At 7.00pm on December 14th 2017, my fiancée and I headed along to the release of what is - somewhat unbelievably - the eighth installment (and ninth theatrical release) in the Star Wars saga. I always like to let a new Star Wars film sink in for a few weeks before writing up my thoughts, and after a second viewing this afternoon, I'm satisfied that my first impression was the right one: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is one hell of a movie.
From Luke's very first scene in the film, one thing becomes very clear: This isn't going to go the way we think. Unpredictability is the order of the day here, and The Last Jedi pulls no punches when it comes to subverting audience expectations. I'd done my best to avoid the rampant theorising in the two years since The Force Awakens, but my fiancée and I had been unable to avoid the occasional late-night discussion about how we thought The Last Jedi might play out. It turns out, of course, that all of our speculations were for naught - and I love this film for that very reason.
Never have I been so surprised by a Star Wars film. If The Force Awakens is a warm blanket of familiar nostalgia, then The Last Jedi is its maverick antithesis. But that's a good thing. The wildly different approaches these two films take to the Star Wars universe causes them to complement - not detract from - each other. The characters characters established in The Force Awakens are now taken through meaningful arcs full of failure, despair, and growth. At the same time, legacy characters - characters whose arcs we might have thought complete - face new challenges that see them develop and rise beyond the heroes we grew up with. Along the way, we're also introduced to a raft of wonderful new characters (Kelly Marie Tran's Rose and Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo are particular standouts) who further enrich the Star Wars universe.
Its hard to say more without giving too much away. But rest assured that - despite its subversions - The Last Jedi still retains all of the elements we've come to love about Star Wars: a thrilling story, fascinating new worlds, and some of the most gorgeous visuals we've ever seen in a Star Wars film. Johnson also manages to inject an incredible amount of humour into the proceedings. In fact, The Last Jedi may oddly be both the funniest and the saddest Star Wars film to date. I'm rapt to hear that Lucasfilm has entrusted Johnson with an entirely new trilogy of Star Wars films. If this is what the saga looks like under his direction, then the universe is safe indeed.
So what did you think of The Last Jedi? Did you attend a premiere? If so, how did it go? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!
From Luke's very first scene in the film, one thing becomes very clear: This isn't going to go the way we think. Unpredictability is the order of the day here, and The Last Jedi pulls no punches when it comes to subverting audience expectations. I'd done my best to avoid the rampant theorising in the two years since The Force Awakens, but my fiancée and I had been unable to avoid the occasional late-night discussion about how we thought The Last Jedi might play out. It turns out, of course, that all of our speculations were for naught - and I love this film for that very reason.
Never have I been so surprised by a Star Wars film. If The Force Awakens is a warm blanket of familiar nostalgia, then The Last Jedi is its maverick antithesis. But that's a good thing. The wildly different approaches these two films take to the Star Wars universe causes them to complement - not detract from - each other. The characters characters established in The Force Awakens are now taken through meaningful arcs full of failure, despair, and growth. At the same time, legacy characters - characters whose arcs we might have thought complete - face new challenges that see them develop and rise beyond the heroes we grew up with. Along the way, we're also introduced to a raft of wonderful new characters (Kelly Marie Tran's Rose and Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo are particular standouts) who further enrich the Star Wars universe.
Its hard to say more without giving too much away. But rest assured that - despite its subversions - The Last Jedi still retains all of the elements we've come to love about Star Wars: a thrilling story, fascinating new worlds, and some of the most gorgeous visuals we've ever seen in a Star Wars film. Johnson also manages to inject an incredible amount of humour into the proceedings. In fact, The Last Jedi may oddly be both the funniest and the saddest Star Wars film to date. I'm rapt to hear that Lucasfilm has entrusted Johnson with an entirely new trilogy of Star Wars films. If this is what the saga looks like under his direction, then the universe is safe indeed.
So what did you think of The Last Jedi? Did you attend a premiere? If so, how did it go? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!
