous film this will tell you all you need to know to enjoy this movie as a stand-alone if you want to, but I bet by the end of it you’ll be wanting to come back for the next one.
THE HUMOUR
The giggles start from the second minute after the opening crawl fades. Who’s the culprit? Of course the cheeky commander of the Resistance fleet, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who insists on calling the evil First Order commander hell-bent on destroying the Resistance base, General Hugs, and wants to tell him that Leia has news about his mother. He is General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and he is not huggable at all.
BB-8 gets a lot of laughs, as always. There’s that time when BB-8 tries to fix Poe’s ship and fails no matter how many sparks he tries to plug, before using his round head to do it all at once anyway. Let’s not forget BB-8 banging into things while pretending to be a moving box on a Star Destroyer. Then there is BB-8 being mistaken for a slot machine in a casino on Canto Bight. Then there is… well you get the drift.
While you expect the laughs when it comes to BB-8, Poe and Finn (John Boyega), the surprise humour comes from Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke (Mark Hamill). The standout moment is when Luke asks Rey what she knows about the Force and she replies that it is a kind of energy and “makes things float”. Also, that scene where Luke asks Rey to close her eyes and reach out, which she does with her hand and touches the leaf Luke is holding and exclaiming excitedly, “I feel it, I feel something”.
THE REUNIONS
Chewie breaks down Luke’s door and you can see the surprise and wonderment in Luke’s eyes, only to be followed by swift sadness as it brings back the loss of the person who connected them both — Han Solo. Even more heart-melting is Luke’s reunion with R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon. Of course Artoo goes off on a rant, and Luke rebukes him saying “mind your language”. #Aww
The first time Leia (Carrie Fisher) feels Luke in the Force and sighs his name will give fans goosebumps and the first time they see each other (kind of) and Leia says, “I know what you want to say, I have changed my hair”, when there is so much unspoken between them, will make your heart ache.
THE SPECTACLES
From the breath-taking flight of the mighty Poe as he and his squadron take down a Dreadnought (yes, a new ship is introduced in this film) to a ragtag bunch of Speeders flying into combat the All-Terrain MegaCaliber Six (AT-M6, which are like AT-ATs on steroids) and a deadly battering ram, the battles are everything a Star Wars fan could have wished for. But the one that takes the cake is where the main Resistance ship rams into a Star Destroyer at hyperspeed and rends it into two. #Wow
There is a cool lightsaber battle too involving Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey, and no it is not what you think. It is never what you think, which brings us to our next point.
THE CURVE BALLS
There are so many “holy shit, I did not see that coming” moments that you are probably left slack-jawed with your hand covering your mouth for most of the film. You thought you knew everything about Ben Solo, Luke Skywalker and the birth of Kylo Ren? You didn’t. You think you knew about who Rey was? You didn’t. You think you understand what’s happening between Kylo and Rey? You don’t. You think you understand what’s going to happen to Snoke? You don’t. You think you know how Luke and Kylo’s face-off will go? You don’t!
Here’s a small example: Remember how Star Wars: The Force Awakens ends with Rey holding out the lightsaber to Luke? How do you think that goes? Ya, he takes it. And then unceremoniously tosses it over his shoulder without a backward glance! That’s pretty much how this film moves forward.
OLD GIVES WAY TO NEW
The stepping down of the old guard of the legacy began with Han in The Force Awakens. Admiral Ackbar dies unceremoniously here. Leia turns to whatever’s left of the Resistance and urges them to follow Poe, effectively handing over the future of the rebellion to the new guys, even as Rey becomes the Light to Kylo’s Dark side after a heartbreaking loss. As Luke tells Kylo Ren, killing him won’t mean the death of the last Jedi, and the rebellion isn’t crushed, it is just beginning.
Much of the film feels like it is making its final nods to the saga of old — that pair of golden dice that Luke holds, passes on to Leia and is later found by Kylo before it fades is important people, fans will remember seeing it hanging in the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: A New Hope, it’s Hans legacy — slowly cutting off the ties so that the story can take a new direction with new people at the helm. Truly a new hope.
THE BUM NOTES
The movie wasn’t perfect. A lot of moments, like the whole Canto Bight sequence and Maz Katana just seemed unnecessary.
The final goodbye
“In loving memory of our Princess, Carrie Fisher”. Those few words during the end credits wrenched our hearts out. Princess Leia and, more importantly, Fisher has always been the woman we wanted to grow up to be, and in her last movie she makes us feel it even more, because she is still the same — bold, beautiful, elegant, smart, funny, spunky — a hero.
On a lighter note…
Take my heart and go away Poe Dameron. Just go. #LastJediTakeaway
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