Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Bruce S — 17 Jan 2018

Dropped from 1.5 to 1 star since it's rumored that halfs aren't scored.

The good: music and visuals were impressive and there were a few scenes that were pretty awesome and memorable. Basically what you come to expect in any SW film including the prequels.

The bad: I did not enjoy the plot and the direction they chose to take the story after TFW, which was a flawed movie itself, but also one that setup TLJ to be something spectacular. It never really pays off. There was no real character development; no obstacles to the protagonist's journey (she is infallible); other characters were used in almost slapstick fashion and found their way in and out of situations through combinations of dumb luck and contrived scenarios. There is an unnecessary 30-minute side story that is a complete waste of time. It adds nothing useful to the plot and actually detracts from the main events of the story.

The ugly: For some reason the director and writers have decided that SW should be some kind of comedy, or that it at least requires several scenes of comic relief. This isn't chuckling over some of C3PO's nuances, but as one user put it "like the Jerky Boys were called in to perform a skit". The First Order is so inept that it is impossible to believe that anyone would fear them. Their general is a bumbling fool and their dark lord of the Sith is an emo who lost to untrained Rey the first time she used a lightsaber. Who would be afraid of these guys and why? I saw every other SW movie in theaters multiple times, but there was no way I was going back to see this piece of garbage. It might pull in some casual fans, but it is not a SW film in the spirit of the series.