THEY RUINED LUKE SKYWALKER IN THIS MEDIOCRE SEQUEL

Rating: 3/10 (13 December 2017)

I was incredibly disappointed with Stars Wars: The Last Jedi (TLJ). I cannot believe some people are saying this is the best one since Empire, bcoz it's not even close. There are so many problems with the movie; the writing, the poor structure, the lack of innovation and focus.
But first, I'll start with the positives. I think Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill gave a wonderful and committed performance to their roles, despite qualms I have about the material they've been given. Daisy in particular really shines throughout; she has great screen-presence and is very enigmatic. Secondly, I was surprised by the abundance of humor in the movie. I really enjoyed the comedy and found all the jokes really funny and organic to the story in a way that never feels out of place. Also, the Porgs were kinda cute. Lastly, I thought there were two great action set pieces that really elevated the film above TFA & RO. The opening space battle was quite amazing and well-done. The dogfights and ship battles were very thrilling and suspenseful. Then there's a lightsaber fight towards the end that was just spectacular and could rank as one of the best set pieces in a Star Wars movie. It was also one of the most beautifully shot scenes in the movie, with really impressive lighting, wide angles and long takes to really highlight the complex but excellent choreography.
Now the negatives. Overall, I found the movie to be incredibly messy and badly paced. The story is incredibly boring and feel like they're threading the same ground as the original. There were many plot lines that felt lifted whole cloth from Empire and Return of the Jedi, and when they happened I was like "Are we really doing this again?" It quickly becomes evident that these movies feel like The Hobbit to the Star Wars franchise - in that, there's not enough material to warrant a new trilogy. TLJ never feels like the 2nd book of a trilogy. It feels more like the 2nd act of an incomplete story. Like TFA, this movie will leave you incredibly dissatisfied. Entire subplots were invented for our main characters, only for the outcome to yield absolutely no results. There were also way too many new characters introduced in the movie, all of whom took significant screen time away from characters that we already know. A character is introduced and is given the kind of epic send-off that should have been given to an established character we know and love, but bcoz we don't know this new character, that send-off lacks any impact. Also, too much time was spent on the island with Rey and Luke and nothing was accomplished. Rey's talents also remains largely unexplained.
My biggest issue with the movie however is the depiction of Luke Skywalker. Prior to this, I had read that Mark Hamill was really unhappy with Rian Johnson's direction for his character, and it's true. The Luke Skywalker in this movie IS NOT THE LUKE SKYWALKER WE KNOW & LOVE. Many of Luke's actions seem very out-of-character and contradicts everything that George Lucas had established about him in the originals. There is one particularly egregious act that Luke commits that feels like an absolute betrayal to that character. It undermines all the goodwill of Luke's arc in the originals that Lucas worked so hard to build-up and complete. Also, they seemingly established Luke as the main character and give him the same hero's journey as ROTJ again, only for him to be missing for 45 mins in the movie. And boy, do they really abused the classic John Williams Luke theme in this. You won't go for 5 mins without hearing his theme over and over again.
So overall, I did not enjoy watching TLJ. You're probably going to watch it once bcoz it's a Star Wars movie but trust me, there won't be any repeat viewings on this one, bcoz it lacks substance. My theatre audience was silent for the entire movie, saved for a few laughs at jokes that were effective, but there were at least 3 fan service/ shocking moments that should have elicited a response from the crowd, but everyone was dead quiet. You know the movie is incredibly ineffective when even the things fans want to see lands like a thud.
So I'm giving it a 3 out of 10; two points for that amazing 3rd act lightsaber battle, and 1 point for both Mark and Daisy. For those who are seeking a true sci-fi action adventure experience, I recommend watching Luc Besson's Valerian (2017) instead. That movie is bursting with creativity and feels like it's blazing a new path for the sci-fi genre that these new Star Wars movies should be doing but aren't. Most importantly, that movie feels fresh and innovative, two things that TLJ were seriously lacking.