Forced to flee from their rebel base by the First Order, Leia and her diminished army are now traveling the galaxy pursued by Supreme Leader Snoke’s (Andy Serkis) forces led by both Kylo Ren and General Hux (a mercifully more restrained Domhnall Gleeson), whose relationship Snoke is keen to manipulate for his own military gain.
Meanwhile, in the skies above, General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) continues to command the Resistance with the help of star pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), former stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), and the newly introduced Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern). However, having seen first hand – in the form of his former student Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) – what this raw strength can create, Skywalker fears that such control could lead to a new generation of Sith lords, leaving him convinced that it is now time for the Jedi to end. Rey’s hope is that Luke will be able to offer her guidance as she continues to develop her newly discovered abilities. Johnson begins exactly where Abrams left off, with Rey confronting Skywalker on the faraway island of Ahch-To, where the legendary Jedi warrior has lived for years in self-imposed exile. “This is not going to go the way you think,” declares Mark Hamill’s beloved Jedi master Luke Skywalker at one point a warning meant for Daisy Ridley’s Rey, but best heeded by all those settling down to watch this soaring sci-fi epic. Abrams – he sets about reflecting on these refrains with not only a dexterous understanding of the Star Wars legacy, and also a refreshing resolve to forge a new path for the franchise. Writer/director Rian Johnson has explored similar ideas with a weighty complexity in past projects, most notably in 2012’s Looper, but here – having taken the reins from Force Awakens director J.J. evil, and what it means to fight for either side.
The Star Wars saga means so many things to so many people, but its narrative and thematic crux has ostensibly been the same since George Lucas first introduced us to this far away galaxy back in 1977 – the cyclical struggle of good vs. “Good guys, bad guys, these are all just words,” says Benicio Del Toro’s inscrutable space-hacker DJ about a third of the way through The Last Jedi his own allegiances, tellingly, enigmatically blurred between the dark and the light. Warning: Though this review is spoiler free, the film’s set-up is referenced throughout.