Review: Star Wars - The Last Jedi (tenth-pass)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (tenth-pass / 2D / spoiler-free)
Cert: 12A / 152 mins / Dir. Rian Johnson / Trailer


Previous reviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Well, we did it*¹, we made double figures. And as it turns out, my tenth viewing for The Last Jedi appears to have been the final screening at my local cinema. Ending the run this early feels unusually eager on the part of the programme selection team, since a five-week stint for a film of this size is hardly excessive*², and even I was surprised that there was a fair old audience amassed to watch it. But hey, I don't set up the schedule, and I have to admit to finding something faintly poetic in being there for the first and last showings of a movie I love.

But examinations of the numbers aside, we did it*³. I've watched, absorbed and ruminated upon The Last Jedi enough now for it to no longer be 'the new Star Wars movie. By this point, Rian Johnson's feature is the same familiar, comfort-blanket of other-wordly adventure that I get from all (all) the other entries in the series. I'm still not sold on the Rey From Nowhere idea, and still not exactly a fan of that one particular scene, but I accept their presence and, for the time-being at least, their pertinence to the respective character-arcs. Which is my way of saying that a perfect movie can still contain things which you personally find imperfect. I haven't, and will not be, signing any online petitions to expel the offending toys from my pram.

So, short of me catching the film at some other cinema before it disappears completely (I believe it's still playing in the larger venues in London), this will probably be the last time you'll have me banging on about Episode VIII until the inevitable triple-bill screening before Episode IX. And now I can go back to grumbling about how unexciting all the normal flicks are.

My own internal digestion of The Last Jedi will continue as I read various tie-in publications, and with the bonus material included on the Blu-ray release in March/April*⁴. Although by then of course, I'll be getting super-hyped for the Han Solo movie which we still (at time of writing) haven't had a trailer for. But I digress...

In closing, all I can really say is that you haven't seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi until you've seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi ten times.

Discuss.

The Star Wars's.



It is.



For me, it's a buyer (already pre-ordered, obvs).



It's high.
It's very high.



Over some points, possibly.



There is.



Level 0: It is Star Wars.






*¹ I say 'we', I mean 'I'. Obviously. I'd be very surprised if you'd been to see TLJ ten times. Impressed, but surprised. ^{[ BACK ]}

*² Taken 2 played for six weeks as I recall, although that seemed to be more because they couldn't find anything else to take up the screens. ^{[ BACK ]}

*³ Again, 'I'. ^{[ BACK ]}

*⁴ Although as it's already been flash-stickered as "over two hours" worth, that sounds like it'll be about as in-depth as the Rogue One extras. Which is to say, 'fleeting, at best'. For the record, the Phantom Menace DVD in 2001 arrived with 6 hours of bonus material, and the 2011's saga Blu-ray set had over 40. Just saying. ^{[ BACK ]}

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