'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' - Movie Review

Star Wars has become not only its own genre, but also a particular style of fiction - a closed and entirely self-referential world (should I say "galaxy?") of bombast, colour, flamboyance, and no sense at all. Plot points exist only to create over-the-top action sequences or character points (preferably both). The Force Awakens was the first in the new series, essentially a requoting of the very first movie (you know, the one Lucas later rebadged as "IV - A New Hope"). It loaded on the nostalgia and the references to the first movie like nobody's business. "The Last Jedi" follows right in those footsteps, remaking "The Empire Strikes Back" in the context of the new evil empire, "The First Order."

The Rebels, led by Princess (or is it "General?" I've forgotten and I don't care) Leia (Carrie Fisher, in her last film role before her death), are on the run - pursued by a giant armada of First Order space ships. Despite this, Finn (John Boyega) makes a new friend and the two of them run off to a gambling world to recruit a genius hacker who can hack the First Order's ships. There, they cause complete havoc and end up returning with much less reliable hacker DJ (Benicio del Toro).

And Rey (Daisy Ridley) is off trying to convince Luke Skywalker (still Mark Hamill) to train her and/or return to aid the Rebels - both of which he's reluctant to do.

It's big, colourful, and the action sequences are a lot of fun. But it would be a substantial error on your part to take your brain with you when you go to watch this thing: logic isn't one of its strengths. I'm not claiming that the first three were masterpieces of art or plotting - but they do kind of look it when compared to this.