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Movie Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - "This is not going to go the way you think," says Mark Hamill's iconic Luke Skywalker at one point to the protagonist, Rey.

But is that true of the movie itself?

Well, it is and it isn't.  That is, there are mildly surprising developments along the way in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and yet the overall production is pretty much what we expected.

Yep, here we sit, 40 years later, and The Force is still with us.

Star Wars, the eye-popping 1977 space opera that kicked off the beloved and influential franchise and, as a cultural phenomenon, ushered in the blockbuster era, now presents itself as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the middle installment of the third trilogy, once again located in a galaxy not that far, far away.

Once again, we get technical polish, stimulating imaginativeness, exhilarating action, arresting imagery, striking otherworldly settings, and inescapable contemporary resonance.

Oh, and lots of glossy fun, to boot.

The sequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi comes to us from writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper), who takes the directorial reins from J.J. Abrams and jumps right in where it's predecessor left off.

Daisy Ridley's Jedi-in-training, Rey, having entered the Jedi world in search of her destiny, joins the subtitle character, whom we got a glimpse of in the previous film's final shot and who helps her discover her abilities and powers and helps guide her on an adventure with Leia (the late Carrie Fisher), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac), with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) still representing their adversary, in the hope that light might be shed on abiding secrets and mysteries that have thus far remained elusive.

Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

Whether you're familiar with some or all of the Star Wars episodes that have preceded The Last Jedi, installment number 8 in the franchise, you're apt to find this adventure accessible and involving.

Like its predecessors, The Last Jedi traffics in good-versus-evil hope rather than dystopian grimness and addresses the theme of dealing with loss without getting heavy-handed.

Johnson, calling on a  supporting ensemble that also includes Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Laura Dern, and Benicio DeToro, gives the film an effective sense of humor and smoothly delivers an installment that both provides a compelling narrative bridge to the next chapter and still satisfies on its own terms.

So we'll resist 3 stars out of 4 for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, among the best of the eight offerings thus far.  Casual viewers will be sufficiently diverted, but faithful fans should be downright enthralled.

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