Picking up right after the events of THE FORCE AWAKENS, the remains of the Resistance is attacked by the First order fleet as they are evacuating the Rebel base. Loses are taken and the Rebels are able to escape, but the First Order is able to track them somehow. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) is trying to convince a reluctant Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to teach her about the Force and train her. Luke wants nothing of it as he still blames himself for failing Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo (Adam Driver) and the destruction of the new Jedi school. Luke wants nothing to do with the war waging out there. General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher in her last role before her untimely passing) wants her brother Luke back and she has to somehow keep the remains of the Resistance alive and rebuild. Hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) wants the small escaped Rebel fleet to do something while Finn finally wakes up wondering how he can help (or escape the mess they’re in). Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) manipulates his apprentice Kylo Ren in a game he is playing to bring the end of the Resistance and the final death to the last Jedi.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a very enjoyable film in the Star wars saga on the first viewing, but it isn’t without its flaws. With more thinking about the movie like the Rebel escape and the climax (which come soff too much like a retread of the Hoth battle in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK., it seems like bad STAR WASR fan fiction with only some great moments like Luke teaching Rey scenes, some of the action scenes, and Snoke’s scheme. The time of the storyline is compressed too much like the last movie (and a problem that season 7 of Game of Thrones also suffered from). The physics of spaceships is even worse than the last movie. Still THE LAST JEDI moves along the story with plenty of action, character moments, and humor (with Luke getting some of the best moments). Some of the plot points I have guessed correctly while others left me surprised. I do wish they progressed the story over more time instead of the compressed timeline they set the story against. Some of the new characters are good like Bencio del Toro while Laura Dern seems a little out of her depth as a purple haired Vice Admiral. The Porgs are just useless comic relief. Lots of Force powers are on display in Episode VIII where the struggle between Rey and Kylo is intense as they feel a connection to each other (but I didn’t really need to see shirtless Kylo Ren). Writer/ Director Rian Johnson even slips in a little political commentary on today’s climate in the United States of America as a mission to a Trump Casino planet illustrates how some of the one percent lives above the poor and the security forces more concerned about tracking the Rebels because one rich dude complains. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is a step backwards from the retro retread of THE FORCE AWAKENS. Luke Skywalker’s character is basically rewritten to not be a likeable version of Luke part of the time while the characters of Poe and Finn are wasted most of the time in this movie while new characters like Rose are worthless additions. General Liea is basically in a coma for half the movie which basically sidelines her character. THE LAST JEDI is basically the worst STAR WARS movie ever which ahs divided fans over whether they like it or hate it.

SEPCIAL FEATURES:
The movie has an optional audio commentary with writer/ director Rian Johnson.

The second blu-ray disc has the majority of the extras. Sadly, the movie trailers and TV spots and the blooper reel (which is online) weren’t included on this disc.
THE DIRECTOR AND THE JEDI- a 95 minute feature length documentary about the making of THE LAST JEDI which takes a detailed look at the making of the movie and further goes into why Rian Johnson wrote the movie the way he did. It is one of the best making-of documentaries on a STAR WARS film.

BALANCE OF THE FORCE (10 minutes)- Rian Johnson talks about reinventing the Force for a new generation
SCENE BREAKDOWNS of three major elements in THE LAST JEDI: these scene breakdowns go behind-the-scenes in what created and inspired each scene with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
LIGHTING THE SPARK: CREATING THE SPACE BATTLE- a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration and effects work that went into creating the space battles of THE LAST JEDI
SNOKE AND MIRRORS- a look at the motion capture work and CGI that went in creating the big bad Snoke
SHOWDOWN ON CRAIT- a look at the practical and CGI elements that went in creating the climatic battle sequence

ANDY SERKIS LIVE! (ONE NIGHT ONLY)- a behind-the-scenes look at Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance

12 deleted scenes and outtake footage of the Canto Bright casino and characters (with optional audio commentary for each scene) which also have an introduction by Rian Johnson. Mnay of the sequences were cut due to pacing and the movie being too long, but I do think a couple of the comedic sequences should have stayed in.

Also in the combo pack is a code for a digital copy of THE LAST JEDI you can download/ stream and the movie in standard definition on DVD

FINAL ANALYSIS: Rian Johnson has unfortunately created a STAR WARS movie that has divided fans which is a deeply flawed movie. When he does it right, it is great. When he decides to go on his own tangent or writes it poorly, the movie is horrible and comes off as bad STAR WARS fan fiction. He has fixed some of the movie’s plot holes with new material in the LAST JEDI novelization, but the damage has been done and this is a movie tht some fans will hate more than any of the prequels which have some fans complaining about what George lucas did to their childhood. The behind-the-scenes extras and the deleted scenes make fans understand his process in the making of THE LAST JEDI. I respect what he did, but I don’t agree with all of his choices (and neither does Mark Hamill).

This review is ©3-30-2018 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

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