The Reel: The Last Jedi

The Star Wars saga continues and it’s moving ever closer towards a new generation of viewers by creating newer heroes to take over from the stars that started off the franchise.

Also known as Star Wars Episode VIII, The Last Jedi is probably the movie that will finally see the transition from the old guard to the new guard of characters and actors to take the space opera forward.

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Jon Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis make a return to this second installation of the previously announced Star Wars trilogy.

Carrie Fisher passed away in December 2016 and the movie was dedicated to her memory, having been Princess Leia Organa since the beginning of the adventures of "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" back in the 70s.

After Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey (Daisy Ridley) went off to find Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). This movie begins as she is receiving Jedi training from Luke Skywalker. Luke was the famed Jedi Master, a Force-sensitive human who, along with his twin sister, Princess Leia Organa, fought against the rule of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War.

Mark has also payed Luke since the franchise’s beginning. Luke had chosen to fall off the radar, previously, and is still shielding his Force from the rest of the galaxy as he seeks isolation.

RESISTANCE

He, however, senses something stronger than his Force in Rey, and so he chooses to train her to harness it in the hopes of turning the tide for the resistance in the fight against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order.

Meanwhile, General Leia Organa, Finn (Jon Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) attempt to escape a First Order attack on the dwindling Resistance fleet. While Leia and Poe strategise to fight off their foes in the skies of the galaxy, Finn and a small band of soldiers go off into the distant planets to try and choke sources of funding for the First Order’s fleets.

The rebels are outnumbered and outgunned at this point and realise that if the sources aren’t hit, their resistance will be run over very soon.

So while one seeks training from a reluctant master, there’s a group putting up a fight with a fleet many times their number, while another group tries to close the taps for their enemy’s resources. This makes it a hell of a roller coaster ride, and the anxiety and suspense created as the scenes roll is absolutely exhilarating.

Will the rebels prove victors against the odds, or will the First Order prove too strong for this resistance?

This is a pure science fictional story. If you’re allergic to anything that travels at light speeds, swords that are laser-blades instead of steel, people using kinetic energy to move stuff or fight, different planetary beings and animals, or seeing humans breathe in outer space without breathing apparatus, I can promise you that this is not a movie you want to watch.

The score is great, though. If you’re into opera instrumentation, then you will appreciate how the movie incorporates that sound in its different scenes. The graphics are also well put together. It’s very confusing for someone not conversant with the Star Wars saga from the very beginning and its other story-movies. So, if you’re a first-timer, you might need a guide.