The Last Jedi verdicts: what the critics think of Rian Johnson's Star Wars debut

Rey meets Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Rey meets Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The eighth Star Wars film has arrived like a premature Christmas present. The third in Disney's tranche of sequels and spin-offs since the House of Mouse bought LucasFilm in 2012, Star Wars: The Last Jedi picks up where 2016's The Force Awakens left off, with a reunion between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) tantalisingly close. 

Directed by Rian Johnson, the film has not been without its troubles: there were script rewrites and reshoots, not to mention the tragic death of Carrie Fisher at the end of last year while filming was still underway.

However, the finished product is now on the brink of a grand theatrical release. Here's what the critics have to say:

Robbie Collin, The Telegraph: ‘An unbridled joy’

★★★★★

“The Last Jedi mounts some genuinely startling narrative twists and feints, while charting an onward course for the franchise that has you itching to discover what comes next. That’s smart business practice, but it’s also exemplary blockbuster film-making.”

Kevin Maher, The Times: ‘The best Star Wars film of the series

★★★★★

The Last Jedi, the ninth official movie (including last year’s unforgivable spin-off, Rogue One) in a saga that launched the modern age of blockbusters, is a film of wit and wonder, of eye-gouging visual spectacle, and one that is buttressed by entirely unexpected, and frequently devastating, emotional power. And if it’s better, and more satisfying, than the original instalments, this is often because it talks to them so freely (and not entirely without criticism). 

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: ‘It’s impossible not to be swept away

★★★★☆

“The Last Jedi gives you an explosive sugar rush of spectacle. It’s a film that buzzes with belief in itself and its own mythic universe – a euphoric certainty that I think no other movie franchise has. And there is no provisional hesitation or energy dip of the sort that might have been expected between episodes seven and nine.”

Christopher Hooton, The Independent: ‘The funniest Star Wars film to date for sure

★★★★☆

“There is a pleasing feeling of ‘Where to begin?’ coming out of the cinema for one of those dazed, so-what-did-you think discussions. There are new aliens and areas aplenty, and the movie zings with fresh ideas. There is one new city in particular – wisely withheld from the trailers as a surprise – that is just bonkers, functioning like if the infamous cantina scene from the A New Hope was afforded the opulence of a second-act Bond location.”

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: ‘Mr Johnson largely succeeds despite having inherited an elaborate ecosystem

“Yes, the latest “Star Wars” installment is here, and, lo, it is a satisfying, at times transporting entertainment. Remarkably, it has visual wit and a human touch, no small achievement for a seemingly indestructible machine that revved up 40 years ago and shows no signs of sputtering out (ever).”

Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times: ‘Easily Star Wars’ most exciting iteration in decades’ 

“Written and directed by Rian Johnson, [The Last Jedi] is the series’ eighth official episode and easily its most exciting iteration in decades – the first flat-out terrific “Star Wars” movie since 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back.” It seizes upon Lucas’ original dream of finding a pop vessel for his obsessions – Akira Kurosawa epics, John Ford westerns, science-fiction serials – and fulfills it with a verve and imagination all its own.”

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: ‘Has the decided feel of a passing-of-the-torch

“Maybe the film is a tad too long. Most of the new characters could use more heft, purpose and edge to their personalities, and they have a tendency to turn up hither and yon without much of a clue how they got there; drawing a geographical map of their movements would create an impenetrable network of lines. But there's a pervasive freshness and enthusiasm to Johnson's approach that keeps the film, and with it the franchise, alive, and that is no doubt what matters most.”

Ian Freer, Empire: ‘A fitting tribute to Carrie Fisher

★★★★★

“Time and again, Johnson finds a cinematic grammar that feels new to Star Wars; big close-ups (tender touching hands), top shots, elegant camera tracks and pulling out in-world sound, leaving just music and image. In fact, there is a moment involving Leia that is as poetic as the series has ever been. And Johnson isn’t afraid to go trippy, either - a scene in which a character repeatedly clicks their fingers could have come from a ’60s arthouse flick. This is also the first Star Wars film to heavily indulge in flashback as opposed to visions. Be warned: those revelations will prove divisive.”