RED! A WORLD ABOUT TO DAWN

Whether you’re a long-time hardcore, Day 1 fan, or just someone who walked into the wrong cinema (“Wow, Daddy’s Home 2 has taken a real weird creative turn”), you’ll be leaving the latest Star Wars saga “The Last Jedi” seeing red. It could be to the intriguing approach to the the series’ complex mythology, an exciting but somewhat fluctuating plot or maybe just the never-ending, all-enveloping cinematic use of what may be the boldest shade of red known to man. Not that’s a bad thing, and neither is “The Last Jedi”.

Brought to life by Rian Johnson, a director best known for stylish, yet fast-paced cinema in previous works such as “Brick” or “Looper”, his handling of the year’s most anticipated movie in “The Last Jedi” does not disappoint, though has probably one too many head-scratchers than he’d like to admit. Johnson again quite deftly demonstrates his skill as a director of action and an ability to draw rich emotion from even a mild sort of script. Creating some of the most iconic scenes yet witness in the franchise as a whole is indicative of how good he is at the craft, taking the saga’s well-established mythos on with respect while juxtaposing it against fresh and thrilling set-pieces. Without too much spoiler-ish material, fans new and old will undoubtedly cite the unbridled thrill of the Throne Room duel, the unsettling yet beauty of the silent Hyperspace moment or the Battering Ram run as classics for years to come.

Johnson is undoubtedly buoyed by the assistance of long-time cinematic collaborator Steven Yedlin, whose eye for striking location scenes goes a long way elevating “The Last Jedi” to probably the best looking of the saga (in competition with the innovation of “A New Hope”). From the gorgeous scenery of the island of Ach-To, or the salty plains of Crait, Yedlin revitalises the idea of the Star Wars universe as a living character once more, something not seen since probably the original trilogy. Though much of the praise must be given to some of the smaller set-pieces; the bustling casino of Canto Bight as well as the cruel, lifeless set upon First Order ships. However the stand-out set (and aforementioned scene as a whole) would be the Throne Room. A wonder of both cinematography, choreography and visual excellence, the almost omnipresent use of red in costume, set design and effects contribute to this particular scene ascending to one of the the most memorable in ‘Star Wars’.

In terms of the ever-expanding ensemble cast, the contingent once against delivers a solid array of performances bar a few shortcomings (that chiefly owe to peculiar storylines). The far-and-away stand-out of the film is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who delivers an outstanding example of an antagonist ridden with internal conflict, doubt and dormant rage. He brings intensity to scenes of both subtle emotion as well as unadulterated anger that isn’t close to being matched by the rest of his cohort. It’s quite literally the perfection of what Lucas attempted to achieve with Anakin in the prequel trilogy; a misunderstood and potentially redeemable villain flirting with the ‘light side’ but prone to succumbing to darker tendencies. One performance of note that is relatively disappointing is that of Finn (John Boyega), a central character in “The Force Awakens” but here demoted to a middling secondary role that is more confusing than courageous. His relegation to something slightly above a bit-role due to the narrative set for him is unfortunate, considering the energy he brought previously, as well as great chemistry with different cast members throughout, something not provided this time round.

The storyline too suffers and succeeds. “The Last Jedi” likely produces some of the saga’s greatest moments as well as potentially some of the worst too (nothing close to the ‘sand monologue’ though, that’s an untouchable kind of bad). As with the earlier outstanding scenes mentioned, the script provides a exciting start, sluggish second act and a decent ending. The interplay between Luke Skywalker (Hamill) and Rey (Ridley) is strong and reflective of Luke’s similar storyline alongside Yoda in “The Empire Strikes Back”. Though where much of the critique directed against “The Force Awakens” came from it’s near-carbon copy of “A New Hope”, Johnson and his screenwriters are able to deviate themselves far enough from the narrative of the original films while doing enough to tap into the rich mythology those works set up. But side-plot involving Finn and Rose (Tran) prove relatively pointless, a plot-hole and achieves nothing but separating two interesting characters from the action of the main plotline. And compounding this, whether it be the shared comgomerlate ownership of quippy writing seen in Disney’s Marvel universe, the saturation of one-liners in “The Last Jedi” proves a step too far. The film fails to toe the line between tasteful use of comedy and a ham-fisting into every available moment, and while many of the aforementioned writing is undoubtedly snigger-worthy, sometimes it’s at precisely the wrong moment and mood.

So if you’re colour-blind to shades of red, maybe this work isn’t for you. For fans that have been following the series since either 1977 or 2017, “The Last Jedi” is still a triumph of the beloved saga, extending the excellent universe created in this new trilogy and breathing even more new life into the series. With fine acting performances, outstanding cinematic technique and future-classic scenes, it is a must for any movie-goer.