Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The second of the sequel trilogy is no Empire Strikes Back, but I did leave me feeling that Star Wars was in good hands, even if beginning to look a little formulaic.

In the good corner, the new director Johnson has coaxed better performances out of many of cast - with some, like Boyega. feeling like a real find now. Others like Gleeson have been pushed down the boo-hiss pantomime villain route. Even his makeup is theatrical now.

On the cast, it is now enormous - and even more of a sense of the batten being passed on.  That means that some old favourites get little more than cameos. The primary cast is now even more diverse, still feels a little tokenistic given that the supporting players and extras are not.

Direction-wise, some of the film raises the bar for the series. Some shots are so well composed they'd make great standalone photos, other sequences find new impact in well trod ones like ship explosions.

The addition of substantially more humour is greatly appreciated. Sadly, there's nothing here to challenge the caustic wit-laced interpersonal dynamic of Han/Leia at their best. But the fun is very much back. There's lots of visual gags, and enough one liners to fill a series of James Bond films.  Occasionally, it risks ruining the suspense of some scenes.

In the not-so good corner, there's no getting away from the fact this film is bladder burstingly overlong. It's not that there's not enough story, it's just that some of it feels superfluous.  For me, with its riffs on previous films - there's a slight feeling of movie making to a template (as per the various superhero films).  There were a couple of nice surprises to keep this old fan happy though.

Verdict: Confident follow-up.