The Force Awakens was a brilliant comeback for the successful space franchise, peaking as the third highest-grossing movie in the world, and good for Disney who paid millions to acquire it; naturally, hopes were high that the second instalment in the return series would be as good, directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Knives Out). Basically, following the battle of Starkiller Base, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, in her last film) is leading the Resistance forces in evacuating their base when the First Order fleet arrives. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) goes against orders and leads a costly counterattack that destroys a First Order dreadnought. The remaining Resistance escapes into hyperspace, but the First Order uses a device to track them, and attacks again. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) cannot bring himself to fire at the lead Resistance ship after sensing his mother Leia is on board, but his wingmen destroy the bridge, killing most of the Resistance's leaders. Leia is dragged into space but survives by using the Force. While Leia recovers, Vice-Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) takes over command of the Resistance. Running low on fuel, the remaining fleet is pursued by the First Order. Meanwhile, former storm trooper Finn (John Boyega) wakes up from his coma, and he asks for Rey (Daisy Ridley). Rey has just arrived on the planet Ahch-To with Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and R2-D2 (Jimmy Vee) on the Millenium Falcon to find Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Luke doesn't want to see her or know who she is and why she has sought him out. After initially saying that the Jedi should end, he hears what happened to Han Solo, and is encouraged by R2-D2. Luke has a change of heart and agrees to give Rey three lessons in the ways of the Force. Rey and Kylo begin communicating through the Force, which puzzles them both. Kylo tells Rey that Luke feared his power. Luke confesses that he thought about killing Kylo, sensing that Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) was corrupting him. This prompted Kylo to destroy Luke's new Jedi Order, and caused him to disappear and self-exile himself. Convinced that Kylo can be redeemed, Rey leaves Ahch-To. Luke prepares to burn the Jedi library but hesitates when the spirit of master Yoda (Frank Oz) appears. Yoda uses the Force to summon a bolt of lightning to destroy the library and encourages Luke to learn from his failure. Meanwhile, Poe entrusts Finn, mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), and BB-8 with a secret mission to disable the First Order's tracking device. Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) directs them to the casino town of Canto Bight, where they meet the hacker DJ (Benicio Del Toro). The local security pursues them, but they escape Canto Bight with the help of stable hand children and racing animals they set free. Finn, Rose, and DJ infiltrate Snoke's flagship but are captured by Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie). Kylo brings Rey to Snoke, who reveals that he connected their minds to discover Luke's whereabouts. Holdo plans to evacuate the remaining Resistance members using small transport vessels. But Poe believes her plan is cowardly and futile and leads a mutiny. Leia recovers but also wishes to proceed with the evacuation and stuns Poe with a blaster. Holdo remains aboard the ship as a decoy to mislead Snoke's fleet as the others flee to an abandoned base on Crait. DJ buys his freedom by revealing the Resistance's plan to General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and the First Order fleet fire at the evacuation transports, with many being destroyed. Kylo is ordered to kill Rey, but instead kills Snoke and defeats his Praetorian Guard with her help. Rey hopes that Kylo has abandoned the Dark Side, but he instead asks her to rule the galaxy with him. She refuses and they battle for control of Luke's lightsabre, with the weapon being broken. Holdo sacrifices herself by slicing through Snoke's flagship at lightspeed, crippling the First Order fleet. Rey escapes the destruction while Kylo declares himself Supreme Leader. BB-8 frees Finn and Rose who fight Phasma, she is defeated and falls to her death, and the pair join the survivors on Crait. When the First Order arrives, Poe, Finn, and Rose attack with obsolete speeders. Rey and Chewbacca draw TIE fighters away in the Millennium Falcon, while Rose stops Finn from sacrificing himself. The First Order penetrates the Resistance fortress using a siege cannon. The Resistance and First Order are surprised when Luke suddenly appears on the battlefield, allowing the surviving Resistance to escape. Kylo orders the First Order's forces to fire on Luke, but they fail to harm him. Kylo and Luke engages in a lightsabre duel, but when he manages to strike Luke, Kylo realises that Luke is not physically present, but projecting his image through the Force. Rey helps the remaining Resistance escape on the Falcon. Luke has exhausted his power and dies peacefully on Ahch-To, becoming one with the Force. Rey and Leia sense his death, and Leia tells Rey that the Resistance can rise again. At Canto Bight, the stable hands recount the story of Luke Skywalker, and one of the children is seen moving a broom with the Force and gazing into space. Also starring Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix, Veronica Ngo as Paige Tico, Justin Theroux as Master Codebreaker, Adrian Edmondson as Captain Peavey, Mark Lewis Jones as Captain Canady, Chewing Gum's Michaela Coel as Resistance Monitor, Ralph Ineson as Senior First Order Officer, Shauna Macdonald as Temporary Command Center Resistance Pilot, Andy Nyman as Jail Guard, Lily Cole as Party Girl Lovey, Warwick Davis as Wodibin, the voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Slowen Lo, Gareth Edwards as Resistance Trench Soldier, and Edgar Wright as Resistance Trooper. The late great Fisher and Hamill remain as likeable as they were in the originals, Ridley and Boyega continue to delight with their breakout roles, Isaac is given a bit more to do, Driver gets more depth as the villain, and there is a terrific supporting cast, including recognisable talents like Dern, Gleeson, and Edmondson. I'm happy that this direct sequel continued to meet and fulfil my expectations, the story is well written and played out, the chase, fight and battle sequences are highly exciting, and the special effects are amazing, another triumph and I cannot wait for the conclusion in this new trilogy, a splendid science-fiction fantasy action adventure. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score for John Williams, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing, and it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Sound, and Best Special Visual Effects. Star Wars was number 24 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Very good!
