Remarkable to see filmmakers troll their own fans so blatantly

Rating: 4/10 (21 December 2019)

For me, easily the worst of the three latter-day Star Wars films, and almost as bad as Solo.
It's the fag end of the Star Wars saga - there's nothing new in it, nothing that makes you go 'wow!' There's a lot that makes you groan, though, particularly its almost parody-like wokeness: the cast is just so DELIBERATELY 50/50 male/female, 1/4 white, 1/4 Asian, 1/4 black, 1/4 other. There's a kiss that is the PC icing on the cake. And at the core of its being is unthinking feminism: Rey is the one who can do almost ANYTHING! You name it, she can do it, it's laughable.
I've decided to keep this review spoiler-free so I'll just say that there is at least one absurd turn-face from a character that makes no sense and is hugely disappointing. Old faces show up and it's sometimes nice to see them, but it doesn't really add much to the film apart from stirring memories of older, better films. Characterisation for pretty much everyone is paper thin.
The plot just has little drive, it's all a bit 'going through the motions'.
Time to bid farewell to Star Wars, folks - it's had its day, it's now a box ticking exercise, both woke and weary, and not even that much of a thrill ride.