bitLanders AI-Themed Blogging: STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI, 2017 - Photo credit: dailymotion, edition by Amber255 via bitLanders
Over the past decade, the creation of major films projects has changed completely. Each project was created together with planning plethora of sequels and preparation to create individual cinema worlds, no matter if, in the event of the first part's failing, these worlds will collapse even before they are built. Movies, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, are trying to avoid risky or unique turns, using the same formulas with the same amount of humor and the same bad guys, and they often collect huge amounts of money (or lose them in the most embarrassing ways) without many efforts.
The risks and unique stories of this type of film are so forgotten that as soon as Marvel creates a more colorful and funny piece, it is called as a replacement for the entire genre, even if its plot is not original.
Therefore, it is natural that Star Wars - a film and a franchise that has begun the era of great Hollywood projects - has come back to show how to change the stories and rules that were created over decades and to do it at risk to confront or to impress the 40-year-old fan army.
Rian Johnson’s film is the real deal, a bold, risky venture unafraid to tell its own story, freed from the weight of nostalgia and formula.
Credit: cine-vue
It was the most anticipated film of the 21st century, and no one doubted the success, but even Disney itself did not expect the film will improve dozens of financial records and eventually earn over $ 2 billion worldwide, becoming the third film project that achieved a staggering financial limit.
It is, therefore, no surprise that THE LAST JEDI got a name as the most anticipated film at the second half of the year 2017 by Rian Johnson, the creator of the brilliant film Brick and Looper.
The new director of the planned trilogy presented not only a more solid-looking sequel to The Force Awakens but also a film that is able to compete with the best of all-time Star Wars' film The Empire Strikes Back.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI trailer- Video credit: youtube
The Plot
Of course, the story of STAR WARS - THE LAST JEDI is, of course, scarce. The film starts right after the end of The Force Awakens and continues chronologically for a very short period, and there happens so much that you need to put effort to understand what is going.
After finding the last alive Jedi Luke Skaivoker, who lived for decades somewhere, Rey was determined to learn the art of power management and learn about his true origins. But after seeing the girl's abilities and the power behind her, Luke is frightened.
Maybe Rey is much more dangerous than Emperor Palpatine and Dart Vader? Or is it just the consequences of uncontrolled power? And finally, where from such abilities the garbage collector got?
Luke must answer all these questions; otherwise, everything can go in the unthinkable direction.
There is a meeting of Rey (Daisy Ridley) with Luke (Mark Hamill) promised at the end of the last episode. There is a struggle for resistance, led by Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), against the First Order with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson).
Finn (John Boyega) paired with newcomer Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) get attention too, though, they are the most distinguished from the main story and the same time perform an important task.
THE LAST JEDI review - Photo credit: imdb
The Content
In 2015, the seventh episode of the most important cinema of all time surprised me with its quality and diligence, but on the other hand, it looked like a remake of the 1977 episode New Hope. But it is not bad, as we must admit that the return associated with the original trilogy, giving it a nostalgic feeling. The film also is adapted to a completely new generation of spectators who might not have been familiar with this film universe as closely as the people born in the nineties of the last century.
We received the film perky by action, visually beautiful, featuring many new actors and, of course, returning the old heroes of the Star Wars as Han Solo and Leia Organa. But after enjoying the movie The Force Awakens, I wanted something new from the story's extension. Therefore, I awaited the first film teaser and the description of THE LAST JEDI movie with anxiety.
And all because many of the franchise's fans, including me, thought it would be The Empire Strikes Back remake. And partly we can see some details that will remind us of the best part of this series of films, but they are so rare.
Star Wars sequel trilogy - Photo credit: twitter
In the new film, the action consists of three acts, where old and new heroes are presented to the audience from an entirely new perspective. And this is good because at last there are answered many questions which tortured the admirers of Star Wars about Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren and, of course, Rey.
The storyline is very linear, but it does not lack twisted places, which often allow the viewer to get lost by the action being developed. And this is, in my opinion, a great way to not give a clear answer to the end of the film how it will end. The story itself is fascinating, it gives a range of important events and takes us to the past so that we can get a full picture of the events that have taken place in the decades since the death of Emperor Palpatine.
There is also a lot of action in the film. It was the Star Wars we could dream of. There is no shortage of spectacularly looking cosmic battles, magnificent battles in the earth, breathtaking battles of the First Order and Rebels battles in the sky, epic duels with light swords, and more. The tape keeps in tension from the beginning, and that really surprises me. It was much fewer action scenes in the last film, and here it is a lot, and it is versatile.
Star Wars sequel trilogy - Photo credit: twitter
The plus is also very neat humor that accompanies us for almost two and a half hours. Therefore, you really can relax from the action scenes and have fun. And while the new creatures are responsible for the greater part of the humor, they were so good at the movie that it is possible to add an extra score to the film only because of them. True, it was also surprising that there were quite a lot of animals in the film. It is obvious that the screenwriters of the film wanted to show the spectators still unseen creatures and new worlds, the planets they lived in. Therefore, the universe is expanding further with new inhabitants.
Even if THE LAST JEDI has a number of stories, the strongest and most amazing part of the film is how successful they all create a unified story.
The Characters
As in the second part of the original trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, the main characters are scattered over the big part of the film too, and the viewers follow several more striking (and smaller) storylines at the same time. And this is an invaluable feeling when you see the characters on the screen that were idols in your childhood. The film also does not lack the drama, fairly well-suited jokes, and breathtaking duel with light swords. In short, it was the Star Wars we waited for a very long time.
Luke Skywalker becomes the main engine of the story, which we only saw for a few moments on the last stage of the movie The Force Awakens. His story begins from this last scene. And his story is quite simple, but also complicated. It explains why he chose the life of a hermit and forever left his sister and her family. Also, thanks to this character, we learn a lot about the Jedi Order and their religion, we realize the importance of force in the universe, and yet we see what we have not seen in earlier films. It's a really powerful and full-fledged return of Luke Skywalker, which we waited for over thirty years.
Star Wars franchise - Photo credit: wallpapersafari
Kylo Ren, who has suffered a fiasco when confronted with Rey in the forests at the Combat Station, is also changing. It's really hard to recognize him because of his actions, and sometimes of his attitude to certain things that often determine the direction of the storyline. Until the end, you do not know he will act, what tortures him inside, and what the motives of his actions are.
In addition, Kylo Ren's past is becoming a more interesting part of his storyline. This hero reveals itself as a personality and lets you learn a lot about why he has become as he is now. And some scenes with him - it was fantastic. It was hard to sit on the spot observing some of his actions on the spacecraft. But here I will stop. I don't want to spoil you the pleasure of appreciating the potential of Kylo Ren.
Kylo Ren : It's time to let old things die. Snoke... Skywalker... the Sith... the Jedi... the rebels. Rey... I want you to join me. We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy.
Credit: imdb
Of course, there is still Rye, which surprised everyone after the 2015 film. There were a lot of rumors about her, a variety of theories about her origins, but none of the Star Wars fans were able to guess the truth that Disney had given us. In this film, we have seen her true potential. And although she revealed herself more as modest than the characters I mentioned earlier, it is a good thing, because there is some intrigue about her.
The other heroes were less visible than the trio discussed, but that doesn't mean they didn't have the chance to show off themselves on the screen. Poe Dameron was as charming and hot-headed as in the earlier film, and General Hux was proud as a peacock, mastering Adolf Hitler's personality.
Star Wars sequel trilogy - Credit: wallpaperflare
And here was the best part if to talk about the characters. Other characters who made a great impression in the last episode, but have not been properly presented to the audience, have not done this in THE LAST JEDI too. The saddest, of course, because of the First Order's leader, Snooker, who had such epic moments in the film, but ultimately the charisma of Skywalker and Kylo Ren overshadowed him.
Continuing on the characters of the film, I would like to mention Finn, who, like Rye, had to become one of the heroes of the new trilogy, but his second performance was much worse. He, like Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), has not used his potential in this film, which is not good talking about the importance of this hero in the first film.
Star Wars franchise - Photo credit: twitter
It is nice that the film, like the old and new Star Wars, had two integral friends - R2D2 and C-3PO and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). BB-8 has also had fun. Oh, his rampage was astonishing. But most importantly, what kind of nostalgia flooded me because of seeing one hero on the screen. I really will not disclose what I have mentioned here, but I wanted to wipe a tear it off when I saw him.
The film featured so-called one-off characters, who, although influencing some storyline twists, might appear in further films, but they did not contain any charisma. And that was DJ (Benicio Del Toro), Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran).
Here mythical heroes are methodically picked up, examined to the bones, and receive such human details as they did not get through the franchise. What the film does with Luke Skywalker is something that nobody expects to see in big movies. THE LAST JEDI shows again the imperfections of the main heroes, what the weaknesses they have and to what extent they have made significant mistakes. Characters make a lot of mistakes and do not carry out their goals one by one, losing a lot of things and looking for ways to change or accept it.
bitLanders AI-Themed Blogging: THE LAST JEDI review - Photo credit: imdb
The Actors
Most of the energy, in fact, is given to the film by actors, not by anything else. Star Wars were often fluctuating in terms of acting. In the old trilogy, the newcomers played the main characters, so the biggest responsibility took Harrison Ford who succeeded in drawing attention to himself, even though he would draw attention to himself in any film.
In this film, everyone seems is equal because all the actors are different and bring something into history.
John Boyega fully used the abilities of his hilarious evil and comedy, and Oscar Isaac most fascinates by his self-confidence and inability to stop even the foolish decisions. Daisy Ridley even more successfully than in the earlier film demonstrates a palette of emotions, firmness, and joy (in other words, always unable to hide her feelings). Rey's journey is intense and highly volatile, and with all the challenges, Ridley deals without problems.
The most prominent are Mark Hamill and Adam Driver. In recent years, Mr. Hamill has finally recognized his character's importance for the lives of many people and is already eager to talk about it. Perhaps his intensity was from there, about which was hard to think of in the original trilogy.
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In this film, Luke's role is completely dramatic, when he needs to reconcile with his weaknesses and mistakes to correct them, and Mr. Hamill is committed to everything, from the evil old man to the wise role of a teacher. He didn't seem like that in any movie yet.
Similarly, it is possible to talk about Adam Driver, whose Kylo Ren has secured a place in this part as the most interesting trilogy player, more than ever broken from inside and outside and has his own beliefs how he can ever escape from his past and family. A. Driver does everything with such intensity and strength that he is perfect as a bad guy.
Separately, I would like to mention Carrie Fisher, who died just after filming. The role of C. Fisher in the film is more symbolic: he appears not in one scene, but she usually does something as a complementary role. But those scenes are enough to feel the importance she had for this story.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - Photo credit: imdb
The Technical Side
In general, the film is an impressive technical achievement.
Rian Johnson, in places that spectators have seen many times in Star Wars, is still able to discover something not so much trying to draw attention to himself but seeking to deepen the emotional importance of each scene. Explosions in space and sunset scenes are in every part, and yet here they are both visually and by sound different and unique extending wider the rules of Star Wars.
We can talk similarly about John Williams' music. Spectators are already accustomed to this music, and Williams, like in the case of The Force Awakens, plays with the motifs of previously created music, but at the same time is able to create something subtle and slightly newer in the necessary places.
The most memorable new motifs, as in the case of the earlier film, relate to Kylo Ren and the First Order, where William's music is the most energetic.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi - The Battle In Snokes Throne Room - Video credit: youtube
On A Final Note
In spite of the uniqueness of the film as it reconstructs the decades-old traditions, it is, at the same time, a great deal of the same Disney, a piece repeating some formulas, all of which belong to the present Hollywood. A bit of an abnormal desire for the film to bring humor to the most serious scenes reminds us that deep drama in this franchise cannot be made, and filmmakers with producers are trying to bring viewers easy to the big changes.
After all, the most important thing THE LAST JEDI does is to name the goal of a new trilogy. This episode opens up many new paths, gives new meaning to old stories and traditions, and not so much destroys any of the audience's expectations.
Yes, this is not the best saga film that undoubtedly is still overshadowed by the genial fifth episode. But it is the best project of the film franchise since 1980, which, with its ideology, surpasses RETURN OF THE JEDI and all the part of prehistory trilogy and The Force Awakens.
bitLanders AI-Themed Blogging: STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI - Photo credit: wallpaperflare
It is obvious that Rian Johnson has created something radical and often risky, with love and beauty ruining everything that has been built since 1977. The future will show whether that risk has been justified.
The richest, most epic, most emotional Star Wars movie so far.
Credit: cnet
My rating: 9.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91/100
Metacritic: 85/100
Critics average: 44/100
IMDb: 7.2/10
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