Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Very surprised that the critics gave this a thumbs up. It's possibly among the worst Star Wars movies (including the prequels). It's entertaining, for sure, but in the way David and Jerry Zucker films of the 80's were crowd pleasers. This isn't something you go home thinking about or affecting you when you go home, at least in a good way.

The problem as I see it is that it tried to tackle too much in one movie. Worst, it spent so much time on unimportant (and seemingly inconsequential) events and not enough time on the bigger questions that were left hanging from TFA. The story structure is a mess. The Finn/Rose subplot could've been totally removed, and the new characters introduced were a waste of time.

Characterizations were very inconsistent. Characters who had already grown in TFA (Finn, Poe) suddenly regressed for no reason. Major characters (Rey, Kylo, Luke) would make surprising moves without any basis or set-up, for the sake of surprise. In fact a lot of the movie can be said as favoring a "twist" happening at the expense of consistent character development. The prequel movies' treatment of Anakin's character development was a lot more satisfying, AND that's a generally panned. At least the prequel movies' story tried in earnest, TLJ did worst that just phoning it in.

As some movies have become acclaimed films over time after an initial bashing by the critics (e.g. Bladerunner), this one I believe will take the opposite direction.

Here's hoping JJ fixes everything with IX.

The Last Jedi is a well-made film; it's visually stunning and well directed. The problem is that it singlehandedly ruined the sequel trilogy by closing the second chapter with a dead end. There are truly baffling character decisions, awkward humor, useless subplots - it's by far the most frustrating Star Wars movie because of the potential it had. If it were 20 minutes shorter, it could have been something special, but the last act sees our characters in the exact same spot as they began. As a standalone movie, it's watchable. As the second part of a trilogy, it's a disaster.

I love the Star Wars franchise. I was so anxious to watch The Last Jedi especially how The Force Awakens ended and how good The Force Awakens was. I bought my tickets a month and a half in advance in anticipation of episode eight.

As the movie started I was dialed in for the first 15 minutes then I noticed this subtle uneasiness in me like a disturbance in the force. It began with the interaction between Poe and Princess Leia. She made a comment and made a decision regarding Poe that I found a little unsettling. "OK." I thought. I didn't like that exchange but it's not a show stopper. The subtlety was that Leia was making it seem like the Rebels were in no need of heroes. They didn't need fighters anymore, they needed thinkers (or something akin to that). I took that little shift in philosophy in stride and kept eagerly watching. A couple of other small iniquities occurred but I soldiered forth watching with an open mind because it's "Star Wars".

Then, there came the interaction between Rey and Luke Skywalker.

Luke is part of movie folklore to me. Like many people have the one celebrity they'd like to meet: the one fictional character for me has always been Luke Skywalker. Luke was the first hero I'd seen wear black. He had piloting skills, light saber skills and could do Jedi mind tricks. He was the coolest.

Fast forward nearly 40 years and now Luke is an old man. So what I'm expecting is an older, WISER Luke. If Luke is on a deserted planet then it must be for a very good reason. And if Rey found him, much like Luke found Yoda, then Luke will have so much to impart upon Rey. That's not quite what went down. They made Luke a sullen pessimistic old man that was ignorant of simple truths. He offered so little; to the movie and to Rey. He was a shell of his former self, he was only good at being the ex machina. The Luke Skywalker in this movie was NOT the Luke Skywalker I knew. The Luke Skywalker I know was killed in this movie.

After seeing my fictional hero relegated to something unrecognizable I actually became bitter while watching the movie. There was almost nothing they could do to save the movie. And they didn't . In fact, it got worse. By the end the movie was more of what I should have saw coming: rebels running from the Republic and figuring out some remote yet heroic way to ward them off. And what added to the annoyingness of this movie is that they didn't know when or how to end it. What should have been the end was followed up by another half an hour mini movie with its own beginning, middle and end.

But unlike The Last Jedi I know how to end this post. Don't waste your time.

I say worst story ever because this is the worst story as a movie and makes some of the worst Star Wars books look better by comparison. This movie was poorly shot, poorly paced, and poorly written.

Rey is the most powerful character ever seen on screen. She is more powerful than any Star Wars character ever written in any book. In four days time she goes from not knowing the force exists to being the most powerful force user ever. I thought the midiclorian idea from The Phantom Menace was an absurd way to establish how powerful Anakin was and what his potential could be. With Rey she was able to become more powerful than anyone in a matter of days. She is a Mary Sue.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is the most useless and bipolar villain in the series. His mood swapping during the movie is tiring and unneeded. It makes him shallow and childish appearing.

Luke Skywalker was not in this movie. It was great seeing Mark Hamill give his all to a performance and I honestly think despite the writing he did an excellent job. But this was not Luke. Luke was the most positive and optimistic person in the galaxy. Rian Johnson turned him into a horrible version of a miserable human with nothing but negativity to guide him.

Leia should have died. Mary Poppins/Superman should have been her death. They could have then made Hodo take her place as the leader of the resistance. Instead we are left with Leia in a coma and are told that we need to listen to Hodo without question. I think Laura Dern is a brilliant actor who was written a poor story and given a meaningless death. She should have confided in Poe her plan instead of the strong trust me angle. Poe was one of the most trusted members of the resistance. There was no reason other than a political statement to be made in their interactions.

Finn became useless. I have no problem with the racial diversity that this movie provided. I though the original series was a bit lacking as Lando was the only black man in the galaxy. I appreciate strong characters. Rose is not that. What Rose does is kill the interaction between Poe and Finn. She diminishes Finn and he attempt to sacrifice himself but saving him for love. This after the whole movie she has preached that the resistance should come first. So she commits an act of saving Finn when she should have let him die to save the others. Her character is pointless and should have been left out of the story. Now does that mean the actor who portrayed her should have been cut? No. Write her a strong female character and let her have a role worthy of the talents of the actor.

A meaningless death suffered by the greatest tactical mind the rebellion ever had the privileged of following. Ackbar died by getting sucked into space. Seriously? What a death by the man who lead the attack on the second Death Star.

Why did Hodo not go ahead and jump a ship into the first order fleet when they first were being chased? It makes no sense to wait until the end of the movie to do this maneuver. Do it as soon as the first order gives chase and be done with it. And if you are going to do this idiotic scene make Ackbar the man to do it. He would be the one to have the tactical knowledge to have pulled it off. Instead we have Princess Leia light kill herself.

I cannot even begin to list all the problems of this movie. I cannot even begin to tell how much Rian Johnson has destroyed the series with one really bad film. I can honestly say Rian Johnson actually made the prequels look better for me. He is a horrible storyteller. The plot holes are ridiculous. The written is atrocious. His ability as a film maker is shown with this movie. I shall not watch another of his movies. I shall not see Episode IX.

The original Star Wars films ("4-6" as we're now supposed to call them) were FUN. It's that simple. They had action, surprise, and a bit of humor. They were a treat for viewers young and old.

"The Last Jedi" is an overwhelming smorgasbord of dramatic side stories, multiple plots and conflicts, all stuffed into one film. Could the writers not agree on a single storyline to follow?

I get it. The film is supposed to be more dramatic, more emotional. Snore... I'm not a fan of emotional dramas. More power to you if you enjoy them. But again, this franchise is supposed to be FUN. Does anyone remember what fun feels like these days?

You have the heroes, the villains, and the battle between them. It's a tried and true action-packed formula that has served countless classic films.

Take, for example, this movie's long and winding exploration of Kylo Ren's inner feelings. I don't care. I'm not interested in the moody emo villain and his complex emotions. Again, heroes and villains. Action. Fun. Let's go.

I miss the magic of the original films. Unfortunately those days are long gone in a galaxy far, far away.