A Michigan Man Goes to the Movies: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

NOTE: This is a spoiler-free look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but those wanting to go in pure may want to steer clear.

Well, we finally made it. The most-anticipated movie of the year is finally upon us, and does it ever live up to the hype.

There is a line in the trailer where Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker says, “this is not going to go the way you think.” If there was a line to sum this movie up, that would be the one.

We will not be getting into any spoilers here, but this film goes in directions that a Star Wars movie has never been taken before, and based off of the early returns from social media, that is a polarizing move.

Those looking for a fresh batch of memberberries like The Force Awakens provided could very well be disappointed. That movie did a great job of nods to the past to bring people back into the universe, but Rian Johnson took The Last Jedi in a direction where the foot is on the gas and there is no looking back, albeit with a few well-crafted nods to what came before it.

This is a long movie, but it never overstays its welcome. There is a ton going on with different subplots and jumping back and forth, which may be my biggest critique of the film. The story beats work for me, but I wish they were given a bit more time to breath as opposed to a quick update and then jumping to the next scene.

The last movie raised a lot of questions about the new characters, such as Rey and Snoke, and they are addressed in this one, though some may not be satisfied. It’s hard to get into any of that without going into spoiler territory, but everything serves the story well and it is tied with a nice little bow at the end that is one of my favorite ending shots in any movie.

There are some questions that were raised before that do not necessarily get resolved or addressed completely, but this is a chapter of a larger story and what does get brought up is answered. There is still another film in this trilogy and it will be interesting to see where they go from there.

For the first time since the original Star Wars in 1977, there is no indication where the next chapter will go, and that is very exciting.

This movie is going to require repeat viewings, but for me personally, it is easily in the top-three Star Wars films ever made and could be in the top-two. Johnson was able to make a movie that feels like its own, unique take on the universe instead of a cookie-cutter film that some of the other chapters have been accused of.

My personal favorite film of all-time is The Dark Knight and this movie made me feel things while sitting in a theater that I have not felt since then. I could not possibly give a movie a higher recommendation.

Score: Five-out-of-five Block Ms