Five (Non-spoiler) Fun Trivia on Star Wars: The Last Jedi you should know before you catch it in cinema

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the long awaited sequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) is coming to Singapore cinemas and we were invited the gala premiere last evening.

This is the second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy after The Walt Disney Company’ acquired Lucasfilm and Disney’s Star Wars have some differences compared to George Lucas’ Star Wars. The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, and Gwendoline Christie in returning roles, with Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro joining the cast.

Overall, the movie is well-received by critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has a 94% approval rating based on 160 reviews to date, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website’s critical consensus reads “Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga’s rich legacy while adding some surprising twists—and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for.” We agree with the consensus. The movie is well-paced and entertaining, well worth the value of your ticket price.

Trailer:

Synopsis: 

Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

We know people hate spoilers for long-anticipated sequels like The Last Jedi, as such, instead of a movie review packed with spoilers, we would like to share five fun trivia on the lastest Star Wars movie which would help you to enjoy the movie better.

1.

Expect lots of cutesy creatures

There are lots and lots of them. From roundish penguin-like birds to Pokemon-like crystal cats and alien milk cows, we are expecting a lot of these creatures to be converted into plush toys and figurines for Disney to cash-in on the merchandise sales.

The penguin-like bird is particularly adorable and drew lots of “awwww” and “ahhhh” reactions from the audience whenever they appear on screen. We expect them to be hit merchandise sellers.

2.

There’s lots of screen time for non-white as well as female casts

Kelly Marie Tran has lots of screen time for an Asian actress in a big-budget Hollywood movie (and she truly deserves it, clocking in a stellar performance as an unsung hero character). I don’t recall any other Hollywood movies in recent history that award such a meaty role to a non-white actor. There are also lots of female characters as well as characters of all races represented throughout the movie.

Kudos to Disney for taking such a progressive approach to casting and going against the shame of Hollywood whitewashing.

3.

The universal movie theme is that the abrasive ones are not always the ultimate heroes

We like this very much. Without going into details, you will see this theme crossing across in a few different scenes. There’s almost a Jedi religion-like quality to this theme. If you like rooting for underdogs, you will like this movie.

4.

The end scene tells us that Disney intends to continue making Star Wars movies, way beyond our lifetime

After you watch the movie, you will understand why we say this. Star Wars Episode 1,000 anyone? Except we won’t get to see it. The Star Wars movie franchise is going to last for a very long time, maybe even forever, if Disney can sustain it and the franchise continues to churn the crazy profits it does for the studio through box-office takings, IP and merchandising.

5. 

There is no trailer after the end-credit

Unlike superhero movies produced by Marvel Studios or DC Movies, there is no trailer after the end-credit. Hence you can leave right after you finish watching the movie unless you really want to memorise the names of everyone involve in the production right down to the marketing team.

That’s it!

Enjoy the movie! Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be releasing in Singapore cinemas from 14 Dec. Go catch it and may the Force Be With You!