Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Rogue One thrilled me because it took a bold detour, ditched the Force and showed war as something that hurts like hell. The Last Jedi, on the other hand, brings Star Wars back to its roots, to the legacy of the fifth episode. Whether it's the locations (the white planet), the Force is palpable here (unlike the Abrams film), the layout of the Force of Good and the Force of Evil overlap (the main characters doubt themselves and the meaning of the Force) and in general it's an massive improvement over the seventh episode. Whether it's the treatment of the characters (Kylo Ren is finally a charismatic badass and not a teenage brat from Hogwarts who looked like he just had his magic wand stolen as in Abrams’s film), the script, which is convoluted and interesting enough to make you look forward to every scene (I consider Rey's training and her search for herself on the desert island with Luke to be the best thing this franchise has ever offered), and finally, the humor that so graced the old trilogy. That’s how it should be! So to conclude: for me, after The Empire Strikes Back, this is clearly the best entry into the Star Wars universe. (20/12/2017)

I tried it again and the Star Wars curse was not broken and once again I experienced 150 minutes of martyrdom. Jedi, First Order, The Force, Skywalker, Resistance, Obi-Wan, it takes a special dictionary to know and navigate all the terms. I didn't find it funny at all, the action is minimal and very uninteresting, the effects feel like something out of the 90's, the story is uninteresting and the pacing is plodding. Anyway, I suffered through this and I probably won't give the next part a chance. Star Wars is the only major film franchise that has completely passed me by and I still don't understand its interest. 20% (15/03/2018)

I hesitated for a moment over how Rian Johnson's visual sensibilities don't even come close to those of J.J. Abrams, and how nostalgia is stronger than humor at first glance. But that was only the first half hour, which is just a prologue compared to everything that follows. Once the atmosphere on the island starts to thicken and some secrets finally open their arms, The Last Jedi finally becomes what it promised: an atmospheric spectacle loaded with fateful characters. The tension that flows from the screen every second of any interaction between Kylo and Rey took my breath away, and even though it attracts most of the attention and seemingly sidelines Finn, Poe, and even Leia herself, it's worth it. It is precisely the connection between these two halves of the only image, additionally spiced up by Luke in Mark Hamill's vivid portrayal, that is the gem that has already cemented the third trilogy of the famous saga as the best trilogy. (14/12/2017)

Well, it was good, but probably not essential. Rian Johnson goes in a slightly different direction than Episode VII and so far I like it. It's darker, more personal, and it's not nearly as easy to determine who's good and who's bad. It's a shame though that only a few characters get this interesting treatment, because then it's all the more obvious that there are a lot of other kinda extra characters. Their charisma and even their own little backstories aren't very interesting or important, and even this time around I didn't feel the same way about Star Wars that I did with the original trilogy. On the other hand, the effort to go a different route and the courage to be grittier and meaner towards the heroes pays off, because it shows that Star Wars could offer more than just spectacular and perfectly done blockbuster entertainment in the future. But it's probably still going to be a while. (27/07/2018)

It’s the night after I saw it and I actually don’t know whether Disney’s shift of the saga is good or not. The first part of the new trilogy was great, there’s no denying that. The characters were interesting and the reference to the original story was obvious. Here, things are no different. The entire premise is actually centered around Luke Skywalker and it’s flawless. Also, the introduction of new worlds worked out perfect. At times, I was really enjoying the film’s cuteness when a new animal that hasn’t been seen yet made an appearance on the scene. Pretty much all those animals’ eyes were like Puss in Boots’ eyes in Shrek, so you can imagine how soft I was getting during every scene involving animals. On the other hand, I kept telling myself that it seemed a bit too childish. The reviews mentioned that this episode is much darker than the previous parts, but for me, darkness looks a bit different than this. I think I would liken it to episode 2. This episode is sort of cute, a little childish, full of action and war. All in all, it’s actually quite good, but for me to give it a five-star review, the film would need to be more epic in relation to the entire Star Wars universe. (15/12/2017)