The Clone Wars

Rating: 4/10 (1 January 2019)

I'm not an Abrams fan at all so have dodged this film until now fearing the worst.
I went in with a very low bar of expectation, thinking I'd watch for the special effects. And oddly by the 30 minute mark, I hadn't fetched a bucket. I kept watching and it was all good.
But... it is just a hybrid imitation. It is beautifully shot, with seamless CGI, with thankfully no annoying cut scenes. It's lovely to watch. The battles didn't fatigue me in this outing (they did in Empire, Return and all the other films). The film is nicely directed and balanced. Shock horror!
However as a story there's nothing new here at all (but you can say the same since Empire). Solo and Leia didn't add much to the film for me apart from continuity. It's just sad that there aren't any stand out different storied chapters here. We've seen it all before.
The price tag appalls me considering the end result. But it did cover the outlay, made money and employed many keeping the wheels of the industry well oiled. Other than that, it's pretty pointless meh.