By Naomi Anderson, Entertainment Editor
Every Star Wars fan can remember the cliffhanger The Force Awakens left us on and how we all just needed answers! Scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) found Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on his island after disappearing, and the fans of the series were left baffled when it just ended there!
Luckily, when The Last Jedi was announced, it gave hope to the fanbase after the passing of Carrie Fisher, who portrayed space princess Leia Organa, and Rogue One, which left most unsatisfied. The trailer for the eighth episode dropped on Oct. 9, 2017, giving the fans about two months to prepare for their questions from the 2015 film to be answered. But when the film came out, reviews were mixed, leaving some fans happy and others as mad as Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) when he was slapped by General Organa after saving the Resistance.
I saw the film a day after it came out and I was blown away. There were things I didn’t like about the film, like The Force connections between Supreme Leader of the First Order Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern), and Captain Phasma’s (Gwendoline Christie) five minutes of screentime. But the soundtrack for the film was beautiful and there were scenes that dropped my jaw. There were a few new characters, like Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and code breaker DJ (Benicio del Toro). Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s daughter, received more screen time as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, and Lupita Amondi Nyong’o’s character, Maz Kanata from The Force Awakens, was in for one scene. The actors did phenomenal in this film, but audiences were still left mad and relieved over little things.
A lot of fans were upset with Finn (John Boyega) and Rose’s side mission to find a code breaker to get into the First Order’s base when they followed the Resistance through light speed with a tracking device. I agree; it was a pointless plot to fill for everything else that was happening, like Rey learning Jedi skills with Luke and Poe rebelling against Vice Admiral Holdo back on the Resistance ship.
My favorite scenes would have to be the battle in the end and the audience seeing how powerful and strong Rey is, or the fight scene between Finn and Captain Phasma and when he called her “chrome dome.” Everyone definitely has a new obsession with the “Porgs,” the birds found on Luke’s island, except for Chewbacca, who became annoyed with them when they made themselves at home in the Millennium Falcon.
A few weeks after the film was released, fans ranted and expressed their feelings about the film and how some things made no sense and others fit perfectly. Despite all the controversy, the film satisfied me and I even went to see it again! I am still blown away by Ridley’s performance because we all saw her evolve from a scared but strong scavenger from Jakku to one of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy.
Fans are left to wait about a year until the ninth episode comes out, which is scheduled for release Dec. 20, 2019. Filming begins in June in Argyll, Scotland!