Blu-ray review – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Now that the controversy over Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi has calmed down, here comes the home video release to reignite passions over what has been the most divisive Star Wars film since The Phantom Menace. Available on standard Blu-ray, DVD as well as 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, the release comes packed with behind-the-scenes features that actually shed some light on the notoriously secretive production, including Mark Hamill’s much-discussed misgivings about Luke Skywalker’s characterization in this latest entry.

The main extra feature of note on the disc is The Director and the Jedi, a feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary that delves into every major aspect of the film’s production, from the writing through to the costume and set design, the special effects, and of course the direction, with Rian Johnson nervously / excitedly discussing the truly gargantuan steps required to bring the latest entry in the world’s most beloved franchise to life.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi..AT-M6 Walkers, along with Kylo’s Shuttle. Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Mark Hammill has made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t fond of his character Luke Skywalker’s portrayal in The Last Jedi, and that dichotomy between the star and Rian Johnson is one of the most fascinating aspects of the doc. Disney / Lucasfilm could have easily eliminated those scenes and produced a standard EPK-style promo feature, but leaving them in shows just how committed Johnson was to making this a very different Star Wars film, even if it meant upsetting the veritable heart and soul of the franchise.

Other extras include a variety of deleted scenes, a commentary track with Johnson, a series of behind-the-scenes breakdowns of three key moments from the film, a feature on Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance and more.

The Last Jedi may have a few issues with plotting (read our in-depth review here), but overall this is the strongest Star Wars film since the reboots began way back in 1999 with The Phantom Menace (a film this writer may or may not have camped out overnight to see). With a stelalr audio / video presentation and extras that go beyond simply extolling the virtues of the film you’ve just seen, the Blu-ray release comes highly recommended. Now let’s get that 4K release of the original trilogy please!