Contains major spoilers !!!!!

Huge and utterly dissapointing. After TFA I said this movie would make or break the story. For me it broke.

Where to begin? Let´s start with my biggest problem.

After that rebel cruisers bridge was hit and Leia was thrown into space we saw her drifting in the cold empty vacuum of space. This was a powerful scene and I had tears welling up in my eyes thinking that would be a great ending for the character dying how she always lived. Fighting. I did not realise, or care, that it would have been a huge coincidence had they written this scene at that point not knowing Carrie would pass away. But as I said powerful scene. And then she opens her eyes and floated back into the ship still beeing alive. At that point I was seriously considering leaving the cinema. It´s scifi but, please, without as much as a hint of an explanation that is just awful writing. It is Disney all over it. Anyway I stayed and watched the rest but in general I was done with the movie.

There are tons of other things I didn´t like.

- way to much unnessesary and stupid humor. Most of the time it does not fit and just destroys scenes. Holding for General Hux - that might have been OK once but two or three times it just becomes goofy. And there is more of this througout the movie.

- the writing was all over the place. So much things going on that do little to nothing for the general plot and just add playtime. Like that whole thing with the codebreaker, going to the casino. Just sugarcoating CGI.

- and speaking of playtime - way too long. About five times towards the end I thought it was over. It could have ended when the reached the rebel base- no let´s add another battle. When they realised they where trapped. With Luke going out to face Kylo. At some point I would have been OK with the movie ending with the First Order defeating the rebels, everyone dying, and the franchise done with. But of course that is not happening and the movie ends.....no, just show us a kid with a broom looking at the stars and indicate he could be the hero of a future movie.

- in many ways the continuation of storylines is not satisfiying. They introduce Snoke in the first movie without an explanation who he is, where he comes from and how he got there. Would have been OK, could have done later. So now he´s dead without so much as a fight and there are questions left to be answered.

- what about Rey ? Are we really to believe her parents were some drunk and drifting scavengers that sold her for money like Ren said ? That would be very stupid because how in the universe could she master the Force in ways even the best Jedis or Sith couldn´t without as much as years of training. Another void in the storytelling.

- too many, shall I call them, homage scenes ? A lot of times I felt I had already seen this movie. The scene in the throne room f.e. Snoke = Emperor, Rey = Luke, Ben = Vader, the destruction of the rebel fleet playing in the background and the Ben killing Snoke is like Vader killing the Emperor. I know that was said about TFA as well but I feel it´s much worse here. The Battle of Hoth reviseted would be another thing where they re-did some scenes to a T. All that was left was tow cables.

Those are just some examples of the things I disliked and maybe there could be satisfactory explanation later. There is a lot more but it would take too much time to write it down. But I doubt I will go to the cinema for the next one.

To be fair there where some positives in this movie.

- I liked the scenes with Rey and Luke althought they did not really lead anywhere. But some nice insights into Lukes story after ROTJ.

- The conversations between Kylo and Rey where very interesting and I thought there was really potential to steer the story to something new and exciting. Not happening.

So overall I was not satisfied. I really like TFA, it built some expectations that where all crushed with this. As far as I am concerned I am done with this new story. I am not not very eager to find out what else the canibalise and how they try to write themselves out of this. There is nothing left.

This is my view of the movie. If you liked it I´m happy for you.

May the Force be with us. Always.

"This is not going to go the way you think"

That's what kept happening to me. I thought one thing was going to happen and then something entirely different happens. I find that very entertaining. I really liked the way this was shot, the editing was fantastic. It was a little long. I really liked what Rian Johnson was able to expand on this universe while still focusing on a Skywalker story. I think the new Star Wars trilogy he is in charge of is in good hands.

I need a little more time to digest the movie and I would like to see it again before I give all my thoughts on the story. This felt like its own story and not a rehash at all. I think this is going into a very interesting direction. I look forward to seeing what J.J. Abrams can do.

EDIT:

After a second viewing I still really like this. I think it moves the story and universe forward. Not much happens directly happens between the First Order and the Resistance. A lot of resistance die and their base is blown up but that’s nothing new for them and they did blow up the First Order’s base in TFA. The main point of the movie is character development. Like Kylo Ren said, "Let the past die." I think that is what this movie does. And not just because Luke dies or Snoke dies but they aren't going to rely on the original trilogy for everything.

I think part of the reason this movie having some fan backlash is because this movie does its own thing. It takes what The Force Awakens sets up and just kills certain plot points people have been theorizing about for 2 years. If you just sit back and go with what the movie is trying to accomplish then you will have a better time then trying to fight everything this movie does.

Rey's Parents: Nobodies. Unexpected but I can totally buy i . Especially with the last shot on the orphan kid with force powers. The Force was trying to balance itself matching Kylo Ren with Rey. I know people wanted her to be a Kenobi but I think this is more interesting.

Snoke's backstory: We got nothing. He is killed off without finding out anything about how he rose to power. Was he someone we would of known from before or are we just spoiled and expect him to be someone? Did Kylo Ren want his power or was he just trying to get away from him.

Luke training Rey: We all thought this was going to be like Yoda training Luke in Empire Strikes Back but it goes in an unexpected direction. There really wasn't any training. Rey has the Jedi books but will that help her? Maybe Luke will come back as a Force Ghost to coach her like Ben did for him.

Yoda coming back, as a puppet, was great to see. Luke and Leia's "reunion" was also nice to see. The Crait landscape was really cool with all the salt and red dirt. Crystal Critters and Porgs are specifically in here to sell toys. I totally thought they were going to be annoying but I was surprised and I actually really like Porgs.

There were some things I thought were a little stupid. Leia saving herself using the force to fly? I was genuinely shocked because I knew they weren't going kill her off after Carrie Fisher's unfortunate death but I thought maybe they would. Her having strong force powers I assumed but her never really using them and then all of a sudden flying to save her life was a little Deus Ex Machina.

Finn and Rose's story was my least favorite of the three main plot lines. It felt a little point less. Why did Finn call Maz too? He barley knows her. So they go find a code breaker, which happened to be played by Justin Theroux and I got super excited because I love The Leftovers TV show, but it just was a cameo. Benicio Del Toro's DJ was an interesting character. He is right, there are no good guys and bad guys, only people who are looking for personal gain whether it is ruling the Galaxy or more money. Is Phasma dead now? She fell into fire but I hope she can come back. She still really hasn't done much. It really is this plot line that expands the universe with weapon dealers and Force sensitive orphans and most of new creatures. I think this is what Rian Johnson's new trilogy could be the most like, more of a political drama with interesting new planets and creatures then a space epic. That might not be what people want from Star Wars but as a fan of Sci-fi I'm excited to see what he can do.

If The Force Awakens was about looking back and connecting it to the past, The Last Jedi was about looking forward and looking to the future.

This movie is right behind TFA for me. Here is a list of my personal rankings of all the Star Wars movies:

`https://letterboxd.com/nmahoney416/list/star-wars-ranked/`

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Finally, I managed to watch one of my most anticipated movies of 2017! I am an authentic fanboy of the Star Wars saga and I loved its return two years ago when The Force Awakens was released. Everything looked better, sounded better and the story certainly didn't disappoint me. So, obviously, I was extremely looking forward to The Last Jedi.

Apparently, critics love Episode VIII but fans not so much. Me, well ... I don't LOVE it, but I do enjoy it very much. I do think it is a bit below the previous film's overall quality since it definitely has some issues the first one did not. I am also confident that I know why the fans are not loving this movie and I will explain that after a few paragraphs.

This time, I am going to start at the other side of the spectrum. I will begin my review with the film's problems because I do need to get them out of my mind, especially this one ... The subplot involving Finn (John Boyega), Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and DJ (Benicio Del Toro), some of the few new characters added to the franchise, completely ruins the movie's pacing and its narrative is such a tremendous deviation from the main story. It is, by far, the worst issue I have with the screenplay because it does not work as one single problem ... It creates a whole other set of them.

The first act's pacing is really fast since it starts with tons of action sequences. However, the second act decreases the rhythm and it is more story-driven, full of mystery-unlocking and character-development scenes. Finn and Rose's nonsense adventure just turns everything slower and even strange. It ends up needlessly extending the runtime (the film could have easily been 15min shorter) and worse ... Possibly creating a love triangle with Rey (I am not even going to discuss this).

Apart from this major issue(s), I have some minor problems. General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is a strong candidate to become the most annoying character in this new-generation trilogy. Gleeson is fine, he actually achieves a good over-the-top performance, but his character is just tumbling off the rails. Also, on a more technical aspect, the writing does not flow as well as it did on J.J. Abrams' screenplay. There are a lot more exposition scenes which also does not help the pacing at all.

I wrote earlier about the fans' reasons for them to be disappointed and well, the marketing for the movie did not lie: they do take a lot of chances with this one. Rian Johnson delivers a lot of twists and shocks throughout the whole runtime and it is impossible to assume that every single one of them is going to be mind-blowing and unanimously accepted. I do not want to give anything away from the plot, so I am just going to write that most of the choices and paths they choose for each character, I either simply accept them or I truly love them. As for the rest, I am, at most, underwhelmed (yet, I trust and understand the decisions they went with).

People need to learn how to deal with their own expectations. If you expect something utterly absurd and nonsensical to occur and then it does not, you can't blame the film for not following your crazy idea. So, please, don't start blabbing any movie is bad or disappointing because it didn't fulfill your ridiculously high expectations. Even if they are grounded and thoughtful, you have to embrace the production's approach to the character/story. If it makes sense, then it is as valid as any other theory. It might be underwhelming if you have high expectations, but it is still a serious take on whatever you are thinking.

This is why I think fans are not loving The Last Jedi. The production takes a lot of risks and some of them don't work with everyone, mostly due to fans' radical theories that don't have a place in the film. I think most people might change their initial opinion after a second viewing, myself included. Some things just need more time to process or even a whole rewatch. Since I do not have time to do it before the year's end, I am going with what I have.

Switching to the light side (hehe), I do enjoy this movie a lot. Every cast member that was great in Episode VII, transcends themselves in this one. Daisy Ridley is superb as Rey. She has such a massive range of expressions and I am sure her successful future as an actress is surely guaranteed. From the most emotional and somber moments to the most epic action scenes, she is awesome. Her character's mysterious backstory reaches a whole new extent and her interactions with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Luke Skywalker inflict chills all over my body.

Mark Hamill's comeback can't be any more amazing than it is. He delivers a fantastic, emotion-full and very compelling performance. It is even more unbelievable knowing that Hamill had strong personal arguments against the director's interpretation of what was better for Luke. If he is this astounding working against his own idea of who his character really is, then I must praise his exemplary working principles.

Luke and Rey spend a big chunk of the runtime training on an unknown island and I love every single second filmed on that piece of land. I have to admit that I am a bit frustrated because I think the film should have more time with these two, but due to the issues mentioned in the beginning of my review, the runtime can't be much more stretched. I love what they did with Luke, even if some fans are going to go insane with his journey.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren ... The undoubtful star of the whole show. Driver is becoming a menace to every actor working today because he is flawless. He has a powerful, dark, mysterious, compelling and commanding display as one of the most complex and multi-layered characters of the Star Wars saga. Ren's conflict inside his mind and heart is the most captivating feature of his story and his interactions with Rey are so jaw-dropping spectacular that I can't even describe them properly.

John Boyega is once again great as Finn, even though he is part of that horrible subplot. Boyega delivers a convincing performance and Finn shines through some awesome action set pieces. Kelly Marie Tran is actually good as Rose, it is just a pity that her character suffers from the narrative, even though her backstory is pretty touching. Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and the Porgs, the new cute animals implemented in the Star Wars universe, have all the funny scenes plus some action here and there.

Oscar Isaac is quite lucky because Poe Dameron unquestionably has the best subplot of the movie. Isaac offers a very passionate display as Poe goes through some significant character development. His impulsive instincts to attack the bad guys always have consequences and he is put in check by Leia (Carrie Fisher) during the whole time. It is a very interesting and twistful story that elevates the film's main plot.

Carrie Fisher is elegant and beautiful as Leia, a character that has a lot more screentime than what I expected. I always love seeing Fisher on the screen and she makes everything a bit more realistic to me. Andy Serkis is remarkable as Supreme Leader Snoke, but his character is yet another plot's detail that fans are not going to appreciate so much. I still feel underwhelmed by Snoke in this movie for several reasons, but after some thinking, I do understand his role in the film and his moments are indeed intimidating and dominant.

Rian Johnson work as the director is better than him as the writer. The visuals effects continue to be wonderful and the practical settings are beautiful, once again, there is a lot less CGI than you probably think. Excellent cinematography and the John Williams' score induces enormous levels of nostalgia and excitement. The action sequences are mind-blowing, the stunt work is phenomenal and there are tons of pure epic and awesome scenes.

The main plot includes a very dark and mysterious side to it that I thoroughly love. A lot of unexpected twists and turns make The Last Jedi more original than The Force Awakens, even if one or two plot points might be underwhelming, and it also has a very well balanced tone. Finally, a thrilling, breathtaking, action-heavy third act ends the film with magnificent glory and with many heartfelt moments.

All in all, Star Wars: The Last Jedi delivers something that I can be proud of experiencing. Terrific performances from the cast, but a flawlessly powerful display from Adam Driver as Kylo Ren steals the spotlight. Rian Johnson takes a lot of risks with decisions that will make the fanbase debate for years and while I find most of them truly jaw-dropping, a few left me underwhelmed. The main story keeps its obscure mystery while packing some jaw-dropping, epic action sequences and excellent character-development scenes. Nevertheless, it departs from JJ’s visual storytelling, delivering a more exposition-heavy screenplay and some pacing issues bring the movie down, largely due to the unnecessary detour of the subplot involving Finn and Rose. In the end, it still belongs to my top half of the saga, fighting for the 4th spot with Return Of The Jedi and Rogue One.

Rating: B+

Can't get much worse than this apparently the clown that directed this directed a good episode of Breaking Bad something tells me there was a lot of editing after they kicked this clown off the site because if this is his style he is plainly clueless about Star Wars mainly but also on how to tell a coherent story. The only good thing about this garbage was the visuals but that's it don't bother you will just get pissed off watching this mess in the end like the rest of the theater we were in have never seen so many people booing in a theater.

This one killed the franchise! I have been watching Star Wars movies since they started literally, going to the theater and enjoying the fun. Love the original three. Liked the prequels well enough. I even enjoyed the cute little Ewok movies, with the kids.

These later films have been a mixed bag. Most were watchable enough, though not really the caliber of the old films Sure, the effects are great, but a good movie needs more than special effects and cool alien makeup and some fun droids.

This movie was seriously disappointing. Everything about familiar characters was changed, and the plot was so busy with pushing some weird agenda that it failed to deliver any of what we go to a Star Wars movie to see. At this stage, I couldn't care less about the newer characters, and the whole "Mary Sue" aspect to the one main girl (see, I can't even recall her name!) is just annoying. This film w bad enough that the dedicated SW fanboy in my household just quit watching, and actualy, for the first time ever, skipped the following movie entirely.

So, congrats, Disney; you killed one of the most successful franchises ever.