--- title: "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-wars-the-last-jedi" fi1m_score: 76 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 20 published: "2026-09-18T12:06:55.494798+00:00" updated: "2026-09-18T12:06:55.923752+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Directed by Rian Johnson · 2h 32m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Action, Science Fiction **Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 82 from 20 reviews *In a sentence:* Luke Skywalker takes the lightsaber, weighs it, and throws it over his shoulder; the film spends two and a half hours doing the same > Rian Johnson’s middle chapter throws away the lightsaber and half the audience’s expectations, and its scenes with Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver are the best this series has had in decades. Its casino subplot is not, and it runs 152 minutes. ## Synopsis The Resistance is evacuating its base as the First Order arrives. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) leads a bombing run against a dreadnought that costs more ships than it should, and General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) flees with what is left of her fleet, pursued by General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who answers to Snoke (Andy Serkis). Rey (Daisy Ridley) lands on the ocean planet Ahch-To carrying the lightsaber that once belonged to Luke Skywalker and finds Luke (Mark Hamill) living alone among stone huts and seabirds, wanting nothing to do with the Jedi or the war. She asks him to teach her. He asks her to leave. Aboard the fleet, Finn (John Boyega) meets Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a maintenance worker, and the two hatch a plan to get the ships out from under the First Order’s guns. ## Review Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed, inherited a stack of questions from J.J. Abrams’s *The Force Awakens* and is not much interested in most of them. He says so early, when Rey holds out the lightsaber and Luke takes it, weighs it, and throws it over his shoulder. It is the boldest thing this series has done in decades. It is also a film with three plots and interest in two of them, and at 152 minutes it has room for all three. The island is the reason to see it. Rick Heinrichs gives Luke a village of stone beehive huts on a green rock in the sea, and Steve Yedlin shoots it in rain and low grey light. Mark Hamill plays Luke as a man who decided years ago that he was wrong about everything and has grown fond of saying so. He is funny and he is sour, and we were moved more than we expected by a character we had last taken seriously at the age of nine. What did it was Hamill’s face when he sees the lightsaber, before he has said a word. Better still are Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, whose Rey and Kylo Ren find they can see and hear each other across the galaxy without wanting to. Johnson stages them as if the two were in one room, and Bob Ducsay cuts them like an ordinary two-hander, so that a hut in the rain and a black cabin on a warship become the same space. Driver plays Kylo as a grieving adolescent in a grown man’s body; he smashes his helmet against a wall and spends the rest of the film with nothing to hide behind. We have never wanted a villain in this series talked out of it before, and here we did. Then there is the rest. The Resistance fleet, under Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), is running from the First Order at a speed the First Order can match, so the film’s big chase is a line of ships not moving while a fuel gauge falls. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) spends it arguing with his superiors. Finn (John Boyega) and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) leave for a casino planet so that Heinrichs can build a gold-and-marble gaming floor and Michael Kaplan can dress a hundred gamblers, and none of it bears on anything that follows. We were bored, and then cross about being bored. Tran is warm and likeable and is handed a speech about war profiteers where a character should be; Boyega is left to run about. Andy Serkis’s Snoke sits in a room Yedlin lights entirely in red, wearing a gold dressing gown Kaplan might have cut for a Bond villain, and he is more fun than the part deserves. Domhnall Gleeson plays General Hux as a stooge, and the film opens with a joke at his expense, a prank call kept on hold, that tells you how seriously Johnson takes the First Order’s dignity. John Williams’s score works harder than it has in years, bringing the old themes in under new scenes without leaning on them. The comparison everyone reaches for is [*The Empire Strikes Back*](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back), and it is the right one: Johnson has borrowed its shape, the hero off with a hermit while the rest of the cast runs. What he adds is his own habit, from [*Brick*](https://film.one/film/brick) and [*Looper*](https://film.one/film/looper), of setting up what an audience expects and then declining to provide it. That habit produces the best scenes here. It also produces the second half’s turns, which we will not describe, and which split the audience we saw it with. Fisher, in her last performance as Leia, is not in it much, and she has one moment towards the end of the first act that stopped the cinema we were in dead. She looks tired, and the film lets her. See it on a big screen if you can, for the island and the red room and the two people talking across space. At home, the casino is a good moment to put the kettle on. *Fi1m score 76, published 18 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like it a great deal. Eighteen of the twenty reviews are positive, and several rank it as the strongest entry since The Empire Strikes Back. The praise clusters around Rian Johnson: his willingness to upend expectations, his humour, and the staging of the set-pieces. The scenes between Rey and Kylo Ren are singled out again and again, with Adam Driver’s performance often named as the film’s centre. Mark Hamill’s return as Luke and Carrie Fisher’s final appearance as Leia draw warm notices. The reservations are consistent even among admirers. Many reviews find the middle sags, and the Canto Bight subplot with Finn and Rose is the weak strand named most often. A few note that the film struggles to give every character something worthwhile to do. The spread is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom: The New Yorker stands almost alone in calling it calculated fan service, and Paste lands on a mixed verdict, thrilled by the Rey and Kylo material and unpersuaded by the rest. ### Reviews we read (20) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (5/5): The critic praises Rian Johnson's direction for delivering a tidal wave of energy, emotion and spectacle in this eighth Star Wars episode, with gripping character-driven face-offs and surprising tonal shifts. Some convoluted military plot strands and an underwritten new character are noted as minor flaws amid the overall euphoric mythic belief. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/12/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review-episode-viii-rian-johnson) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (5/5): The critic hails the film as thrilling and genuinely startling blockbuster filmmaking that flexes the Star Wars formula with surprises, strong performances and beautiful staging while respecting the saga's spirit. It singles out the inventive direction and emotional depth for praise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/star-wars-last-jedi-critics-review/) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★★): The critic calls it the best Star Wars film of the series for its wit, visual spectacle and unexpected emotional power, crediting Rian Johnson's genre-bending skill. It highlights the dense, layered storytelling and devastating emotional moments. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/film-review-star-wars-the-last-jedi-pssr39rll) - **Time Out** (5/5): The review calls it a triumph of comic irreverence and dramatic purpose that dazzles like the saga has not in decades. It singles out Johnson's confident direction and witty, wild approach for praise. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/london/film/star-wars-the-last-jedi) - **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (A): It is the most satisfying entry in the franchise since The Empire Strikes Back, blending Johnson's indie roots with blockbuster spectacle through rapid-fire trickery and narrative finesse. The film never lets up on its astonishing light-and-color show and cinematic ambition. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review-1201907581/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the most enjoyable and exciting Star Wars film in decades, the first flat-out terrific one since The Empire Strikes Back. He singles out its flowing unpredictability, emotional depth, and ability to deliver surprise alongside nostalgia. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-star-wars-last-jedi-review-20171212-story.html) - **Total Film** (90/100, inferred): An excellent middle chapter that propels the saga forward with wit, wisdom, emotion, and astonishing set-pieces while delving into themes of family, myth, and the Force. It is deeper and funnier than expected. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review/) - **Vulture** (90/100, inferred): The new Star Wars is shockingly good, achieving a fusion of junkyard genre parts and passion not seen since The Empire Strikes Back. Rian Johnson pinpoints the intersection of characters' need to belong and the special effects that lift those longings into myth. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review.html) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B+): The film locates the middle-chapter Empire Strikes Back mojo with a brilliant psychic communion between Rey and Kylo Ren that makes the dark side's allure feel real. It sags in the middle but lands on an affecting point about preserving cultural tradition without rigid dogma. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-last-jedi-locates-that-middle-chapter-empire-strik-1821221823) - **Sight and Sound**, Kim Newman (80/100, inferred): The review praises the film as a valedictory middle chapter that delivers emotion, spectacle, and character complexity, particularly for Kylo Ren. It highlights Rian Johnson's skill in balancing seriousness with charm and humour to avoid a complete downer. [Read](https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/star-wars-episode-viii-last-jedi-eighth-time-charm) - **Empire**, Ian Freer (70/100, inferred): The film delivers expected Star Wars thrills alongside surprising story twists, character arcs, and emotional weight, though some middle sections drag. It belongs to Luke Skywalker and respects Leia while offering bold narrative moves. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-wars-last-jedi-review/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (70/100, inferred): The film is generally pleasing and loaded with action that satisfies franchise fans, though it sometimes struggles to give all characters meaningful roles. It features welcome humor and a vigorous score from John Williams. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/star-wars-last-jedi-review-1066656/) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic's Pick): The critic finds the film a satisfying, at times transporting entertainment with visual wit and a human touch. She singles out Adam Driver's raw performance as Kylo Ren for delivering a potent portrait of villainy as a choice. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/movies/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review.html) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): The review highlights one mysterious, inspired central sequence but faults the film overall as calculated fan service and conformity. It criticizes the plotting as compulsory and the storytelling as chillingly consensus-driven rather than personal or innovative. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/star-wars-the-last-jedi-reviewed) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film one of the strongest entries in the series, delivering maximum fun through brilliant action sequences, state-of-the-art effects, and strong character development for both new and returning players. They single out the poignant final screen presence of Carrie Fisher as Leia, along with the showcase for Mark Hamill as Luke and the complexity given to Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. [Read](https://deadline.com/2017/12/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review-rian-johnson-luke-skywalker-carrie-fisher-lucasfilm-video-1202225528/) - **/Film**, Josh Spiegel (9/10): The critic calls it the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back and praises how Rian Johnson upends expectations while delivering surprising moments and strong performances. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/555015/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review/) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (90/100, inferred): Calls it a wonderful, generous blockbuster that revitalizes the franchise with invention, heartfelt storytelling, and strong character work while honoring its past and future. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2017/12/12/star-wars/star-wars-the-last-jedi-film-review-rian-johnson) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B+): Praises the film's bold subversion of expectations, strong visuals, and standout performances while noting it takes chances with humor and themes. Criticizes pacing issues and a weaker subplot on Canto Bight. [Read](https://collider.com/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4 out of 5): The critic praises Rian Johnson’s film for adding needed ambiguity to the Star Wars universe and boldly taking the series in unexpected new directions while subverting nostalgia. It singles out the compelling dynamic and chemistry between Rey and Kylo Ren, along with the film’s visual poetry in its action sequences. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-the-last-jedi-review/) - **Paste**, Jim Vorel (50/100, inferred): Mixed verdict on a film with thrilling highs in the Rey-Kylo dynamic, parentage reveal, Snoke's death, and throne room fight, but disappointing lows in the pointless Finn-Rose subplot and other elements. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/article/four-things-i-love-and-four-things-i-hate-about-st) ## Details - **Director:** Rian Johnson - **Director:** Rian Johnson - **Writer:** Rian Johnson - **Cinematography:** Steve Yedlin - **Editor:** Bob Ducsay - **Music:** John Williams - **Production design:** Rick Heinrichs - **Costume design:** Michael Kaplan - **Producer:** Ram Bergman, Leifur B. Dagfinnsson, Andres Jauernick - **Cast:** Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker / Dobbu Scay (voice); Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa; Adam Driver as Kylo Ren; Daisy Ridley as Rey; John Boyega as Finn; Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron; Andy Serkis as Snoke; Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata - **Runtime:** 2h 32m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 15 December 2017 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $300 million - **Box office:** $1.33 billion - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY ## Where to watch in the US - Disney+: streaming, uhd - Hulu: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $9.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-18.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2018: Best Original Score (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Sound Editing (nominated); Best Visual Effects (nominated) - Empire Award for Best Actress 2018: Empire Award for Best Actress (won) - Empire Award for Best Director 2018: Empire Award for Best Director (won) - Empire Award for Best Film 2018: Empire Award for Best Film (won) - Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2018: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated) - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain 2018: MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (nominated) - Saturn Awards 2018: Best Actor (won); Best Editing (won); Best Writing (won) - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Sci-Fi/Fantasy 2018: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Sci-Fi/Fantasy (won) ## If you liked this - *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), Fi1m 92: The film Johnson is answering: a hero with a hermit, everyone else on the run. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back.md) - *Brick* (2005), Fi1m 81: Johnson’s first film, a school noir that already enjoys refusing what you expect. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/brick.md) - *The Hidden Fortress* (1958): Kurosawa’s peasants-and-princess adventure, which Lucas borrowed from freely; see where the shape came from. - *Unforgiven* (1992), Fi1m 92: Another old hero dragged back from a self-imposed exile, and even sourer about it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/unforgiven.md) - *Logan* (2017), Fi1m 83: The same year’s other tired hero with a young stranger at his door, done with more blood. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/logan.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/star-wars-the-last-jedi