We at BMAF are big fans of Star Wars since George Lucas gave the original trilogy in 1977 it’s been part of our lives. From collecting the figures and stickers to that excitement when the 2nd trilogy 1999. Whilst we enjoyed them we were left somewhat underwhelmed. When the new trilogy with The Force Awakens arrived, we loved it so here we are with the latest adventure, The Last Jedi.
From Writer/Director Rian Johnson, who also gave us Brick and Looper, 2 films we enjoyed so we went in with high hopes.
The film opens with an exciting battle as Leia’s (Carrie Fisher) resistance continues its battle again the First Order under Snoke (Andy Serkis) and Hux (Domnhall Gleeson)
The Resistance does manage to survive this battle, in part due to some risky moves from Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) but it all has come at a cost. The first order has still been able to track them, having found a way to track them and a battle between fighters begins, which sees Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) show he has truly turned to the dark side, targeting in on Leia.
Finn (John Boyega) teams up with Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) as they have an idea that can disable the tracking on the star destroyer, which sees them head off to a wealthy planet with casinos and creature racing, in search of a mysterious character played by Benicio Del Toro, who they believe will be able to assist in breaking into the systems they need to disable.
In addition, we follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) where we left her at the end of The Force Awakens, trying to secure the return of Luke (Mark Hamill) and for him to help her understand the Jedi powers she appears to have.
Luke is reluctant to help following the path that Kylo is now on, also he senses that Rey could indeed follow him to the dark side and he wants the Jedi to end with him.
Rey senses a losing battle and heads off to face Kylo alone and from then, this film which had already been good turns into something that is maybe the best the franchise has seen. From the Rey/Kylo confrontation in front of Snoke; Finn and Rose’s escape and the mission to deactivate the first order’s tracking system and culminating in a final battle where the resistance appears to have no way of winning.
Can they beat the first order or will the galaxy be doomed?
This film is thrilling, unlike the very enjoyable Force Awakens, it is also much more original, many Star Wars fans may not like this one, but we for one loved it. Like most modern-day blockbusters it could do with being shorter but it certainly does not drag.
The new and old characters all do well; The droids and creatures steal the show, BB8 continues to be a true joy but we loved the Porgs too. This film also has some incredibly funny moments too, despite the seriousness of the battle of good vs evil.
The Star Wars saga continues to be alive and kicking, whilst we now await the 9th Instalment, we have a Han Solo origins story to come, following the success of Rogue One last year.
See the trailer at the film’s website here:
Pre-order the film here:
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