Simply wonderful
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (M)
152 mins ★★★★★
We don’t have time for a back story. Let’s assume you’re a Star Wars fan, you already have your tickets and so you just want to hear that this followup to The Force Awakens is simply, unconditionally, wonderful.
The opening scene (which features uncharacteristic humour at the expense of a camp Domhnall Gleeson) sets the tone for a movie that shamelessly evokes one’s childhood, from the pew pew pew! to the oldschool Starfighters, and the warmly familiar faces of Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. It also boasts an impressively diverse dramatis personae, in terms of race and particularly age – an extraordinary number of middle-aged and in some cases ordinary-looking women are members of the crew.
This episode (No 8, in case you’ve lost count) is written and directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson, whose flair for pacing, drama and spectacular production design comes not just as a relief, given he’s recently been given a Star Wars trilogy to helm, but also with a hefty amount of kudos.
For two-and-a-half hours, Johnson scarcely misses a step, ensuring the old-fashioned Episode IV acting style is maintained by those chumps in the evil First Order, and that there is genuine pathos in Rey’s (a solid Daisy Ridley) interactions – brilliantly rendered – with the petulant Kylo Ren (my heart booms for Adam Driver). After his hilarious tantrums in The Force Awakens, it’s almost cute when the Supreme Leader describes him as ‘‘just a child in a mask’’.
Then there’s the look of it all. Worldbuilding has always been a Star Wars forte´, and Skywalker’s island bolt-hole is fascinating to explore, but the casino where the rich and disgusting play is spectacular. Interplanetary battle scenes are executed with aplomb, and throughout, John Williams’ epic score hits every note perfectly.
Our heroes are many, and this means the action is juxtaposed between multiple locations as each team gets closer to its goal – a little narratively stilted perhaps, but in keeping with the old-style sensibility. Finn’s John Boyega (most recently outstanding in Detroit) yet again personifies a youthful Denzel and his amusing meet-cute with a plucky young pilot is a highlight.
But the biggest heart pangs are unavoidably reserved for our fallen Princess, Carrie Fisher, whose work on the film was completed when she died less than a year ago. It’s impossible not to miss her, even as she’s up on screen, and one exquisite moment in particular is chokingly beautiful.
Thankfully The Last Jedi won’t be the last Jedi movie, but it should be your next. – Sarah Watt