British Actress Blog

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Score: 9/10

Director: Rian Johnson

Stars: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega.

The Last Jedi

Daisy Ridley

Synopsis: Rey is developing her new found abilities under the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is un settled by the strength of her powers.

Review: Rey begins her training with Luke Skywalker, finally! This puts her on the path of self discovery and propose. Mean while Poe Dameron and Finn assist General Leia Organa in defending the Resistance against the First Order’s assault.

Rey Receiving

Jedi Training

I’ll try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. I am completely satisfied with Rey’s character in this film. This shows you the deference in directors. Rian Johnson uses characters so much better than J.J. Abrams. Rey is strong but unguided at times and it shows. She has limits and she needs to talk her way out of certain situations at times. This works well because it shows you her versatility as a character and not just some Terminator style T-X that over powers everyone and doesn’t make you feel connected to the character. Its really great that her character is far more realistic and not just some robotic female character with no personality and uses every movie cliché imaginable. Her parents are not important! Its what she does with her life and the choices she makes that matters to a story. That is what I have been telling myself since 2015 when I saw The Force Awakens for the first time. Finally I am vindicated! At lease that’s what I think until the next film is released. What this female protagonist does is what defines her not her lineage. It was so stupid how so many people was obsessed with the idea that she was Luke’s daughter. Lame! She is most definitely an active protagonist who uses her experience, logic, and guidance of other people around her to help her make choices. In the last film she was shoehorned on us because J.J. Abrams says we are supposed to like her. I guess he thought capitalism would win over all. She takes the necessary steps that are so important for developing a character so that the audience can make a connection with her. I feel like she is where she is supposed to be as a character in the star wars universe and time-line. She is a part of the team because she looks at the powers she has and the universe around her and decides for herself to be a force for good. Thank you Rian Johnson for giving this character what she needed in order to develop.

Luke and the

Journal of the Whills

I was so happy that the puppet Yoda was used instead of the out of place CGI. Seeing that scene brought back the magic of star wars and gave me the reunion of Luke and Yoda I wanting to see for years. I am also very happy that some characters created by J.J. Abrams are dead in this film. They where holding up the plot with a rehashing of characters rather than giving us some new ones. With some of these horrible characters removed from the film, we can finally move forward with the over all story of the franchise. Kylo Ren’s character is more consistent than the last film. He makes his own choices rather than just taking orders. This is great because it pushes the narrative forward and develops the character more. Poe Dameron and Finn are really hardcore. They give every thing they have like true soldiers. The performances of Oscar Isaac and John Boyega are their best so far. You can see it in their eyes how much they are giving in each scene, wow!

Rose Tico

Kelly Marie Tran

The film focuses one the concepts of leaving the past behind, starting anew, and the balance of light and dark which creates and evolution of the force. Leaving the past behind or should I say ‘leaving the midi-chlorians behind and pretend they don’t exist‘, which is a wonderful thing! That is one of the most magnificent moves that Disney has made in their entire existences and one I am very grateful for. Starting anew. Some people don’t seem to realize that the classic star wars was really for an older generation. These new star wars cartoons are for a new generation that will grow up with start wars in their lives. So if little kids like the movie The Force Awakens, than that kind of was the whole point wasn’t it? Star Wars: Rebels is for kids obviously, but there are some hardcore ‘adult’ fans that treat star wars like an actual religion who attacks the children’s TV show, not realizing that it is a children’s TV show! It is great to recapture the magic of your childhood but, you already had the star wars of your generation, you already felt the magic of star wars, and this ‘wanting’ of ‘nostalgia’ is actually killing the star wars franchise slowly. Instead of enjoying the show, some people are expecting something else that is romanticized in their heads and when they actually see the movie, it is not what they where expecting. Don’t over complicate things and just enjoy life while you still can. The balance of light and dark. In this film there is a yin and yang type of symbol that clearly illustrates the films concept. Ben Solo is of the dark side but has a spark of light within him. He is also descended from noble blood. Rey is of the light side of the force but has a spark of rage within her, the dark side. As far as we know, she is not descended from noble blood. This is great because if the two of them can work together, than we get a balance. They both contrast each other and I love that. One other note is that they are not only of opposite sides of the force but opposite genders as well, so their existence makes a little more sense. The bridge between the two is of course Snoke ( worst name for a villain I have ever heard, seriously! ), the one who connects the two’s fates.

Kylo Ren

Ben Solo

This is the continuation of star wars movies after Return Of the Jedi (1983) I have been waiting so long for. The look and feel of the expanded universe is here in this movie, I am very grateful for that. The whole movie is layered with new mythology. Great! I love how wonderfully complicated the story is. There is so much to think about after you watch the movie. There is so much to discuss with other star wars fans. This film really expands the universe instead of staying in its own little ‘safe’ box. You can see how these films are better than the prequels, except maybe Revenge of the Sith (2005). Keep in mind that this is by no means a perfect film, but what we get here is nothing short of high quality. There are definitely people who do not like this movie and have even given up on star wars all together ( harsh ). This film is polarizing like I have never seen before. Of course I am one of those people who love this film. Some people are just going to have to make their own choice on if they like it or not.

Great Movie!

Episode 8

The cinematography is perfect. Rian Johnson did a perfect job at capturing the essence of star wars and the franchises future. The musical score is great. Sometimes the classic score plays during certain scenes showing how the story ‘rhymes’ rather than ‘rehashes’ or ‘knock offs’ a scene. When you watch this film, you can really see how disjointed The Force Awakens was. The set dressing, backgrounds, and wardrobe are of course superb. I really enjoyed this film. The movie uses the proper story telling elements that pushes the narrative forward. Again, the film is not perfect but it belongs in the star wars franchise. One of the better star wars films, not equal to the original trilogy, but way better than the rest. Its a good film.