Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
File:Star Wars The Last Jedi.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rian Johnson
Produced by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Written by Rian Johnson
Based on Characters
by George Lucas
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by John Williams
Cinematography Steve Yedlin
Edited by Bob Ducsay
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release dates
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  • December 9, 2017 (2017-12-09) (Shrine Auditorium)
  • December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) (United States)
Running time
152 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $317 million[2]
Box office $1.333 billion[3]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (also known as Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) is a 2017 American epic space opera film written and directed by Rian Johnson. It is the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the eighth main installment of the Star Wars franchise, following Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film's ensemble cast includes Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels and Gwendoline Christie in returning roles, with Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro joining the cast. It features the first posthumous film performance by Fisher, who died in December 2016, and the film is dedicated to her memory. The plot follows Rey as she receives Jedi training from Luke Skywalker, in hopes of turning the tide for the Resistance in the fight against Kylo Ren and the First Order, while General Leia Organa, Finn, and Poe Dameron attempt to escape a First Order attack on the dwindling Resistance fleet.

The Last Jedi is part of a new trilogy of films announced after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012. It was produced by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, with Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams as an executive producer. John Williams, composer for the previous films, returned to compose the score. A number of scenes were filmed at Skellig Michael in Ireland during pre-production in September 2015, but principal photography began at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom in February 2016, and ended in July 2016. Post-production wrapped in September 2017.

The Last Jedi had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 9, 2017, and was released in the United States on December 15, 2017. It grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide (approximately $700 million less than its predecessor, 2016's Star Wars: The Force Awakens), becoming the highest-grossing film of 2017. It received mixed feedback from audiences, with paid film bloggers praising it as a "bold new direction" for the series, but with many fans and amateur reviewers objecting to its negative portrayal of Luke Skywalker, excessive self-aware comedy, divisive political statements, and plot holes. The film received four nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects, as well two nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, but ultimately did not win any. A sequel, provisionally titled Star Wars: Episode IX, is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.[4]

Plot

Shortly after the battle of Starkiller Base, Princess Leia Organa leads Resistance forces to flee D'Qar when a First Order fleet arrives. Poe Dameron distracts the lead First Order dreadnought with a prank phone call long enough to allow the Resistance to escape to hyperspace, but shortly afterwards the First Order tracks them through and attacks the Resistance convoy. Kylo Ren, Leia's son, hesitates to fire on the lead Resistance ship after sensing his mother's presence, but his TIE fighter wingmen destroy the bridge, killing most of the Resistance leadership and incapacitating Leia, who survives by flying through space to re-board the ship before collapsing. Disapproving of new leader Vice Admiral Holdo's lack of any strategy for escape, Poe helps Finn, BB-8, and mechanic Rose Tico embark on a secret mission to disable the First Order's tracking device.

Meanwhile, Rey arrives on Ahch-To with Chewbacca and R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon to recruit Luke Skywalker to the Resistance. Disillusioned by his failure to train Kylo as a Jedi and under self-imposed exile from the Force, Luke refuses to help – even after he learns of Han Solo's death at Kylo's hands – and believes the Jedi should go extinct. Unbeknownst to Luke, Rey and Kylo communicate through the Force, puzzling the two enemies.

R2-D2 persuades Luke to help Rey, though he doesn't actually train her beyond a brief discussion about the nature of the Force. Kylo tells Rey that Luke was the one who drove him to the dark side, and Luke confesses that he momentarily contemplated killing Kylo upon sensing that Supreme Leader Snoke was corrupting him, leading Kylo to destroy Luke's new Jedi Order in retaliation. Convinced that Kylo can be redeemed, Rey defeats Luke in a duel and leaves Ahch-To alone. Luke prepares to burn the Ahch-To Jedi temple and library, but hesitates. Yoda's ghost appears and destroys the temple by summoning a bolt of lightning, claiming Rey has all she needs to learn, and encourages Luke to learn from his failure.

Holdo reveals her plan to discreetly evacuate the remaining Resistance members using small, unshielded transports. Believing her actions cowardly and risky, Poe leads a mutiny. Finn, Rose, and BB-8 travel to the Canto Bight casino and acquire the help of the hacker DJ. They infiltrate Snoke's ship, where all but BB-8 are captured by Captain Phasma. Meanwhile, Rey lands on the ship, and Kylo brings her to Snoke, who claims he facilitated the mental connection between her and Kylo as part of a plan to destroy Luke. Ordered to kill Rey, Kylo instead kills Snoke and defeats Snoke's guards alongside Rey. Rey believes that Kylo has returned to the light side of the Force, but he instead invites her to rule the galaxy with him. Refusing, she fights Kylo for possession of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, which splits in two.

Leia recovers and stuns Poe, allowing the evacuation to begin. Holdo remains on the ship to mislead Snoke's fleet as the others flee to an abandoned Rebel Alliance base on Crait. DJ reveals the Resistance's plan to the First Order, and the evacuation transports are slowly destroyed. Holdo sacrifices herself by ramming Snoke's fleet at lightspeed; Rey escapes in the chaos, while Kylo declares himself Supreme Leader. BB-8 frees Finn and Rose, who escape after killing Phasma, and join the survivors on Crait. When the First Order arrives, Poe, Finn, and Rose attack with old speeders. Rey and Chewbacca destroy a squadron of TIE fighters with the Falcon, while Rose stops Finn from completing a suicide run against the enemy siege cannon, which subsequently penetrates the Resistance fortress.

Luke appears and confronts the First Order to enable surviving Resistance members to escape. Kylo orders the First Order's forces to fire on Luke, to no effect. He then engages Luke in a lightsaber duel; upon striking Luke, Kylo realizes he has been fighting a Force projection of him. Rey uses the Force to help the Resistance escape on the Falcon. Luke, exhausted, dies peacefully on Ahch-To. Rey and Leia sense his death, and Leia tells surviving rebels that the Resistance has all it needs to rise again. At Canto Bight, one of the children who helped Finn and Rose escape grabs a broom with the Force.

Cast

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (from top) features Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, and introduces Kelly Marie Tran (not pictured), Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro.

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Joonas Suotamo appears as Chewbacca, taking over the role from Peter Mayhew after previously serving as his body double in The Force Awakens. Mayhew, who was 73 years old and suffering from chronic knee and back pain,[18] is credited as "Chewbacca consultant." Billie Lourd, Mike Quinn, and Timothy D. Rose reprise their roles as Lieutenant Connix, Nien Nunb, and Admiral Ackbar respectively.[19][20][21] Due to the death of Erik Bauersfeld, Admiral Ackbar is now voiced by Tom Kane. Amanda Lawrence appears as Commander D'Acy, and Mark Lewis Jones and Adrian Edmondson play Captains Canady and Peavey respectively. BB-8 is controlled by puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring,[22] with initial voice work by Ben Schwartz and final sound effects voiced by Bill Hader modulated through a synthesizer.[23] Jimmy Vee portrays R2-D2, taking over the role from Kenny Baker, who died on August 13, 2016.[24][25] Veronica Ngo portrays Rose's sister Paige Tico,[15] a Resistance gunner who sacrifices her life to destroy a First Order dreadnought.

Justin Theroux plays the master codebreaker. Lily Cole plays his companion.[26] Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a voice cameo as Slowen Lo.[27] Warwick Davis plays Wodibin.[28] Gareth Edwards, director of the Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One,[29] has a cameo appearance as a Resistance Soldier, as does Gary Barlow.[30] Directors Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish also cameo in the film. Hermione Corfield appears as Tallissan "Tallie" Lintra, a Resistance A-Wing pilot and squadron leader. Noah Segan and Jamie Christopher appear as Resistance pilots Starck and Tubbs.[31] Hamill's children, Griffin, Nathan, and Chelsea, cameo as Resistance soldiers. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry filmed cameo appearances as stormtroopers.[32] Tom Hardy also filmed an appearance as a stormtrooper, but his cameo was dropped from the final cut.[33] Hugh Skinner cameos as a Resistance Officer.

Production

Development

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In October 2012, Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Disney announced a new trilogy of Star Wars films.[34] J. J. Abrams was named director of the first episode in the trilogy, The Force Awakens, in January 2013.[35][36] In June 2014, director Rian Johnson was reported to be in talks to write and direct its sequel, Episode VIII, and to write a treatment for the third film, Episode IX, with Ram Bergman producing both films.[37][38] Johnson confirmed in August 2014 that he would direct Episode VIII.[39] In September, filmmaker Terry Gilliam asked Johnson about what it felt like to take over something made famous by another filmmaker. Johnson responded:

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I'm just starting into it, but so far, honestly, it's the most fun I've ever had writing. It's just joyous. But also for me personally, I grew up not just watching those movies but playing with those toys, so as a little kid, the first movies I was making in my head were set in this world. A big part of it is that direct connection, almost like an automatic jacking back into childhood in a weird way. But I don't know, ask me again in a few years and we'll be able to talk about that.[40]

The story begins immediately after the last scene of The Force Awakens.[29] Johnson had his story group watch films such as Twelve O'Clock High, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gunga Din, Three Outlaw Samurai, Sahara, and Letter Never Sent for inspiration while developing ideas.[29][41] He felt it was difficult to work on the film while The Force Awakens was being finished.[29]

In December 2015, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, "we haven't mapped out every single detail [of the sequel trilogy] yet", and that Abrams was collaborating with Johnson and that Johnson would in turn work with (then) Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow to ensure a smooth transition.[42] Abrams is an executive producer along with Jason McGatlin and Tom Karnowski.[43] Lucasfilm announced the film's title, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, on January 23, 2017.[44]

Casting

In September 2015, Disney shortlisted the female cast members to Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany, and Olivia Cooke.[45] Later that month, Benicio del Toro confirmed that he would play a villain in the film,[46] and Mark Hamill was also confirmed.[5] In October 2015, Gugu Mbatha-Raw was rumored to have been cast in the film.[47] In November, Jimmy Vee was cast as R2-D2.[24] In November, Kennedy announced at the London premiere for The Force Awakens that the entire cast would return for Episode VIII, along with "a handful" of new cast members.[6] In February 2016, at the start of filming, it was confirmed that Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran had been cast in unspecified roles.[16] In April 2017, at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Lucasfilm announced that Tran plays Resistance maintenance worker Rose Tico, which Johnson described as the film's largest new role.[13][14] To keep Frank Oz's return as Yoda a secret, producers excluded Oz's name in the billing for the film's pre-release marketing and ensured that Oz stayed on set during filming.[17]

Filming

Some filming locations: The island of Skellig Michael in Ireland (top), Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat in Bolivia (middle), and the city of Dubrovnik, in Croatia (bottom).

Second unit photography began during pre-production at Skellig Michael in Ireland on September 14, 2015, due to the difficulties of filming at that location during other seasons. It would have lasted four days,[48][49][50] but filming was canceled for the first day due to poor weather and rough conditions.[51] In November 2014, Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Studios, confirmed that the film would be shot at Pinewood,[52] with additional filming in Mexico.[10] In September 2015, del Toro revealed that principal photography would begin in March 2016;[46] Kennedy later said filming would begin in January 2016.[6] The production began work on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios on November 15, 2015.[53] Rick Heinrichs served as production designer.[54]

In January 2016, production of Episode VIII was delayed until February due to script rewrites.[55] Filming was in danger of being delayed further due to an upcoming strike between the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television and the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union.[56] On February 10, 2016, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that principal photography had begun[57] under the working title Space Bear.[29] Additional filming took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia from March 9 to 16,[58][59] as well as in Ireland in May.[60] Malin Head in County Donegal and a mountain headland, Ceann Sibeal in County Kerry, served as additional filming locations.[61] To increase the scenes' intimacy Driver and Ridley were both present when filming Kylo and Rey's Force visions.[62] Location filming for the battle scenes on the planet Crait took place in July at the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia.[63]

Principal photography wrapped on July 22, 2016,[64] though as of early September, Nyong'o had not filmed her scenes.[65] In February 2017, it was announced that sequences from the film were shot in IMAX.[66] Production designer Rick Heinrichs said the original screenplay called for 160 sets, double what might be expected, but that Johnson did some "trimming and cutting". Ultimately 125 sets were created on 14 sound stages at Pinewood Studios.[67]

According to creature designer Neal Scanlan, The Last Jedi uses more practical effects than any Star Wars film, with 180 to 200 creatures created with practical effects, some cut from the final edit.[68] For Yoda's appearance in the film as a Force ghost, the character was created using puppetry, as was done in the original Star Wars trilogy (as opposed to computer-generated imagery, which was used to create Yoda in most of the prequel trilogy).[69]

The film's Canto Bight sequence contains a reference to the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil, in which Finn and Rose are arrested for committing parking violation 27B/6.[70]

Music

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In July 2013, Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that John Williams would return to score the Star Wars sequel trilogy.[71][72] Williams confirmed his assignment for The Last Jedi at a Tanglewood concert in August 2016,[73] stating he would begin recording the score "off and on" in December 2016 until March or April 2017.[74] On February 21, 2017, it was confirmed that recording was underway, with both Williams and William Ross conducting the sessions.[75][76]

In lieu of a traditional spotting session with Johnson, Williams was provided a temp track of music from his previous film scores as a reference for scoring The Last Jedi.[77] The score briefly quotes "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso in its "Canto Bight" track as another reference to the film Brazil. It also contains a brief quote of Williams performing[78] his own theme for The Long Goodbye (co-composed by Johnny Mercer) during Finn and Rose's escape, but this is not in the official soundtrack release.[79]

The official soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on December 15, 2017 in digipak CD, digital formats, and streaming services.[80]

Release

In January 2015, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that Episode VIII would be released in 2017,[81] and in March, Lucasfilm announced a release date of May 26, 2017.[82][83] In January 2016, The Last Jedi was rescheduled for December 15, 2017 in 3D and IMAX 3D.[43][84] On January 23, 2017, the film's title was announced as Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[44] Similarly to The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, "Episode VIII" was included in the film's opening crawl, although not in its official title.[85]

The Last Jedi had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 9, 2017.[86] The European premiere was held at London's Royal Albert Hall on December 12, 2017, with a red carpet event.[87]

It was reported that Disney had placed notable conditions on U.S. cinemas screening The Last Jedi, which some operators described as onerous. Disney required that the film be screened in a cinema's largest auditorium for a four-week period (other Disney releases have had similar clauses, but only for two weeks), and was given a 65% cut of ticket sales (a percentage higher than the 55–60% average of other major films, and cited as the highest split ever demanded by a Hollywood film behind the 64% split of The Force Awakens). The agreement, which was required to be kept confidential, also contained regulations on promotions and restrictions on removing any scheduled screening. Violations were to be penalized with an additional 5% cut of ticket sales. Because of this, some cinemas declined to screen the film, particularly smaller or one-screen cinemas that would otherwise be barred from screening any other film during the commitment period. Industry representatives considered this policy reasonable, citing the performance of Disney releases and the Star Wars franchise, and that the guaranteed business attracted by the film, and concession sales, would make up for the larger cut of ticket sales.[88][89][90][91]

Marketing

A set of eight promotional postage stamps were released on October 12, 2017 in the UK by the Royal Mail with artwork by Malcolm Tween.[92] On September 19, 2017, Australia Post released a set of stamp packs.[93] Tie-in promotional campaigns were done with Nissan Motors and Bell Media, among others. Two main trailers were released, followed by numerous television spots. Figurines of many of the characters were released in October, and advance tickets for Last Jedi went on sale in October.

Several tie-in books were released on the same day of the North American release of the movie, including The Last Jedi: Visual Dictionary, and various children's reading and activity books. Related novelizations included the prequel book Cobalt Squadron, and the Canto Bight, a collection of novellas about the Canto Bight Casino.

Video games

As with The Force Awakens, there is no official tie-in game for The Last Jedi, in favor of integrating content from the film into other Star Wars video games,[94] including Star Wars Battlefront II, which introduced various content from the film, during the second week of the game's first "season".[95] An update to the MOBA mobile game Star Wars: Force Arena added new content from the sequel era, including some characters as they appeared in The Last Jedi. Characters from the film also appeared in the mobile RPG Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.

Home media

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Star Wars: The Last Jedi digitally in HD and 4K via digital download and Movies Anywhere on March 13, 2018, with an Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD physical release on March 27. It was the first Star Wars film to be released on the Ultra HD Blu-ray format.[96]

Tie-in literature and merchandise

The official novelization is by Jason Fry, with an audiobook version narrated by Marc Thompson. There is a "junior novel" by Michael Kogge (2018 Lucasfilm Press), and an audiobook version narrated by Jessica Almasy.

Reception

Box office

Star Wars: The Last Jedi grossed $620.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $712.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.333 billion.[3] It had a worldwide opening of $450.8 million, the fifth-biggest of all time, including $40.6 million that was attributed to IMAX screenings, the second biggest for IMAX.[97][98]

On December 31, 2017, its 17th day of release, it passed the $1 billion threshold, becoming the fourth film of 2017, the fifteenth Disney film, the fourth Star Wars film and the thirty-second film overall to pass the mark.[99][100] The film was the highest-grossing film of 2017, the second highest-grossing film in the franchise (behind The Force Awakens) when unadjusted for inflation, the fourth highest-grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios, the eighth highest-grossing film in North America and the eleventh-highest-grossing film of all time.[101][102][103][104]. However, its worldwide gross represented a 36% decline from its predecessor Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a relatively large decline by the standards of contemporary blockbuster sequels.

United States and Canada

Pre-sale tickets went on sale in the United States on October 9, 2017, and as with The Force Awakens and Rogue One, ticket service sites such as Fandango had their servers crash due to heavy traffic and demand.[105] In the United States and Canada, industry tracking had The Last Jedi grossing around $200 million from 4,232 theaters in its opening weekend.[106] The film made $45 million from Thursday night previews, the second-highest amount ever (behind The Force Awakens' $57 million).[107] It went on to make $104.8 million on its first day (including previews) and $220 million over the weekend, both the second-highest amounts of all time.[108] The opening weekend figure included an IMAX opening-weekend of $25 million, the biggest IMAX opening of the year and the second biggest ever behind The Force Awakens.[109]

After dropping by 76% on its second Friday, the worst Friday-to-Friday drop in the series, the film fell by a 67.5% in its second weekend, grossing $71.6 million, delivering the largest second weekend box office drop of all time in absolute terms. In its third weekend it fell to second place at the box office, falling behind Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Outside North America

In its first two days of release the film made $60.8 million from 48 markets. The top countries were the United Kingdom ($10.2 million), Germany ($6.1 million), France ($6 million), Australia ($5.6 million) and Brazil ($2.5 million).[110] By the end of the weekend, the film made $230.8 million outside North America, the ninth-highest of all time. This included $36.7 million in the UK (third-highest), $23.6 million in Germany (second-highest), $18.1 million in France, $15.9 million in Australia (second-highest), $14.4 million in Japan, $8.5 million in Russia, $8.3 million in Spain, $7.2 million in Brazil, $7 million in Italy and Mexico, $6.0 million in Sweden and $5.1 million in South Korea.[111] On its second weekend, it grossed $76.1 million overseas and became the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year in Europe.[112] As of January 21, the largest markets outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom ($109.3 million), Germany ($79.8 million), France ($63.5 million), Japan ($60.8 million) and Australia ($43.5 million).[113]

Disney's Star Wars movies have consistently underperformed in China, the world's fastest-growing film market. The Last Jedi had a disappointing $28.7 million opening weekend in China, the lowest for a Star Wars film in that country since 2005 and debuting in second place to a romantic comedy The Ex-Files: Return of the Exes. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened to $52 million two years prior and Rogue One, which featured Chinese stars Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen, opened to $30 million in 2016. The Last Jedi added only $7 million during the week, to reach a total of $34.2 million in its first seven days. A week after its debut, China's movie exhibitors dropped the film's showtimes by 92 percent, from its 34.5% percent share of the territory's total screenings.[114][115][116][117] The film grossed $910,000 in its third weekend, dropping to ninth place at the Chinese box office, overshadowed by new releases including Bollywood film Secret Superstar, Hollywood films Ferdinand and Wonder, and Chinese film A Better Tomorrow 2018. The Last Jedi grossed $41 million in China, as of January 21, 2018.[118]

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has an approval rating of 90% based on 376 reviews from RT's recognized list of paid film reviewers, with an average rating of 8.1/10.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5/4 stars, saying, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi...doesn't pack quite the same emotional punch [as The Force Awakens] and it lags a bit in the second half, [but] this is still a worthy chapter in the Star Wars franchise, popping with exciting action sequences, sprinkled with good humor and containing more than a few nifty 'callbacks' to previous characters and iconic moments."[119] For The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy said, "Loaded with action and satisfying in the ways its loyal audience wants it to be, writer-director Rian Johnson's plunge into George Lucas' universe is generally pleasing even as it sometimes strains to find useful and/or interesting things for some of its characters to do."[120]

Conversely, Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote, "Despite a few stunning decorative touches (most of which involve the color red) and that brief central sequence of multiple Reys, the movie comes off as a work that's ironed out, flattened down, appallingly purified. Above all, it delivers a terrifyingly calculated consensus storytelling, an artificial universality that is achieved, in part, through express religious references."[121] Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail gave the film 2/4 stars, saying the film suffered from too many new additions and writing, "Nifty new animals, a maturing villain, a flagging heroine, muffled humour – as it seeks to uphold a giant cultural legacy, this unfolding trilogy struggles to maintain a balance that often seems just out of reach."[122] Owen Gleiberman of Variety criticized the film for being too derivative of the past movies by saying that "it's now repeating things that have already been repeated. The rebels-up-against-it plot, with our heroes worn down to the nub of their fighting spirit, feels like a rehash of what we went through a year ago in 'Rogue One,' and the attempts to echo the look and mood and darkening design of 'The Empire Strikes Back' now make clear that the new trilogy is an official monument to nostalgia".[123]

Audiences and non-professional reviewers were highly critical of the film. Rotten Tomatoes users assigned the movie a 46/100 score, while Metacritic's users gave the movie a 4.5/10. Prominent amateur Youtube reviewers responded negatively to the film, and received viewer feedback overwhelmingly signaling agreement. Criticisms focused heavily on the unflattering, out-of-character portrayal of Luke Skywalker (echoing Mark Hamill's frustration in interviews over how his famous character was being treated), the heavy-handed "sitcom" humor, numerous plot holes and red herring plotlines, unsatisfying resolutions of plot threads raised in the previous film, and the emphasis on divisive present-day political themes in a series traditionally focused on timeless depictions of good and evil. Controversy arose over the legitimacy of this reaction, with supporters of the movie claiming such results are due to "bots" or "trolls". Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic rejected such claims, however, stating there was no evidence of automated vote tampering. Additionally, the massive week-over-week box office declines experienced by The Last Jedi, and subsequent disastrous financial performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, are both highly supportive of a legitimate broad-based backlash by audiences.

Audiences polled randomly by CinemaScore on opening day gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, but this methodology does not necessarily contradict an overall negative fan reception, as CinemaScore's surveys are focused in a small number of metropolitan areas, are biased towards immediate post-viewing reaction, and only occur during opening weekend, suggesting they will be heavily weighted towards the most "die-hard" fans. By comparison, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones both received "A-" CinemaScores despite being subsequently considered of poor quality by many fans.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
MTV Movie & TV Awards June 18, 2018 Best Actor in a Movie Daisy Ridley Nominated [124]
Best Hero Nominated
Best Villain Adam Driver Nominated
Academy Awards March 4, 2018 Best Original Score John Williams Nominated [125]
Best Sound Editing Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce Nominated
Best Sound Mixing David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson Nominated
Best Visual Effects Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould Nominated
Art Directors Guild Awards January 27, 2018 Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film Rick Heinrichs Nominated [126]
British Academy Film Awards February 18, 2018 Best Sound Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood Nominated [127]
Best Special Visual Effects Stephen Alpin, Chris Courbould, Ben Morris, Neal Scanlan Nominated
Costume Designers Guild February 20, 2018 Excellence in Fantasy Film Michael Kaplan Nominated [128]
Empire Awards March 18, 2018 Best Film Star Wars: The Last Jedi Won [129]
Best Director Rian Johnson Won
Best Actor John Boyega Nominated
Best Actress Daisy Ridley Won
Best Female Newcomer Kelly Marie Tran Nominated
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Star Wars: The Last Jedi Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated
Best Visual Effects Won
Best Costume Design Michael Kaplan Won
Saturn Awards June 27, 2018 Best Science Fiction Film Star Wars: The Last Jedi Nominated [130]
Best Actor Mark Hamill Won
Best Actress Daisy Ridley Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Carrie Fisher Nominated
Kelly Marie Tran Nominated
Best Director Rian Johnson Nominated
Best Screenplay Won
Best Production Design Rick Heinrichs Nominated
Best Editing Bob Ducsay Won
Best Music John Williams Nominated
Best Costume Design Michael Kaplan Nominated
Best Makeup Peter Swords King, Neal Scanlan Nominated
Best Film Special / Visual Effects Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards February 13, 2018 Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Ben Morris, Tim Keene, Eddie Pasquarello, Daniel Seddon, Chris Corbould Nominated [131]
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project Cameron Nielsen, Albert Cheng, John Levin, Johanes Kurnia for "Crait Surface Battle" Nominated
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature Peter Kyme, Miguel Perez Senet, Ahmed Gharraph, Billy Copley for "Bombing Run" Nominated
Mihai Cioroba, Ryoji Fujita, Jiyong Shin, Dan Finnegan for "Mega Destroyer Destruction" Nominated

Sequel

Episode IX, the final installment of the sequel trilogy, is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.[4] Principal photography is set to begin in June 2018.[132] Colin Trevorrow was expected to direct the film, but on September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm announced that he had stepped down.[133] A week later, Lucasfilm announced that J. J. Abrams would return to direct Episode IX and co-write it with Chris Terrio. Abrams and Terrio stated that Episode IX will bring together all three trilogies, with elements from the previous two trilogies.[134][135]

References

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  10. 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. 43.0 43.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. 44.0 44.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. 46.0 46.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  78. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  79. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  80. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  81. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  82. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  83. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  84. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  85. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  86. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  87. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  88. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  89. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  90. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  91. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  92. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  93. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  94. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  95. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  96. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  97. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  98. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  99. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  100. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  101. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  102. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  103. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  104. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  105. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  106. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  107. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  108. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  109. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  110. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  111. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  112. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  113. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  114. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  115. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  116. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  117. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  118. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  119. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  120. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  121. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  122. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  123. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  124. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  125. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  126. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  127. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  128. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  129. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  130. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  131. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  132. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  133. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  134. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  135. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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