As everyone knows, I am a massive champion of the independent film industry, and I love supporting small, obscure films and hopefully helping spread the word of how great they are to a wider audience. There is an obscure franchise that many people have not heard of called Star Wars, and the latest film in that series is newly released, and my hope in writing this review is the possibility that I can help it gain some publicity that hopefully, a few more people will venture off to watch this hidden gem of a film! In all seriousness, there is very little doubt that Star Wars is one of the most beloved, iconic entertainment franchises that revolutionized cinema when it made its explosive debut decades ago in 1977, and has endured in its popularity and entertained audiences well into the present day. Even the subpar prequels have their redeeming qualities and helped redefine the science fiction landscape. The decision to resurrect the franchise for a series of new films, particularly a continuation of the main storyline, was one that was nothing short of contentious. Yet, it would take the most stone-hearted cynic to not be thrilled by the opportunity to continue to explore the glorious world George Lucas and his proteges have created over the past few decades. Our latest venture into the galaxy far, far away that we so enthusiastically adore was Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi, which I can already confirm is one of the strongest entries into the Star Wars canon, and a worthy continuation of the brilliant Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which did a wonderful job of reviving the franchise, which continued with great aplomb in this film. Therefore, without any further ado, let’s discuss The Last Jedi.

Just a brief note: Star Wars is obviously such a beloved franchise that people worldwide are enamored with – and I am also aware that I have seen it before many other people, and thus there are multitudes of people that will be seeing it when it opens around the world starting this weekend. Therefore, I am not looking to necessarily spoil the film or make the excitement of experiencing this film’s twists and turns. I won’t be discussing plot details too heavily throughout this review because I’m not exactly interested in summarizing the plot of the film. However, it is also necessary to look at certain aspects of this film that are not well-known already based on the promotional material. As a result, this review will contain some light spoilers, but fear not: there will be ample warning when a spoiler is approaching, so divert your eyes from that particular segment of the review if you want to go in absolutely blind and experience every nuance of The Last Jedi with an entirely clear mind. An unnecessary side-note, I admit, but it comes from a place of genuine empathy, as I too have been subject to reckless reviewers who spoil a film with a combination of dumb ignorance and joyful pleasure. This is a film that should be enjoyed tremendously on its own merits, with as little foreknowledge as humanly possible.

The Last Jedi takes place only a few moments after The Force Awakens ended, which lends a tremendously satisfying sense of continuity. Like previous Star Wars films, it follows the separate storylines of the three protagonists, former Stormtrooper and current “Resistance Hero” Finn (John Boyega), maverick fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and former scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) as they help fight for the Resistance in their own specific ways. Finn teams up with Rose Tiko (Kelly Marie Tran) on a specific mission to aid the Resistance, Poe works alongside General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) in defending the depleted but willful Resistance army, and Rey goes in search of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Warriors who is found living on the desolate, “unfindable” oceanic planet of Ahch-To, so that he may return to the Resistance and help save the galaxy. These three missions all serve the central intentions of the Resistance to bring down the First Order, lead by the sinister Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his army, consisting most notably of the shrill and short-tempered General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) and the conflicted and broodingly evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). This is essentially everything a viewer needs to know about The Last Jedi (because everything else would be giving far too much away, and it detracts heavily from the film), and like every film in the Star Wars trilogy, everything can be reduced to the constant battle between good and evil, or more specifically (and because it is just so much fun to say) the light and dark sides of The Force (I don’t think we have ever given George Lucas the kudos he deserves for not only creating this incredible universe, but also for the blissful nuances that exist in the naming of certain elements), and different characters struggle to survive while the two forces of good and evil are in constant battle with each other, each one attempting to become the dominant ideology.

Where does The Last Jedi succeed, and where does it fail? I mention failure because, despite being an incredibly strong film and a worthy addition to the franchise, it still has its faults, particularly in its length (clocking in at over two and a half hours, which is not unbearable, but still a tad overlong) and how it occasionally has moments of slight incoherence, introducing elements of the plot that are not adequately resolved (however, I do assume that these will be accounted for in Episode IX). However, having said this, Star Wars has been built on flaws and faults, and the subsequent embracing of precisely those flaws have been the elements that have made it such an enduring, historical piece of entertainment, beloved by global audiences. The flaws in The Last Jedi are not even notable enough to be detractive of the glowing merits of the film as a whole, and a discussion of these problems would be pedantic and unnecessary. For now, it is a matter of noting how The Last Jedi contributes to the entire saga as a whole, as well as how it operates as a film on its own, using its unique merits in contributing to the metanarrative that governs the story.

There were many grievances placed against The Force Awakens that compared it unfavorably to the familiar formula of the original trilogy, calling it a cheapened, rehashed version of Episode IV: A New Hope. While that is true to an extent, it was different enough to earn its own merits, and the same can be said for The Last Jedi, as it makes use of several of the narrative nuances that have worked in the previous films to set a foundation for its story, but it also manages to be radically different and unique enough to be a progressive move forward for this story, and I struggled to find many notable correlations between the arc of the previous films and this one. There will always be a need to adhere to a similar structure, as being too unconventional and original results in something slightly underwhelming (such as last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), whereas being too reliant on that structure will result in something rigid and unoriginal. The Last Jedi finds the perfect balance between the two (just like how a Jedi must find the perfect balance between the Light and the Dark – I had to say that, didn’t I?), and for the most part, the film is a tremendous success. There will always be unfavorable comparisons to the unimpeachable, highly-influential and simply iconic original trilogy, and The Last Jedi manages to swiftly avoid being too similar, while still being the exact kind of film that Star Wars fans have loved for years.

Star Wars has always been one of the few film franchises that places as much importance on the characters as they do the actual storyline. There have been some truly incredible performances throughout the entirety of the franchise (Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill being the obvious standouts from the original trilogy, and Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor being some of the sole redeeming qualities of the prequel trilogy, as well as many others throughout the history of Star Wars). The Last Jedi does not deviate from this dedication to developing characters alongside the narrative of the saga, and it perhaps even gives the franchise some of its best performances yet. Daisy Ridley continues to ascend to a status of being one of the most talented young performers working today, and her performance as Rey, who longs to be something better than the person she was brought up to be, is truly remarkable. She is the emotional core of the film, and serving as the most endearing of the three major protagonists, she is heartfelt and brilliant, and imbues this film with the energy and emotional gravitas that it deserves. Her performance is a definitive one that will doubtlessly enter into the hallowed halls of great Star Wars performances, as well as the canon of unique cinematic action performances overall. I cannot wait to see where the platform she has gained through Star Wars will lead her in the future.

Oscar Isaac gets a much bigger role than he was given in The Force Awakens, and his performance as Poe Dameron is also wonderful – he still has the cocky, lovably arrogant spirit of Han Solo, but he is developed into a character independent of any overt correlation to any other figure from the saga – he has his own personal conflicts and challenges, and Isaac approaches the character in a way that helps cement him in the canon as far more than just the comic relief, but as a hero equal to that of the past protagonists whose journeys we traced throughout the saga. John Boyega, as much as it pains me to say, is still the weakest link of the cast, and despite being given strong material, there is just something about his performance that just fails to reach the same heights as his peers in this film. He is still very good, and he is a charismatic protagonist, but he is frequently overshadowed by his scene partners, particular Kelly Marie Tran, who is absolutely wonderful in her Star Wars debut as the courageous Rose who accompanies Finn on his mission to help in aiding the Resistance. It has always been a merit of the Star Wars films to develop their protagonists into complex, nuanced characters and not rely on the plot to incite interest, but to also focus on constructing fascinating, three-dimensional characters.

Adam Driver was an unusual choice when he was cast as Kylo Ren, the main villain of the revived trilogy. I did not doubt that Driver would be astonishing in the role, but he was still very unexpected. The Force Awakens set him up as a memorable villain, but he was not given all that much to do there either. The reason for casting Driver in the first place becomes increasingly clear with The Last Jedi, as he plays a villain who is uncertain and conflicted, and has to live with the burden of the past. He questions himself and those around him, and his motives are not always clear. Kylo Ren is a deeply complex character, and Driver plays him unbelievably well – he captures the true malice behind the character, as well as his moments of sheer vulnerability that position Kylo Ren as a villain far more complex than any that have come before him in this saga.

However, while I can talk about Rey and Finn and Poe as being great characters, made meaningful but committed performances by the performers given the roles, and how Adam Driver is utterly incredible as Kylo Ren, I have to admit they were somewhat secondary in my anticipation for this film, and I assume that I may not be alone in stating the real reason I was so excited for this film was because of the two characters who have become iconic to the franchise – Princess (now General) Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker (my favorite Star Wars character of all time), both of which were a part of The Force Awakens, but in very small roles (Mark Hamill wasn’t even given any lines in The Force Awakens, and only appeared in the final moments of the film). The return of these two veterans was the main reason why I was so excited about seeing the revived trilogy, and they did not disappoint in The Last Jedi and they truly stayed faithful to their definitive, iconic performances from the original trilogy, and managed to merge this new generation of Star Wars films with the legacy of the original films in ways that are truthful to what they constructed all those years ago.

[These next two paragraphs will contain some light spoilers towards discussing the roles Luke and Leia played in this film. While they are not entirely revealing of anything massively important, one can gain some idea of the roles their characters played in this film. You have been warned, read at your own peril]

The Last Jedi obviously has a very unfortunate shadow cast over it, in the form of the presence of Carrie Fisher, who left us way too soon when she suddenly died last year. The Last Jedi is her final film performance, and to be perfectly honest, it was a melancholic and fitting ending for a truly iconic career. Leia was a far bigger presence in The Last Jedi than I was expecting, being a vital part of the film and serving as both an important part of the progression of the saga, and even more importantly as the link between the old generation and the new generation. Her performance was wise and very sage, but also had the remarkable wit that Fisher came to be known for throughout her career. It is a melancholic performance, precisely because the knowledge that this will be the last time we will ever see “Our Princess” (as the beautiful mid-credits dedication to Fisher calls her) is deeply saddening, but it is the worthy send-off she needed. The future of this character is uncertain, but I am positive that they will handle the character in a way that is respectful to both the legacy of Fisher, as well as the significance of the character in this universe. Yet, the impact of Fisher’s performance is not only notable because of her tragic passing, but also because she was just absolutely wonderful in the film, developing Leia from the heroic, energetic young rebel from the original trilogy, to the sagacious and shrewd, but no less spunky, leader who commands the Resistance with the same courage that she did years before, and it is all due to Fisher’s brilliance as an actress and dedication as an artist, fully-committed to her craft. Carrie Fisher was a true iconoclast, and she will be sorely missed, and The Last Jedi allows the world to bid her a farewell worthy of her innumerable contributions to popular culture.

As I said previously, Luke Skywalker is the Star Wars character I love the most, and while I could easily imagine how characters such as Han Solo and Leia would be adapted to the revived trilogy, I couldn’t imagine how Luke would be integrated into the story, not because he was a one-dimensional or uninteresting character, but because the original Star Wars has focused on showing his development as a young, naive Jedi who goes from ignorance to knowledge (Star Wars has alwas been something akin to a bildungsroman in its preoccupation of showing development and coming of age). Taking the role of the elder Master Jedi, Luke occupies a role that takes him full-circle from when audiences were first introduced to him many years ago. Even throughout this film, we are not entirely sure of the direction in which this story will take Luke, because he is no longer the dashing, brave young hero that he was before. Hamill plays a severely broken Luke Skywalker, depleted of his livelihood and just hoping to live out his final days in tranquil peace. Perhaps the most startling part of Hamill’s performance as Luke in this film is that he is clearly no longer unable of being corrupted – the glimmer of the Dark Side is clearly displayed within Luke in The Last Jedi, and the audience is indecisive as to where this character is going. I was worried that Luke would be squandered in this film in some way, transformed into a malicious, broken villain in a petty subversion of expectations. However, The Last Jedi is a film that uses Luke extremely well, developing him and giving fans (and the character himself) a truly deserving resolution, and a fitting continuation of a beloved figure of popular culture.

The Last Jedi is an incredible film, and to say I absolutely adored it would be a severe understatement. It is extremely well-positioned, being a worthy follow-up to a great revival of the saga, as well as being a perfect segue between the events of The Force Awakens and the conclusion of this trilogy, which will doubtlessly be as thrilling and brilliant as the two films that came before it. It is a film that may not deliver everything that it possibly could, which will obviously alienate a few fans that were expecting something more, but it is very clear that everything will be resolved in Episode IX. As a film on its own, The Last Jedi is an extraordinary and rivetting journey into this truly iconic saga, and it effortlessly merges the past with the present in its approach to the storytelling, with some moments of this film appearing to be directly commenting on the original trilogy (one particular encounter between Luke and another character is a truly nostalgic throwback to the original films, and proves how The Last Jedi is a film commited to being a legitimate part of the Star Wars canon by being constantly aware of its humble origins).

The Last Jedi may not be the strongest film in the saga, but this judgment is still premature, as I have to mull over the film before coming to a definitive conclusion as to where it stands in the series as a whole. What I can say without hesitation is that The Last Jedi is certainly is a terrific addition to the Star Wars cinematic universe, and while it serves as neither an introduction nor a conclusion, it rather positions itself as a film that bridges the narratives and prepares us for a conclusion that is doubtlessly going to be as deeply moving as this film was. It overcomes its pesky flaws and positions itself as a wonderful, entertaining film, and it sets the audience up for the highly-anticipated finale. I am beyond excited for Episode IX, and I simply cannot wait to see which galaxies Star Wars will take us to next, and if The Last Jedi has anything to say about it, one should expect the unexpected and relish in the fact that this beloved franchise is still given the loving, tender care that its legacy deserves.