Review: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

The original Star Wars was released in 1977 and ever since it’s been a cultural phenomenon so when the sequel trilogy was announced, everyone was excited but that excitement soon turned to disappointment. The Star Wars sequel trilogy is often regarded as one of the worst pieces of Star Wars content of all time but I disagree. Specifically I think Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is one of the best films ever made. The Last Jedi divided a lot of the Star Wars fan base and fueled hatred across the globe but I love it because of its theme of hope and growth.

The best way to talk about the theme of the movie would be to dive into the main characters arcs that are presented. The first character I’m going to go over is Rey. Rey was introduced in the last film and was a girl who lived on the planet Jakku and was left there by her parents at a very young age and quickly gets involved with the resistance. Rey in this film is destined to find a belonging and searches for that in Luke Skywalker (who she finds at the end of the last movie) and then in Ben Solo. Ben Solo (also known as Kylo Ren) is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa (Luke Skywalker’s sister). Ben doesn’t want anything to do with the Skywalker legacy and wants to be alone, like Rey is, but Rey wants family, she wants that belonging which was what Ben had which is why Rey consuls in Ben but Ben is too stuck in the past to move forward which is what Rey realizes.. Rey ultimately learns to accept that she is a nobody and lets go of her past. That belonging she was trying to find, was ultimately that belonging in herself and her insecurities. 

The second character I will be talking about is Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker is one of the best written fictional characters of all time and many people hate where they went with the character in The Last Jedi. Luke Skywalker isolated himself on a planet because for a split second he was thinking about killing his nephew (Ben Solo) and from that it turned Ben fully to the dark side. Luke Skywalker views himself as a failure and blames himself for the destruction The First Order caused. This is a very interesting choice on where to go with Lukes character and it’s one that I love. Seeing a character many people love becoming a hermit and learning to accept his failure and move forward is very powerful to me. The force ghost of Yoda (Luke’s old master) tells Luke that failure is the greatest teacher and it inspires Luke to help the resistance. Luke’s character arc was about accepting failure and moving forward and it’s something I really needed to hear at that point in my life. 

At the end of The Last Jedi, We see Luke Skywalker’s action inspire the galaxy and give people hope. We see Rey accept who she is and that she doesn’t need anyone other than herself. I could go on and on about this movie and all its characters and themes but I just wanted to focus on its core theme and characters. This movie helped inspire me at one of the lowest points of my life, and it’s a movie that I always go back to when I’m feeling down. The Last Jedi is truly one of the best films ever made and is very meaningful to me.