Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review - 8 Ups And 1 Down
Down...
1. The Canto Bight Subplot Doesn't Fully Work
Rian Johnson packs a hell of a lot into this film and, despite his best efforts, not everything is as great as the sequences involving Rey/Luke/Kylo. The biggest victim of this is Finn's subplot, which sees him partnering up with Resistance worker Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and trying to find an expert codebreaker (Benicio del Toro), which takes them to the casino on Canto Bight.
The casino itself makes for an interesting visual, showcasing a Mos Eisley Cantina for the galaxy's 1%, and there are later ways it ties into the film's blurring of the lines between dark and light. It is, however, quite noticeably the weakest part of the film. It's not bad, with Finn and Rose doing enough to carry things, but there's a slight stall in momentum when we cut back to them. The bigger missteps within this are del Toro's DJ, who isn't so much bad as he is both peculiar and predictable, and the use of Captain Phasma. She was wasted in The Force Awakens and, despite a hyped-up bigger role, is wasted again here, and her showdown with Finn also leads to the film's worst gag.
Ultimately, though, they're minor quibbles. There's enough done with Finn and Rose to justify it, and it helps speak to some of the wider themes regarding loss, hope, and having something to fight for.
What did you think of The Last Jedi? Let us know down in the comments.