The Last Jedi review: Star Wars movie a must-see

WITH The Last Jedi, the Star Wars saga brings the world together as one in a way no other movie franchise can. Leigh Paatsch gives his verdict.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (M)

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5

Director: Rian Johnson

Starring: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, John Boyega

WITH the release of Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, the Star Wars saga celebrates its 40th anniversary doing exactly what it must: bringing the world together as one in a way no other movie franchise can.

You are never alone as long as the Force is with you.

REMEMBERING CARRIE: ‘She’s so alive in my mind’

Mark Hamill makes a triumphant return to active Star Wars duty.

With a running time of 152 minutes - making The Last Jedi the longest episode in the series to date - there is both plenty of big philosophical questions to ponder, and a lot of escapist eye candy to gorge on.

Some viewers who do not carry the Star Wars gene as dominantly as others will definitely find the extended duration tough going on occasion.

Particularly in a notably bloated middle act, where inessential plotting suspends any worthwhile momentum for a period.

Real fans, however, will not care one iota about the bonus time they will get to spend in their favourite galaxy far, far away.

(After all, they won’t get their next chance until J.J. Abrams returns to the director’s chair for Episode IX, two long years from now.)

The overall balance The Last Jedi finds between moving the Star Wars juggernaut forwards with new material, and rewarding loyal devotees with callouts to the franchise’s greatest hits, is struck very effectively throughout.

Once the legendary opening batsmen of the Star Wars team - the resounding theme music and that must-read opening credits ‘crawl’ - have completed their usual partnership, the adrenalin gets flowing fast and furiously with a booming, zooming space battle.

Come on now. You didn’t really think the good guys of the General Leia-led Resistance and the bad dudes of the First Order were suddenly going to be best buds?

Series heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) is in fine form.

Once The Last Jedi has our full attention, the story doubles back to where previous episode The Force Awakens left off.

Series heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) has arrived at the remote island sanctuary of long-lost Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill in a triumphant return to active Star Wars duty).

As a younger man, Luke represented a new hope for the oppressed all across the Galaxy.

Now living in exile in his twilight years, Luke is now the only hope the shrinking Resistance has left. And it does not sit well with him.

Cutting an embittered, grizzled figure, Luke reluctantly becomes curious as to why Rey made it her mission to gatecrash what he thought was “the most unfindable place in the galaxy.”

Star Wars hardliners will be poring over the finer details of Luke’s mysterious, windswept island HQ over repeated viewings for some time to come.

Without giving too much away, it is here you will see the much-discussed Porgs: diminutive little puffin-like alien critters that turn the cuteness up way beyond the maximum setting required.

Every kid is gonna want one of these things for Christmas. Porg merch will be flying off toy department shelves in mass formation in the coming fortnight.

Do the Porgs actually bring anything to the Last Jedi table in terms of significant plot points? No. Although Chewbacca does openly give every indication he would like a few Porgs in his lunchbox.

While Luke slowly warms to the idea of mentoring Rey in ways of the Jedi he has long left behind, Rey herself is pre-occupied with her evil nemesis from The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

The pair now share a Force-generated telepathic connection that could have drastic implications for hopes for peace across the galaxy.

With Rey and Ren able to literally get inside each other’s head’s via these long-distance, psychic FaceTime calls, the storytelling of The Last Jedi begins to pivot towards some very intriguing possibilities.

New player John Boyega returns as Finn in The Last Jedi.

While The Last Jedi works very well in the thrill-ride department - another chase, clash or cliffhanger of some sort is never too far away - it does not always get it right when servicing the development and relevance of its many featured characters.

It is kind of dull watching a major ‘new generation’ player like the heroic ex-Storm Trooper Finn (John Boyega) handed a minor assignment, and sent far away from what’s happening in the main plot.

If any part of The Last Jedi could be deemed surplus to requirements, it would be the overabundance of scenes devoted to Finn’s far-flung odyssey to break some kind of code on behalf of the Resistance.

While the lively Resistance fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) gets off to a dazzling start in that killer opening action sequence, he too is dulled down into a talking exposition machine after a while.

However, many a surprise sighting of old friends from the halcyon early days of Episodes IV-VI, and the poignant final appearance of the late Carrie Fisher as the indomitable General Leia generously compensate for any perceived shortfalls.

The addition of Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro (endearingly mumbling away as an intergalactic conman) and motion-capture performance master Andy Serkis (playing Supreme Leader Snoke, nudging out Kylo Ren for the movie’s Most Valuable Villain honours) to the casting ranks does not exactly hurt either.

Carrie Fisher makes a poignant final appearance.

There is much, much more to The Last Jedi than can be revealed here, and a high proportion of these scenes feature the kind of stuff that fans will be dissecting and debating for months.

(There is also a number of genius fight scenes that take the use of lightsabers to the next level. But you didn’t hear that from me, OK?)

Rest assured that while the movie’s production values are first-class as always, the direction of franchise newcomer Rian Johnson impacts positively in two different (and welcome) ways.

Firstly, the humour laced through The Last Jedi is sharper and more memorable than ever before.

Secondly, and most importantly, thanks to Johnson’s fresh perspective on the Star Wars world, the dramatic tensions building between key figures in the saga are now acquiring a gravity that augurs well for future instalments.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (M) is now showing in cinemas across Australia.