One of the refrains in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, writer-director Rian Johnson’s sequel to 2015’s The Force Awakens, is that we have to let go of the past in order to move forward. Kylo Ren, still licking his wounds from the last movie, says as much at least once. So too does Luke Skywalker, disillusioned and curmudgeonly on the planet Ahch-To, and fixed on placing his Jedi past behind him. But it’s also a sentiment that extends to the movie itself – Johnson’s Star Wars sequel feels like a sustained effort to break with at least some of the 40 year-old saga’s traditions. Fan reactions will, we suspect, be more than a little divided. After JJ Abrams’ affectionate homage to Star Wars movies past, The Last Jedi feels like a bold departure. Johnson seems to enjoy contrasting the bright and the stark: vivid reds and doomy grey. Comic book pursuit scenes with Finn (John Boyega) and his new sidekick, a Resistance blue-collar worker named Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) give way to quieter exchanges between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). The landscapes are exotic, but Johnson – and cinematographer Steve Yedlin – also deals extensively in Sergio Leone-like close-ups. Neither is Johnson afraid to dive deep into the more outlandish corners of the Star Wars universe: his is a galaxy of avaricious space leprechauns, pig-like caretakers in white hats, wide-eyed puffins (or porgs) and colossal beasts with bulging udders. One trippy scene even appears to pay homage to John Boorman’s loveably odd sci-fi epic, Zardoz. Your mileage may vary with the humour, then, and with that huge run-time, The Last Jedi also feels somewhat flabby around the middle. There’s at least one action scene that feels like it could’ve been excised, and a couple of sub-plots that don’t really go anywhere – at times, it feels as though Johnson’s straining to find stuff for his huge cast to do. Cut to John Williams’ evergreen score, the battles and chases look and feel exciting, but beneath it all, the characters are spinning their wheels: the plot gives the likes of Rey, Kylo Ren and Finn plenty to do, but fails to do much to advance their characters. Luke Skywalker’s one of the few who gets a discernible arc. Fortunately, the performances are roundly great – particularly Adam Driver, whose glowering and embittered Kylo Ren is as magnetic as ever. Then again, there’s a brief, almost incidental scene in The Last Jedi where a group of kids – no more than six or seven years old – are shown gathered round, playing with makeshift Star Wars toys. There they sit, recreating good-versus-evil battles with their little homemade action figures. It’s a charming scene, and a reminder of who this Star Wars is really for. Despite all its flaws and curious story decisions, which will likely be debated for years to come, The Last Jedi retains the saga’s childlike sense of adventure and romance. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is out in UK cinemas on the 14th December.
