Manufactured, non-fitting conclusion rich with throwbacks and nods

Rating: 5/10 (2 January 2020)

Feels as though they didn't know how to pull together threads from the first two films and manufactured a conclusion that didn't quite seem to ring true. Such a shame because The Last Jedi was actually an interesting chapter that felt like it set the sequels up for an interesting conclusion.
The film had good action sequences and many parts were very engaging. However, the throwbacks and nods to previous star wars entries seemed endless. The funny chess-style game on the falcon with the Chewie, the "new hope" style bar, the x-wing covered in swampy weeds, .... etc.. It's almost like they cut and pasted lots of iconic visuals from preceding star wars and it really became obvious that they battled for originality to be frank about it. And bringing back Palpatine similarly lacked originality, particularly as a half force spirit thing that had been a puppet master all along.
The big battle at the end was utterly unsatisfying and introducing new 'force' powers over-cluttered things further.
The original star wars had patient story telling and character development that was a key ingredient. This is mostly absent with action substituting for words and a largely pointless story in the backbone. As for Finn and Poe, I really felt no connection with them in any of the episodes and the magic feels faded with this latest addition. I hope that this is the end of the Star Wars saga (aside from spin-offs which are fine).
I nonetheless give the film a 5 because the effects are good and most of the battle sequences are fun to watch.