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New to Home Theaters: Latest Star Wars installment met with mixed emotions

By Olivia Goudy ogoudy@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read
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Though critics positively accepted the latest Star Wars film, fans had a surprisingly different take on the Rian Johnson sequel.

Known for his work on “Looper” and “The Brothers Bloom,” Johnson took the well-known franchise and made it his own in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

The beloved Star Wars saga continues with Rey (Daisy Ridley, “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Scrawl”), bound and determined to learn more about The Force that lies within her from her newfound mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”). At the same time, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver, “Paterson” and “Inside Llewyn Davis”) and General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson, “Frank” and “About Time”), still at one another’s throats, lead the First Order in an attack again Leia (the late Carrie Fisher, “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” and “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back”) and what’s left of the Resistance.

New favorites like Finn (John Boyega, “Attack the Block” and “Detroit”), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac, “Ex Machina” and “A Most Violent Year”), Snoke (Andy Serkis, “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring”), Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave” and “Black Panther”) and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie, “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2”) develop in the darker film, while audiences meet Vice Admiral Holda (Laura Dern, “Jurassic Park” and “Wild”), DJ (Benicio Del Toro, “Sicario” and “Traffic”) and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran, “Untouchable” and “XOXO”).

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” received a 90 percent fresh rating from critics, while audiences only gave it a 40 percent rating, both from the media review website, RottenTomatoes.com, while members of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) gave it 7.4 out of 10 stars.

Matthew Lickona gave the film two stars in his review for the San Diego Reader, noting that while elements may appear to be moving quickly, the film itself “lumbers like an AT-AT walker.”

“The devoted will no doubt be delighted; for the rest, a resigned acceptance may be the safest path to enjoyment,” he wrote.

In a review for The Atlantic, Christopher Orr wrote that “The Last Jedi” is a “fine film and a highly promising addition to the Star Wars canon.”

“But I can’t help but hope that the next installment in the current trilogy–for which J.J. Abrams is slated to retake the reins–is willing to take still greater chances: to grasp more of the franchise’s storied past in its hands and fling it the way of Kylo’s helmet.”

The film is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Other films that arrived on Blu-ray and DVD this week include:

n “Last Men in Aleppo” starring Khaled Umar Harah, Batul and Mahmoud, directed by Feras Fayyad, is a documentary about life during the Syrian civil war.

The film is not listed with a rating.

n “Acts of Violence” featuring Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser and Shawn Ashmore, directed by Brett Donowho, follows a pair of brothers set out to track and save someone.

The film is rated R.

n “The Last Movie Star” directed by Adam Rifkin, starring Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter and Clark Duke, follows an aging film star as he discusses growing old and his fame.

The film is rated R.

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