Rian Johnson added the memo to himself after two thirds of "The Last Jedi": "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. Only then can you become what you are meant to do." Actually, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) says to Rey (Daisy Ridley) when the two most powerful fighters of this far, far away galaxy finally face each other long before our time. But the struggle for emancipation from great role models and overpowering father figures is of course also that of the author and director Johnson himself: After George Lucas' two film trilogies, he must now also differentiate himself from JJ Abrams and his extremely successful sequel to Episode 7.
And maybe it is precisely this closeness to his characters, his feeling for their needs, that makes Johnson's film such a triumph. Suddenly he feels urgent and immediate again, the struggle between light and dark side of the power, between empire and rebels from the old films, or First Order and Resistance, as the new films say. No awe of the old heroes grinds the character profile, no tongue-in-cheek quotation paralyzes the narrative flow: "The last Jedi" throws himself into battle without hesitation - and lands hits after hits.
And there is actually a lot of fighting here, especially about the spaceship on which Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher in her last, wonderful appearance) has gathered the core of the Resistance around her. These include the new heroes featured in Episode 7: the flagship stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), the daredevil pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the droid BB-8. But not Rey. At the end of "The Force Awakens" she landed on the planet Ach-To, where Jedi legend Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was hiding.
According to Rey's will, he should now train her in the martial arts of the Jedi and share the knowledge of the legendary knights with her - as Yoda once did with Luke in "The Empire Strikes Back". But here, as in so many places in the film, what Master Luke says so meaningfully in the trailer applies: It will not work as you imagined.
Origin is no longer fate
In contrast to his predecessor film, which mainly played with when and which character had its appearance, episode 8 offers real surprises and twists. This affects not only the course of individual battles and duels, but also the development of the central figures. The paternal murder that Kylo Ren committed to Han Solo is used by Johnson as a much needed break with the most important narrative tradition of the "Star Wars" series: The heroic journey that Luke Skywalker once embarked on is neither for Rey nor for Kylo Ren an option.
Without a father figure falling from the base, which Han Solo also represented for Rey, both are on their own. Origin is no longer fate for her, but that does not relieve the burden that comes with power. Whichever side they choose is now up to them, and in the absolute loneliness that comes with it, they suddenly find a connection across the vastness of the universe.
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"Star Wars: The Last Jedi": Fought FreeIn these places, which - absolutely unusual for a "Star Wars" film - are carried by conversations and not by the fight, the star cast also pays off. Kylo Ren in particular is gaining in profile and, thanks to the outstanding Adam Driver, is finally becoming a villain who is more feared than the blow-dry wave. It is his tornness that fuels the film like a nuclear fission. Everything seems possible with him, repentance as well as total destruction. Rey can only counter this with determination, but the way Daisy Ridley does with literally gritted teeth is rousing.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
USA 2017
Script and direction: Rian Johnson
Actors: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Laura Dern, Kelly Marie Tran, Andy Serkis
Production: Walt Disney Pictures, Lucasfilm, Ram Bergman Productions
Distribution: Walt Disney Germany
FSK: from 12 years
Length: 152 minutes
Start: December 14, 2017
One almost wished that the film concentrated even more on the two. But that would negate the prudence and accuracy with which Rian Johnson stages his other characters. Instead of three main characters, two droids and a wookie, he has to control a much larger ensemble than the old films. But he not only finds a moment for each of his characters in which it becomes important. He even has room to introduce some very strong new characters - most notably Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo and Kelly Marie Tran as Engineer Rose.
The first cute animal in the film series that doesn't get on your nerves from a standing start
The fact that Johnson has this space is mainly due to the running time of over 150 minutes: "The Last Jedi" is the longest film in the "Star Wars" series to date. At the same time, it also feels like the richest, because there is no level that would have been neglected in staging because of the large ensemble or the varied history. Action and humor are also right, even the set design has been cleverly developed: the harsh black and white contrasts in the world of the empire are now complemented by a bluish-cold red, which gives the fight scenes an additional thirst for blood.
And as if that weren't enough, Johnson even succeeds in what all other "Star Wars" films failed before: With the big-eyed Porgs, which seem to be a mixture of guinea pigs and penguins, he creates the first cute animal species Film series that doesn't get on your nerves from a standing start.
Johnson may have hidden a second memo of himself in the film. "We are not fighting against what we hate," it says at a crucial point, "but for what we love." The fight that "The Last Jedi" represents has been won on all fronts.
In the video: The trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"