December brings another Star Wars film! Star Wars: The Last Jedi falls in line with familiar storylines, features strong performances and fabulous visuals. The new characters are making way for younger generations and we are seeing some of the original characters fade away but they will always be with us.
Thanks to Disney I screened the film with my 10-year-old daughter. It was a special mother/daughter bonding moment considering how much Star Wars has been a part of both our lives. It’s hard to talk about this film without spoilers but here are elements from the film that I appreciated as a mom:
Diversity – The new Star Wars world is ethnically diverse and includes stronger lead female characters. Its cast is more reflective of the real world. As someone from Asian descent, Rose’s character is a big win. I grew up seeing few Asians on TV. No one ever looked like me! Now young Asian children can see Rose and make a connection.
The force is strong with women – Girl power at its strongest! From this film, my daughter sees that she can be a kick-ass princess, a strong yet still feminine leader, and the force of a Jedi to believe in yourself. All of the characters show emotion, love, strength and loyalty. All great attributes as role models for girls as well as boys.
New characters – I feel that this movie is setting up the next generation of characters for the younger fans. Like the Porgs! My daughter adores them. Me? I’m not sure what their purpose is outside of being cute. Even the Ewoks helped the cause in Return of the Jedi. Porgs do offer some light comedy, merchandise opps and seem to keep Chewie distracted since he seems a little lost without Han.
Princess Leia- She is our all-time favorite princess and I was pleasantly surprised at how big of a role she had in the film. It made my heart happy! My daughter, who met Carrie Fisher a month before she passed away, can continue to see this legend on the big screen.
Rey and Kylo Ren – We enjoyed their transactions in this film more so than in The Force Awakens. It was suspenseful, dramatic and humorous. We are really interested to see where their storyline goes in future films.
Rose and Finn- They worked really well together and have a bond. What does this mean for Rey? Rose wasn’t afraid to show her tears or excitement for the unknown. She is one of my daughter’s favorites from the film. “She is brave and had to deal with loss but still kept fighting.”
Visuals – The effects are some of the best ever! You feel that this Galaxy really exists.
Snoke – The ultimate bad guy! Andy Serkis is amazing at what he does and he is so good at being bad.
With all the things we liked about the film, my daughter wishes that we learned more about Phasma. I think she wanted to connect with this character, learn about her but in usual storm trooper fashion, they tend to be faceless.
One of my favorite memories was seeing Return of the Jedi in the theater with my mom and brother back in the 80s. I’ve watched the original trilogy with my daughter and its awesome sharing my memories with her along with experiencing the new films through her eyes and seeing the exciting changes that have been happening in a galaxy far, far away…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters now!
