FILM OF THE WEEK
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Cert: 12A; Now showing Can you bear one more opinion on this latest Star Wars episode? If you can it is, in brief, that The Last Jedi is good, in parts very good but not as good as The Force Awakens. It’s too long but not tedious, it’s often funny and full of action. I felt it was, at times, more imitation Star Wars because although it brandished its characters and tropes, its sensibility is quite superhero.
The Last Jedi picks up, not from last year’s Rogue One but from 2015’s The Force Awakens. The Rebels, under Commander Leia (Carrie Fisher), are being pursued through space by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), his protege Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and their military commander Gen Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). Renegade rebel Poe (Oscar Isaac) prefers attack to flight so the film opens straight on to a fabulous action scene. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Rid- ley) has been despatched by Leia to find Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), holed up in the Skelligs. While Luke leads the Force thread, the battle between good and evil, the rest feels a bit standard issue action film lurching through one, or two, too many cycles of near peril. This is in part down to writer-director Rian Johnson and also down to patchy leads. Hamill and Fisher are above discussion, obviously Driver, Gleeson and Isaac really deliver on juicy characters, Rey is a bit earnest and the Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) side adventure and pairing are weak.
It’s a thin enough story padded out with too many crises but it’s got girl power, laughs and lots of action so if you’re even half interested go see for yourself. And it is best to have seen The Force Awakens first.