Star Wars: The Last Jedi Local Fan Review (NO SPOILERS)

by Editor Darren Doyle, (Star Wars Fan):
Coming from the generation of the original Star Wars trilogy and growing up with all of the movies, I have a pretty good knowledge of the entire franchise and consider myself to be a true fan. 

Although I was only a year old when the first film, Star Wars Episode IV was released, I saw the rest of the films on the big screen. I've enjoyed all of them, minus a Jar Jar and clone or two...

I received a Millennium Falcon for my 5th birthday and I still have it, along with all my other original Star Wars toys and figures. I wore Star Wars stuff during the dark period between Return of the Jedi and when the new edition, original trilogy was re-released in 1997. So while I'm in no way a movie critic, I know a little bit about Star Wars. (I also forgot to mention that I have a full-sized Darth Vader costume). And yes, I know all this stuff is pretty nerdy.

I was fortunate enough to attend a VIP event on Thursday, December 14, 2017 for a special screening of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," thanks to participating in a scholarship fundraiser hosted by dear friends through SKYCTC. As I said, I'm no movie critic but here are my overall thoughts on the movie without any spoilers, whatsoever. If you would purposely share spoilers I hope you're cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc, where in his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.

The movie WAS all I expected it to be, and I had some pretty big expectations. We see lots of things that are no surprises and we also see some very big surprises. It's emotional, it's intense, and it's everything a real Star Wars fan hopes it would be. 

There were two different spots in the movie where I caught myself with my hands on my cheeks, hanging on for dear life, as they were two of the most intense moments I've ever experienced in a Star Wars film. There was more than one time I teared up. I wanted to cheer out loud on more than one occasion, and there was at least two different times where I said "WHAAAAAAAA?"

We see all the major characters: Rey, Kylo Ren, Snoke, Fin, Poe, Leia, Chewbacca, BB-8 and the rest of the droids, and yes, Luke Skywalker. Much of the movie goes the way you might expect while there are also some major plot twists that I don't really think anyone saw coming. 

Don't go see this if you're not a true fan...you won't get it. At this point, I'm not sure why you'd want to if you're not familiar with the franchise. By the time the 8th installment comes out in a film and you've never seen number one, you should probably stick with something else.

Bottom line: this movie was well done and I simply can't find any fault in it other than the humor got a tad cheesy in a couple of spots.

As the credits rolled, I was exhausted. The movie grabbed me from the beginning, but not necessarily because it was such a great film, although in my opinion it was great, but because I'm a real Star Wars fan and this is a real Star Wars movie. If you leave the theater and your initial reaction isn't simply "WOW," then you're either not a true fan or you just don't get it. (BTW, I think it's one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time).

And if you're not a Star Wars fan, I get that, too. I get confused when people start talking Harry Potter stuff. I've never understood any of that, never been interested, and there's no amount of fanfare that will interest me in Harry Potter; however, I don't give Harry Potter fans a hard time. I let them do their thing and hope they let me do mine. People don't watch the Harry Potter films for cinematic excellence, they watch them because they're fans of Harry Potter, and it's the same for Star Wars, Avengers, and so on.

The Last Jedi is a perfect setup for episode nine. I can't wait to watch it again in a couple weeks. 

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