What’s it about?
Jedi – Sith / Rebellion – Empire / Resistance – First Order / Good – Evil / Vader – Luke / Rey – Kylo … everything is black and white, right?

Not anymore. Not when “The First Order Strikes Back” and the final trilogy in the Skywalker saga hits the darker, middle episode.

What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Sure there’s some darker material here (dark for a family movie) but there’s also comedy (a little too jovial for my taste, but it’s aimed at a younger audience), with the added bonus of some terrific social commentary on capitalism and war profiteering to make the kids think about how the world works.

Where The Last Jedi improves on Episode VII is that it’s captured the original movie’s soul: a super-fun, high-octane fantasy space opera with effects to make your jaw drop, heart-pumping action sequences, and a couple of tear-jerking moments.

The kids are dysfunctional and jaded about the universe and their place in it, the parents bicker and try to find meaning, while the passionate go to extremes.

It’s classic Star Wars and bodes well for the Rian trilogy recently greenlit by Disney.