‘Star Wars VIII’ meets expectations

“Star Wars VIII, The Last Jedi” is a captivating film that adds a lot to the new trilogy. Taking place immediately after the events of Episode VII, “The Force Awakens,” this movie focuses on the battle between the sinister First Order and the Resistance, as well as the journey of the new trilogy’s main character, Rey.
This film does many things well, such as how they effectively develop the characters.  Characters such as Finn, Poe Dameron, Vice-Admiral Holdo and even the beloved Luke Skywalker make several mistakes throughout the film, but they all mature by the end of the movie.  The antagonist Kylo Ren’s struggle between good and evil is beautifully portrayed in the film.
Additionally, the cast of this movie give inspired and passionate performances as their characters.  In her final act, Carrie Fisher does a marvelous job portraying Leia; a fitting end to an incredible acting career.  The series’ new protagonist, Rey, and her character’s struggle is brilliantly portrayed by actress Daisy Ridley.  Oscar Isaac also gives an inspired showing as the charismatic pilot Poe Dameron.
The visuals in this movie are stunning.  The planet of Crait has a beautiful contrast between the white ground and its red salt.  The movie also gets creative with its visuals, including a key moment in the film where everything goes silent, leaving viewers awestruck.
Despite this being an overall excellent film, there are a few bad moments that look very forced and do not fit with this movie.  After The Force Awakens, fans were all left theorizing about who Rey’s parents were, but the much anticipated reveal in this movie turns out to be underwhelming.  Finn gets very little character development and is thrust into a forced romance with new character Rose Tico.  While Leia is an excellent character in the movie, there was a particular scene that is borderline ridiculous and a missed opportunity to what would have been a perfect send-off to an iconic character in the franchise.
Overall, “The Last Jedi” has a handful of questionable moments, but the good outweighs the bad, making it an impressive sequel that sets up an exciting finish to the series.