2½/5
The Star Wars legacy is now a mixed bag of great, good, mediocre and awful.
For all the original trilogy’s memorable characters and iconography, the franchise has been tainted by a slew of mediocre prequel installments, spin-offs, video games and shows.
The once revered series has become merely a licence for Disney and Lucasfilm to make money.
Disney’s plan, to release one Star Wars movie every year for the rest of time, has already turned many off the franchise.
Three years after the series’ big-screen return with The Force Awakens, the eighth entry arrives to make itself known.
The Last Jedi follows the First order and the Rebellion/Resistance’s ongoing battles throughout the galaxy.
Under Supreme Leader Snoke’s (Andy Serkis) watch, vengeful sith Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) lead the First Order’s dominance over the slap-dash band of Rebels.
Picking up and running with the seventh installment’s dangling plot-threads, The Last Jedi gives us the long-overdue interaction between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and older, grizzlier Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
The dreams of a million Star Wars fans have come true, with both fan favourite characters discussing everything Force related.
With Skywalker now the older mentor character, Hamill brings his character-actor/voice-over artist enthusiasm to the role.
Hamill’s return to the role that made him a star was worth the wait.
However, their story-line overshadows everything else The Last Jedi has to offer.
First Order deserter turned Rebellion hero Finn (John Boyega) has woken up from his coma, to the joy of ace pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
In their other works (Detroit, Inside Llewyn Davis) Boyega and Isaac are given more to work with.
Here, Finn and Poe are turned from empathetic heroes into bland stereotypes.
Finn – dragging along maintenance worker Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) – goes through unimpressive, endless scenes of slapstick comedy.
Meanwhile, Dameron flips between good guy and sarcastic sleaze without warning.
The blame comes down to Disney’s treatment of indie-drama director Rian Johnson.
Johnson – who burst onto the scene with neo-noir Brick before creating The Brothers Bloom and Looper – brings rare moments of quirk and whimsy to this behemoth.
His sense of humour and the series’ dour, straightforward tone mix like oil and water.
Some scenes go on too long, while others reek of studio-mandated/Joss Whedon-esque one-liners.
Worse still is the movie’s rushed attempt at discussing geo-politics. The adventure grinds to a halt to compare the First Order (this universe’s one per cent) with the Resistance (the ninety-nine).
Don’t worry fans, it’s not all bad. The Last Jedi is fuelled by whiz-bang action sequences and spectacle.
In-keeping with J.J. Abrams’ mix of practical and CGI effects, each lightsabre duel, dogfight, and shootout feels more tangible than most blockbusters nowadays.
Carrie Fisher is given a fond farewell, with General Leia Organa providing enough wit to offset the sound and thunder.
The Last Jedi makes for a frustrating experience over two-and-a-half hours. Every unique idea is followed unceremoniously by a facepalm-inducing moment or line.
Unlike with Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, its Lucasfilm/Star Wars behemoth is already starting to run out of steam.
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