Movielogr

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Directed by Rian Johnson

Science Fiction | Action | Adventure

Most recently watched by VicnaLobster, CaptainBigTime, sensoria, zombiefreak

Overview

Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

Rated PG-13 | Length 152 minutes

Actors

Mark Hamill | Carrie Fisher | Adam Driver | Daisy Ridley | John Boyega | Oscar Isaac | Andy Serkis | Lupita Nyong'o | Domhnall Gleeson | Anthony Daniels | Gwendoline Christie | Kelly Marie Tran | Laura Dern | Benicio del Toro | Frank Oz | Billie Lourd | Joonas Suotamo | Amanda Lawrence | Jimmy Vee | Brian Herring | Dave Chapman | Justin Theroux | Tim Rose | Tom Kane | Adrian Edmondson | Mark Lewis Jones | Hermione Corfield | Ngô Thanh Vân | Noah Segan | Jamie Christopher | Paul Kasey | Michaela Coel | Jonathan Harden | Danny Euston | Priyanga Burford | Navin Chowdhry | Andrew Jack | Crystal Clarke | Aki Omoshaybi | Togo Igawa | Hugh Skinner | Tim Steed | Simon Lowe | Joe Van Moyland | Shauna Macdonald | Darren Morfitt | Gerard Monaco | Kate Dickie | Patrick O'Kane | Paul Bazely | Orion Lee | Amira Ghazalla | Ralph Ineson | Akshay Kumar | Michael Jibson | Luke Neal | Andy Nyman | Temirlan Blaev | Josiah Oniha | Sara Heller | Matthew Sharp | Lily Cole | Warwick Davis | Kiran Shah | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Mike Quinn | Gareth Edwards | Jack Greenless | Danny Sapani | Kevin Layne | Ben Morris | Gary Barlow | Edgar Wright | Joe Cornish | Griffin Hamill | Nathan Hamill | Chelsea Hamill | Liang Yang | David M. Santana | Andrew Abbott | Chris Adams | Samantha Alleyne | Martin Bratanov | Glen Carroll | Cavin Cornwall | James Cox | Steve Doyle | Josh Dyer | Karl Farrer | James Filanowski | David R. Grant | Omar Gudjonsson | Craig Izzard | Christopher Jaciow | Tobias James-Samuels | Dan Lam | Antonio Lujak | Josh Methven | Sandeep Mohan | Ross Moneypenny | Florian Robin | Stephanie Silva | Clem So | Leo Thompson | Andy Wareham | William Willoughby | Oscar Wright | Karanja Yorke | Sarah-Jane De Crespigny

Viewing History (seen 5 times)

Date ViewedDeviceFormatSourceRating
12/18/2019TVStreamingVideo on Demand8.5 stars
02/04/2018Movie ScreenDigitalTheater8 stars
01/01/2018Movie ScreenDigitalTheater8.5 stars
12/21/2017Movie ScreenDigitalTheater8 stars
12/15/2017Movie ScreenDigitalTheater8 stars
 

Viewing Notes

Close to the end now. First time viewing at home! I really need to pick up the 4K.

So when the movie started I began to wonder if time has changed my opinion having not seen it since it was in theater… b/c I really don’t like the opening sequence. Sure, moments in it I like (Veronica Ngo’s scene is great) but the staging and tactical aspect is not good (not referring to Poe’s arrogance and insubordination).

Next is the cut to Rey’s encounter with Luke, which just feels a bit clumsy. Then it goes to Snoke dressing down Kylo for whatever reason and Kylo smashing his helmet and taking off to destroy the Resistance fleet still inside the transport. All not good or a bit of a drag.

However, everything after this is excellent. Really had me zoned into it and loving it. Kind of a sneaky approach by Johnson to lull the viewer in this way… “eh I dunno about this” to “whoa this is some fantastic character building and development.”

As much as love Force Awakens I’m glad TLJ went in a totally different direction and splintered the team to give all the primaries room to develop their arc. Rey with her training, backstory and resolve to save Kylo, Finn no longer wanting to just save the girl and run away but gain the desire to help others, and Poe’s cocksure heroics giving in to understanding what it means to be a leader despite his actions leading to the deaths of dozens (hundreds?) of rebels.

I can understand why a lot of people do not like this film. All the heroes are off on their own thing doing nothing together. Yet we had an entire film of team-ups in TFA. I love the team-ups but it was refreshing to see each of these characters grow on their own and because of their individual experiences. The Canto Bight sequence has really grown on me for what it means to Finn. He arrives and is like “whoa this is sweet.” He leaves and is “glad we fucked that town up!”

Love old mischievous Yoda. I like the levity thrown in there in little spots. I like Benicio del Toro’s mercenary character playing both sides.

Maybe I caught this before and just forget but I love the tell during the Luke/Kylo fight when the camera shows Ren’s foot movement like it would a samurai. When it cuts to show Luke’s footwork there is no print/mark on the surface (the red scratches from the salt cover). Love that entire scene and truly believe it’s Luke’s best moment of the series.

There are probably other things I noticed / enjoyed on this revisit but it was so late when I finished I wasn’t up to writing notes then.

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