The Film (4/5)

    The Last Jedi might be the most complicated Star Wars film, at least from the perspective of having to analyze it. When I was watching it for the first time the other night, my emotions were conflicted, the battle scenes which were numerous throughout the film did nothing for me. So if the "Wars" in Star Wars, did nothing for me at this point, what was left? The characters, and specifically 2. Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, I believe will go down in the history of the Star Wars series as one of the most interesting villains this series has ever seen, and Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker who has turned into something unexpected, and more interesting. Not remotely following the “Legends” version of the character.

   The Last Jedi picks up promptly where we were left after The Force Awakens. The film opens with a battle sequence with the resistance attacking the First Order as they are trying to escape with hot-shot pilot Poe Dameron deciding the best course of action is to take out one of their Dreadnoughts, much to the chagrin of Leia and the rest of the higher ups. This sets in motion a chase that will continue throughout the film, where the First Order sets a tracker on the remains of resistance fighters.  This sets Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) on a mission to find a code breaker to help get them into a Star Destroyer to break the tracker.

    While this is happening, Rey (Daisy Ridley) is meeting up with the legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who is not living up to his legend. He has no desire to rejoin the resistance with his sister, and is planning to stay on the island, on which he was found, until he dies. He has given up on "The Force" and the Jedi Order after losing his pupil Ben Solo/Kylo Ren to the dark side during a moment of bad judgment.   While on Luke's island Rey convinces Luke to give her some small amount of training, which convinces him of Rey’s extreme raw talent with the force. Also, while there she discovers a Force related connection to Kylo Ren and spends time communicating with the former Ben Solo getting to know him and his story. Of course, this communication is discovered, and causes rift between Luke and Rey, which causes her to leave the island, and into the clutches of Kylo Ren and the First Order.

    When Rian Johnson was announced for a Star Wars film I was immediately excited. I have been a fan of the director since his first film Brick hit DVD, and loved that film immediately. After Brick, he made the unique crime caper The Brothers Bloom, and the time travel film Looper, all superb, and interesting works of cinema, that showed a unique and quality voice in American cinema. So needless to say I was quite interested to see what Johnson would do when left in charge of a franchise as large as Star Wars.

   I am happy to report it is "sort of" what I expected. The film is tonally imbalanced. This is not something I'd attributed to director Johnson, so much as I would having to work within the constraints of the large Lucasfilm/Disney organization and having so many fingers in the proverbial pie. As such there are many attempts at broad comedy that don't always work, but I get why they're there. I found the film a bit slow in the middle section, but started out quite well. I'll admit the first moments with Luke, had me quite interested seeing a new cynical side of Luke Skywalker that is unlike we have seen before.

    I can understand that this might put some fans off of the character, but viewing the character through the lens of what he experienced between Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens it makes sense, and we do get a glimpse of the old Skywalker toward the end of the film, which I feel is a well earned moment for both the character and audiences waiting to see the character they once knew center stage one last time.

   The real star of the show, however, is Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. The decisions this particular character makes throughout The Last Jedi (and I'm holding back spoiling them), seems so bizarre, and all over the place, that I can't help but watch him with interest. He is a character that seems to have a goal of being 100% evil, but alas cannot quite reach that point no matter how hard he tries.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Star Wars: The Last Jedi is presented with a 2:39:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer that looks spectacular, colors pop, blacks levels are inky and deep, and detail is excellent throughout.

    Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track that sounds quite excellent. Everything from score to dialogue comes through quite clear with no issues.

Extras (4/5)

    Disney has put together quite a solid extras package for the Last Jedi. The Blu-ray includes a feature commentary from Rian Johnson, and a feature length BTS documentary. There are also deleted scenes, interviews, and featurettes.

Overall

     The Star Wars tidal wave continues with The Last Jedi, and while it is not all it could have been, it is still quite an interesting entry into the ongoing franchise. The Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic, and has a solid extras slate. RECOMMENDED.