BY JADEN MOUNT
In the midst of Luke Skywalker’s disappearance, the First Order, an authoritarian regime based on the Galactic Empire remnants, have participated in massive expansion and military policies. General Leia Organa of the Resistance is desperate in the search for her brother, dispatching Poe Dameron to the desert world of Jakku to seek out a clue from an old ally.
The old ally is not as secret as the general would hope. First Order forces, under the command of Kylo Ren, tracks Dameron to a Jakku village. The unsuspecting Resistance pilot obtains the information, but not before Ren’s men deploy. The villagers defend whilst Dameron escapes to his ship. Stormtroopers damage the engines, forcing a confrontation and the information given Dameron’s droid unit, BB-8.
First Order wins the skirmish with Ren interrogating the older man until the execution. Dameron is brought before Ren and is taken for more physical interrogation. The remaining villagers are then executed by the troopers, save one…FN-2187. This single stormtrooper, in his immediate shock of the situation, decides to abandon the authoritarian state. Dameron later reveals the identity of the BB droid unit with the map to Skywalker.
Back on Jakku, the scavenger Rey returns to Niima Outpost, trading salvage scrap for food rations. She stumbles upon a trapped BB-8, freeing and keeping him safe from the scavengers.
FN-2187 frees Dameron on false orders, telling the Resistance pilot he needs a ride off the First Order starship. The two secure a TIE fighter and FN-2187 is given a new name, Finn. Dameron tells Finn of BB-8 and the information he is carrying. As they head for Jakku, missiles strike the craft, sending it crashing to the planet. Finn finds his partner’s jacket, but no sign of him and believes the pilot to be dead.
Wandering through the desert, the First Order deserter makes his way to Niima Outpost, seeing a BB droid unit next to a woman, Rey. BB-8 recognizes the jacket Finn is wearing and Rey disables him with her staff. Finn exclaims he is a member of the Resistance, trying to get him and BB-8 off the plant. First Order units then storm the outpost in a search for BB-8, forcing the party to escape on the old Corellian freighter, the Millenium Falcon. Working together, the two outcasts fly through the wreckage of ships belonging to the old Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance, defeating a small band of TIEs.
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The party flies off to space and are intercepted by a larger transport ship, captained by Han Solo and Chewbacca. The ship is later docked by two crime gangs seeking to collect payments from Solo. One of the bosses sees the BB unit, saying the First Order is looking for one. Rey accidentally releases three Rathtars, large monstrous creatures that Solo captured not too long ago. Rey, Finn, BB-8, Solo, and Chewbacca all escape aboard the Falcon.
On the First Order planetoid Starkiller Base, Supreme Leader Snoke grants permission to destroy the New Republic’s Hosnian capital system. Solo explains to the Jakku pair about what happened to Skywalker and decide to take them to Takodana, to make contact with the Resistance. Finn reveals to Rey he is not a member of the Resistance and actually abandoned the First Order. Spies for the First Order and Resistance spot BB-8, relaying the information back for support. Rey discovers the Skywalker’s lightsaber, receiving a flashing vision of different events. Starkiller Base fires, destroying the entire Hosnian system along with the New Republic and their fleet. Ren’s forces then attack Takodana, when Ren himself chasing after Rey in the forrest.
Finn receives the Skywalker lightsaber and joins Solo and Chewbacca in fending off stormtroopers till being forced to surrender. Ren departs with Rey before Resistance fighters, including Dameron, fend off the remaining First Order forces. Solo reunites with General Leia Organa as they depart for the Resistance base on D’Qar. There, Resistance leaders plan out an attack on Starkiller Base.
Ren interrogates Rey, but the awakened force powers within the girl resist his mind probes. Snoke orders his prisoner to be brought to him at once. Solo, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate Starkiller Base and deactivate the planetary shield. Dameron leads a contingent of Resistance X-Wings, attacking the base oscillator but dealing little damage. The ground party, reuniting with Rey along the way, decide to plant explosives along the structure. Ren enters the structure with troopers to search for Solo.
Solo confronts Ren first, trying to appeal to him as a father. Ren refuses the pull to the Light Side, killing Solo with his saber. Chewbacca shoots Ren in the side before activating the detonators along the structure. Dameron sees the explosion and flies through it to cause enough damage to start the collapse of the planetary base.
Finn and Rey are confronted by Ren, who easily knocks Finn out of the fight. As Ren tries to retrieve the Skywalker lightsaber, Rey pulls it to her first using the Force. A duel begins, one which Rey wins and prevents herself from killing the opponent. She escapes with Finn aboard the Falcon with Chewbacca as Ren departs with First Order General Hux.
The Falcon returns with Organa and Rey understanding each other’s loss of Solo. R2-D2 reactivates after a long sleep, revealing a larger map that BB-8’s fits in. Rey and Chewbacca leave for Luke Skywalker’s location, finding him on the planet ocean world of Ahch-To.
Be sure to enjoy “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” in theatres today!