By RICHMOND ADAMS
Movie Reviewer
For me to review Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi is a difficult task.
No matter how good, or in the present instance semi-not so good, another sequel might be, I remain forever slanted by my experience as a teenage lad watching George Lucas spin his initial tale of Good, Evil, Redemption, and coming of age.
In retrospect, what gave Star Wars its resonance was how Lucas allowed us to cheer when good actually triumphed and, as in Star Wars VI: The Return of the Jedi, redemption miraculously occurred. As my father once commented, however, his films were not mine, and mine are now not those who are of the age when I went to the theatre in 1977.
Its central aspiration, which was to get Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke (Mark Hamill) at one with the Force, 150 minutes could have been finished in 120. The light saber duels involving Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Rey, and Supreme Dude Snoke (Andy Serkis), Finn’s (John Bodega) heroic willingness to sacrifice himself at the last possible moment, and Luke’s outsmarting his impetuous nephew, expressive of 21st Century guilt for doing the right in the wrong way, were fun for a while. Even the heroics by Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), all the while being chastised by Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer), had their moments with the Force as well.
All of that, however, contrasts with Rey first handing Luke his light saber. With no swelling John Williams music, Luke disgustedly tosses his weapon over his shoulder. That which had symbolized “peace and justice,” as Obi-Juan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guiness) told young Luke in Star Wars (minus the hideous subtitle) now meant nothing. Without those binding reference points, Director JJ Abrams suggests, what is left but the tricks we play to save our dwindling alliances with those who can’t remember the reason for our bonding. The implications of Luke’s historical disgust is what makes Episode VIII worth a viewing.