The Last Jedi: A Derwin and Luis Review
After two long years, we return to a galaxy far, far away in very bold fashion. After taking a break from the Skywalker Saga last year with prequel-spinoff "Rogue One", we're back to find our heroes in their most desperate hour. Rey (Daisy Ridley) has found the galaxy's last hope: Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately for her and the rest of the Resistance, Luke Skywalker may not be the kind of man they need anymore. But General Leia, Poe, Finn and BB-8 don't have time to sit around and find out. The First Order is hot on their trail, dominating them at every second with the dangerous Kylo Ren at the helm.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper), the next chapter in the our epic story makes some very risky choices that may leave some fans either loving it or hating it. Everything you may have enjoyed about The Force Awakens is almost all gone. The Luke Skywalker you may have known from the original trilogy is gone as well, for better or worse. Everything about it feels like a subversion of everything we've come to expect from Star Wars yet it stills feel right at home with the rest. Last Jedi is relentless with its unpredictability and you can tell this is exactly the story Johnson wanted to tell, from beginning to end.
Johnson puts our characters through the ringer and every actor puts their best effort forward to pull that off. Daisy Ridley brings a new ferocity to young, naive Rey and John Boyega is forced to bring on the charm when acting with his new on-screen mate, Kelly Marie Tran. Although their storyline is a big point of contention for fans, there's no denying Tran's character Rose is infectiously positive. Now it would be easy to give the best performance to Mark Hamill (who gives an amazing turn as an older, darker Luke), the winner is absolutely clear and it's Adam Driver. Driver gives Kylo Ren so much nuance and subtlety in emotion, making him just as easy to relate to as our protagonists. All in all, The Last Jedi is a bold, polarizing effort with lots of entertainment value and tons of emotion that tries to push Star Wars in a new direction. A fitting goodbye to the late Carrie Fisher.
We give it an 8/10. Go check it out.