Four stars. Rated PG-13, for intense sci-fi action and violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.15.17
The newest installment in the Star Wars franchise certainly doesn’t
lack ambition.
At 152 minutes, The Last Jedi is by far the longest
chapter in George Lucas’ originally conceived three-trilogy ennealogy. (I had
to look that one up.)
 |
| Having been sent on a desperate mission to the obscenely opulent gambling planet of Canto Bight, Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and Finn (John Boyega) have decidedly different views on how to locate their quarry. |
It’s also the grimmest, with an
emphasis on the word “Wars” that echoes last year’s Rogue One. The middle chapter of a trilogy inevitably is the most
dire, as was established in 1980’s The
Empire Strikes Back. This new film’s solely credited writer/director, Rian
Johnson, clearly took that precedent seriously. We hit the ground running, with
few pauses for breath.
But they’re important pauses.
Johnson understands the value of dramatic highs and lows, and — most crucially
— of leavening dire doings with well-timed dollops of humor.
When last we left our various
heroes, the Nazi-esque First Order — having risen from the ashes of the evil
Galactic Empire — was eradicating the peaceful New Republic, world by world.
Aside from wishing to dominate the universe, the evil Supreme Leader Snoke
(Andy Serkis) employed the Darth Vader-esque Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to seek out
and destroy all traces of the Jedi order.
The plucky Rey (Daisy Ridley),
imbued with the mysterious Force, has journeyed to the remote oceanic planet
Ahch-To, in order to find and train with the long missing Luke Skywalker (Mark
Hamill). Former Stormtrooper-turned-good guy Finn (John Boyega), badly injured
during a lightsaber battle with Kylo Ren, lies comatose in a medical stasis
bed. Impetuous pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and his faithful droid, BB-8,
joined the Resistance forces commanded by Gen. Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), as
they celebrated the destruction of First Order’s massive Starkiller Base.
If all this seems a voluminous
information dump, it’s merely the tip of the iceberg; subplots and sidebar
characters reference everything back to 1977’s very first film. Four decades
later, it’s extremely difficult for new viewers to jump into this saga, and
even longtime fans may need an Internet refresher course.
(This being the era of binge
viewing, I suppose the tried-and-true are expected to power-watch the previous
seven films before embracing this one. That’s asking a bit much.)
Anyway...
The aforementioned victory proves
short-lived. Snoke has dispatched an even larger armada, led by the toadying
and slightly oafish Gen. Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), to destroy the sole remaining
Resistance base. Elsewhere on Ahch-To, Rey has found Luke, but he refuses to
have anything to do with her. To make matters worse, her strong but untrained
affinity for The Force has put her in mental contact with Kylo Ren.
She senses that he’s conflicted,
torn between good and evil, and can be turned back toward the former. He
obviously hopes the opposite is true, and that he can turn her.
Finn finally awakens and — while
catching up on details — makes a new friend: Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a
shy, scruffy maintenance worker with a savant’s talent for computers and
machinery.
Most Star Wars entries follow a predictable pattern, and this one’s no
different. Johnson opens with a massive, hell-for-leather space battle that
allows the headstrong Poe to do what he does best, while also delivering
edge-of-the-seat suspense and a breathtaking moment of heroic self-sacrifice.
Following this prolog, Johnson
adopts the series’ reliable divide-and-conquer strategy, sending individual
characters out on critical sub-missions; this allows thrilling cross-cutting
between events scattered across the galaxy, with editor Bob Ducsay keeping
things moving at a healthy clip.
A ticking clock adds to the
anxiety: Leia’s remaining forces, now fleeing through space, can remain out of
firing range, but can’t outrun the pursuing First Order armada ... and when
each ship’s fuel runs out, they’ll get picked off.
Hoping to exploit a technological
weakness, Finn and Rose are sent to the opulent gambling planet Canto Bight,
where they expect to find a “master coder” who can help penetrate First Order’s
computer security. Poe, left on the Resistance lead ship, clashes repeatedly
with Vice Adm. Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern, sporting purple hair), whose evasive
“strategies” strike him as oddly cowardly.
Rey, meanwhile, does her best to
penetrate Luke’s standoffish barriers. What is he hiding?
The spectacle and serial-style
cliff-hangers tend to overwhelm the individual actors, but some stand out. As
was true in the previous chapter, Ridley is the heart and soul of this film,
with a passionate performance that makes Rey a truly heroic warrior; she
handles anguish, pain, frustration and — during quieter moments — earnest
persuasion with equal measure.
Tran’s Rose is a nice addition: a
resourceful, stubborn young woman initially intimidated by her sudden elevation
from below-decks anonymity, but who rises to the demands of each new occasion.
Isaac’s Poe — clearly cut from Harrison Ford’s Han solo mold — continues to be
engagingly impetuous, foolhardy, argumentative ... and amazingly lucky, during
battle.
Benicio Del Toro pops up as an
accomplished scavenger and thief, and makes the most of this role; his
dismissive sidelong glances, occasional stutter and disheveled appearance
clearly conceal ... something. He’s a solid bright spot in the lengthy second
act.
Serkis, unrecognizable beneath
CGI wizardry, nonetheless imbues Snoke with cackling malevolence. Gleeson,
having survived the previous entry’s events — rare for First Order generals —
continues to display a level of snooty, childish impatience usually played for
laughs.
Hamill’s take on Luke is light
years removed from the plucky young hero who captivated us, back in the day.
This Luke, looking much older than this trilogy’s intervening 30 years would
account for, is withdrawn, tormented, even defeated: crippled by a feeling of
responsibility for ... something. Rey wonders if she can break through this
miasma of distress; so do we.
Other familiar faces are simply
fun to see again: Chewbacca (still played by Peter Mayhew, after all these
years), C-3PO (ditto Anthony Daniels), R2-D2 and, yes, one more key figure.
On the other hand, all of Leia’s
numerous appearances are undercut by our heartbreaking knowledge of Fisher’s
death a year ago, almost to the day. It’s actually quite distracting, and does
real damage to the quiet dignity of her performance.
Driver continues to be a weak
link; he simply doesn’t have the gravitas or “presence” necessary for such a
commandingly evil role. Johnson cuts far too frequently to Driver’s conflicted
expressions, as Kylo Ren wrestles with the opposing sides of The Force; he
never ceases looking like a little kid playing dress-up amid much more
thespically accomplished adults.
Johnson also succumbs too
frequently to exotic E.T. overload, most particularly with the doe-eyed little
birds on Ahch-To, on which Chewbacca would like to dine; and also with the
squat, Muppet-like keepers of that planet’s Jedi shrines. (One thinks back, and
not fondly, to Lucas’ ill-advised creations of Ewoks, to enhance the “cute”
factor in 1983’s Return of the Jedi.)
That said, the galaxy-spanning,
world-building SFX, production and costume design continue to be astonishing.
This film also owes a lot to John Williams’ thrilling and ambitiously varied
symphonic score; we can’t help smiling at the echoes of familiar themes
belonging to Luke, The Force and many others.
Some will find this film too
long, too much and too dire; the relentless collateral damage is extremely harsh.
Others likely will appreciate Johnson’s effort to give this installment the mythic
heft of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings
films, which also ran quite long.
Either way, when the dust finally
settles, things are left in an awful
pickle ... and we’ll have to wait two more years for the denouement.
Count me in.
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