"Star Wars - The Last Jedi" - Movie Review

I know I am a bit late to the party but it took me two weeks to make up my mind about "Star Wars - The Last Jedi". While there is a lot right with this movie in my option there is also a lot wrong. I will write this review spoilerfree, which will make it however a bit vague.  

First of all the movie is good craftmanship. There pacing is perfect, the new characters are well developed and the effects and dialogues are excellent. Viewed as a stand-alone movie it would certainly get an 8 or 9 out of 10 points. 

But this is where the problem lies. A Star Wars movie isn't a stand-alone movie, it is part of a saga and as such it must follow the established path. Although the original trilogy had far less sophisticated special effects and a much lower budget, even adjusted to inflation, it made us dream. It became the perfect amalgamation of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In comparision to this Rian Johnson's vision feels somewhat sterile and hearthless. Even comparing it to its direct predecessor "The Force Awakens", which was possibly due to Harrison Ford's presence as Han Solo. 

This is however a minor issue in my point of view, the problem is in the story itself, that disregards too many established "rules" of the Star Wars universe. While surprises and changes are good, you should always work within the rules, when working on something that is part of a bigger story. Rian Johnson even made it clear  in interviews that he doesn't care what happened before and what will happened after his movie, he simply wanted to do his thing. This is why "The Last Jedi" fails utterly. Characters act against their personality and parts of the story are literally useless. 

Being a die hard Star Wars fan I think this shows a lack of respect for the original vision of George Lucas, especially since the saga is supposed to continue. If you want to do "your thing" either make a proper stand alone movie or do the whole series yourself. 

Another thing that seemed out of place was the humour, which reminded me too much of the recent Marvel movies. Although humour has always been an integral parts of Star Wars, it was never silly but witty. Many of the jokes in "The Last Jedi" however fall flat and bother the cringeworthy. 

One can say a lot about the prequels but although the handywork was flawed, the story itself fit perfectly into the established movies. Maybe it would have been a perfect fit to have Rian Johnson direct a screenplay by George Lucas. In my opinion "The Last Jedi" while an entertaining movie is one of the worst Star Wars movies to the date. It remains to see if the franchise can recover under the guidance of J.J. Abrams. 

6/10 points. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Analysis - Hayley Marshall-Kenner (The Originals & The Vampire Diaries)

Since some people have told me, that I always write these about characters that I like I have decided to change that and pick a character I don't like: Hayley Marshall-Kenner. Before getting into the character in details, let's clear something up: While I dislike the character, I find it is very well crafted and Phoebe Tonkin portrays her excellently. She is a stunningly beautiful woman yet manages to believably pull off the tomboy and though girl. She also does justice to the emotional range of Hayley. But let's take a closer look at the character itself.  When we meet Hayley in "The Vampire Diaries" we learn that she has helped Tyler break the sire bond, meaning that although she grew up outside of the werewolf community she has learnt about the supernatural world. Not much is known about the family that adopted her only that when she turned into a wolf her parents kicked her out.  Hayley is what can be called street smart, which makes sense since she spend time...
Read more

Science Fiction & Fantasy - Escaping Reality

When talking to people I often get the question: "Why do you write Science Fiction and Fantasy?" This is usually followed by a tirade that they don't like it, because it is so unrealistic. What they don't get: That is the point! With these two genres the fact is that the only limit to your writing is your own mind. While in reality we are limited by physics, biology or simply life. This became very evident to me when my mother, who loved those genres probably even more than I do, fell severly ill. At one point it became evident that there was nothing the doctors could do for her. My reaction was the same one as for everybody who is loosing a loved one: I tried to find a solution and went through the five stages of grief. I spent hours on the internet researching her illness and looking for the latest breakthroughs only to come to the conclusion that medicine was not yet ready to safe her. The feeling of helpnessless was overpowering especially since my writer...
Read more

The 10 most badass female characters in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Many people still think of women as the weaker sex. Science Fiction and Fantasy however have already given us some memorable badass women. The fight with strength, intelligence and charm. But it is not only their skills that make them badass but their will never to give up.  These are my top 10 most badass female characters in Science Fiction and Fantasy: 10. Zoe Washburn from "Firefly"       If a tv series, a movie or a book features a female badass character it is usually the lead and she is often passionate and a natural born leader. Joss Wedon's Zoe Washburn is very different. She is the second in command and the embodyment of a level headed, cool soldier. You wouldn't want to mess with her. At the same time she manages to be a dignified woman, who is deeply in love with her husband, although he is not a fighter.  9. Katniss Everdeen from "The Hunger Games" Jennifer Lawrence brought her to life in a brilliant way. What made Katniss ...
Read more