Star Wars Episode VIII Review

Connor Nisbet, Entertainment Writer

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi was one of the most anticipated films of 2017. The movie was immediately met with mixed reviews. Riding off the hype of the incredibly popular Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, following the relatable and inspiring characters of Finn and Rey, Star Wars VIII was set up to have a strong viewer base, including many members of the WFS community.

As one of the highest-rated movies, and the third most-watched movie of 2017, Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi was an undoubtedly successful and universally popular film. Many critics praised Disney’s new direction of Star Wars. James Tallman ‘19, shared this positive perspective on Disney’s fresh take on the Star Wars series, saying: “I thought it was the best Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back. While The Force Awakens was a seemingly formulaic remake of what fans loved from IV-VI, The Last Jedi is taking the franchise in new directions. Altogether, the acting was phenomenal. The chemistry between Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley pulled me into the movie and is setting up for an epic resolution to the next installment of the trilogy. While many fans did not like how this story handled plot lines set up by J J Abrams’ take on the franchise, I think that this movie ultimately understood what Star Wars is. It is a story about people — merely set in space.”

Despite some praise, some viewers left theatres with a more critical opinion of the movie. Peter Cauchy, class of ‘19 said that he “thought it was a good movie,” but “disliked the plot holes” and that there was “too much that wasn’t clear.” These thoughts were echoed by Simon Wakeley ‘19, “While I feel like Star Wars VIII created a good hype for Star Wars IX, unfortunately, [the character development] made plot holes in this movie.” Some of the Star Wars episode’s cringe-worthy scenes were blatantly protrusive throughout the film. This included a widespread dislike of Princess Leia’s infamous “flying scene,” in which the character (thought to be dead at this point) is seen floating through space and back into her ship; many believed the scene added nothing to the story and was ridiculous. A second example includes Kylo Ren’s shirtless scene (which is self-explanatory), which was pretty unforgettable for most, and later became immortalized as a meme. The scene was uncomfortable, and, as Michael McKenzie ‘19 said, it was “weird and unnecessary,” not really following in the iconic footsteps of the original trilogy.

With positive and negative reactions to the new direction of Star Wars, The Last Jedi drew enormous crowds and provided a set-up for the next installment in the series. With dozens of new ideas to work with, and plenty of viewer feedback, Disney should be poised to start a create an iconic and dramatically satisfying conclusion to a beloved film saga.