Far too much in two hours!

Rating: 5/10 (19 December 2019)

I have just been to a midnight showing of this in the UK. I attended the other two recent movies in the same cinema also at midnight screenings and for some reason this one just didn't have the same excitement around it. The cinema was half empty which is very unusual for midnight screenings of Blockbusters.
Even trying to avoid spoilers many of them have been leaked in the press so unless you have avoided all media you are sure to have any surprises ruined.
As for the movie? It really just plays like an action movie. Which is no what these are supposed to be about. There is zero emotional content. This is supposed to be the resolution of a 40 year franchise and it just seems clang to a halt. It's not that the story doesn't resolve, its just that on an emotional level, it doesn't.
This is partly to do with the sheer pace which things happen. Everything is so crammed in there's no space to breathe. This is a three hour plus movie crammed into just over two. You simply don't get the time to emotionally engage with the plot or characters which leaves it a bit of an empty experience. Also the story is far too similar to Jedi, it's just been done with 2019 special effects. The fact it's nothing new story wise also makes this feel like a wasted opportunity. It's one thing reference previous movies but 90% of this movie is from the first three. I think this episode will lead to a game of thrones response, I can see a petition to have this remade. Sorry to disappoint but for all the action it simply lacks emotional engagement and storyline.