Just felt a bit bored tbh

Rating: 3/10 (29 December 2019)

As a heads up, I'm a strictly neutral. I haven't watched any star wars films since phantom menace. But I could see this film was laden with Easter eggs. It's a film for the fans with throwbacks to give you a feel good feeling like seeing Lando again. It's a big sci fi costume melodrama and oh boy, the costumes had a lot of thought going into it.
I tell a lie actually. I did watch a star wars "film" recently. And that was the story of Cal Kestis in Fallen Order. And that is something internally I would compare with. Because there was a point in that where I felt I need to stop everything and focus because I want to know what's going to happen. There was no pull.
I've given this film a low rating because I just didn't feel much invested in any of the character with the exception of Poe Cameron and Finn. I just felt the film was flawed because so many things were left unexplained and characters underdeveloped.
Where the story telling was going on eg the urge of the dark side on Rey, there was just a point where it stopped making sense. There was only point where I thought she'd submit to save her friends. But compare this to Fallen Order and the blind rage of Cere Junda, and there just wasn't the same emotional depth.
There were lots of action scenes and an epic lightsabre duel which features in the trailer. So lots of special effects. But it was the charge of the light brigade towards the end which was actually pretty cool. The Jedi training scenes were also good.
But I'm wondering why so much was just left unexplained. The story kept jumping. The only coherence was the narrative flashback to Rey's family and its significance in explaining the ritual. But then what was the purpose of Kylo Ren in the end. I'm sure he was told to kill Rey. The problem was it just never added up. And there are countless examples of this.
This review will be contrary to prevailing ones because people just want a film that makes them feel good and touches on nostalgia. But I'm pretty sure the studio just inherited a convoluted mess and rewrote the story in order to just get something out. There were lots of cameos based upon memories and I think that was at the expense of writing a formidable plot.
I liked all the British accents in the film. I remember at one point Christopher Lee was in it and it gave the drama a theatrical gravitas. This time that role was played really really well by Richard E Grant. I felt he stole every scene he was in