While Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) each launch plans to help avoid the eventual slaughter of the rebellion forces, Rey is still on the planet Ahch-To, attempting to convince a dejected Luke Skywalker to rejoin forces with the Rebel Alliance.
Hunted down by The First Order, led by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and the tempestuous Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), what’s left of the Rebel Alliance wind up trapped in space by The First Order with no hope for escape. Without delving into spoilers, The Last Jedi finds the Rebel Alliance in desperate times. With that in mind, the geek wisdom leading up to writer/director Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi was that this would be the new trilogy’s The Empire Strikes Back, a bleaker sequel that would likely follow the same plot points as the 1980 film. Thankfully, Rian Johnson has instead crafted something that truly stands on its own, a complex and heartfelt sci-fi adventure that is easily the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy. As much fun as it was revisiting classic characters like Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), along with new characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega), the story beats were almost identical to George Lucas’ original film, so much so that in the end it held few surprises for its audience. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, the 2015 mega-blockbuster that re-ignited the Star Wars cinematic franchise after a decade, was just how closely it hewed to the 1977 original.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) – Photo: John Wilson – ©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd.