Now in its 40th year, the Star Wars franchise is back and better than ever with newbie director Rian (“Breaking Bad” meets “Looper”) Johnson’s The Last Jedi. TLJ is the longest Star Wars movie to date, clocking in at 2½ hours, but time flies by, thanks to Johnson’s deft direction, composer John Williams’ never-gets-old musical score, and an original story that provides new takes and refreshing insights on George Lucas’ original “space opera” brainchild.
Watched literally, The Last Jedi is a metaphor for our time, pitting the rag tag multi-racial (and multispecies!) rebel Resistance against a powerful imperial First Order, whose army of angry (mostly) white guys with planet-destroying weapons look like they came straight out of Trump/Bannon central casting (with more than a few not-so-subtle nods to the Third Reich). In this reading, TLJ’s most intriguing character is a minor thief named DJ, played by Benicio del Torro, who makes clear that his only interest in life is to amass huge profits by selling weapons to any and all sides and watching them destroy each other. Note to discerning citizens of our US Empire – a truer metaphor for the world’s central banksters and the US military-industrial complex would be difficult to find.
But heck – it’s the holidaze. So, in the spirit of the season, here is a TOP 10 list capturing the apolitical best of The Last Jedi.
Watch closely, and prepare your children for what is to come. A new century that is already looking very little like the previous.
Be the Resistance! Happy New Year.
Publisher’s Note: We found this VOX review provocative, as well.
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