Take a chance with Last Jedi because the movie itself takes chances.

Rating: 8/10 (13 May 2018)

I liked the Last Jedi because it took something that was missing from The Force Awakens. Chances.
Whereas the previous episode played it safe with a bland retelling of a classic, the newest chapter in the Star Wars saga takes the characters and plots into uncharted regions of the galaxy far, far away.
The most obvious chance is the jaded persona of my favorite character. The emerald light-saber wielding Skywalker seemingly degenerated into "Get Off My Lawn Luke". My gut rejected this depiction
But this character arc makes sense, How many of us aren't as idealistic as in our youth? Life beats us down. Many have stopped trying to change the world and instead just focus on getting through the day.
Luke must have felt the same. After fulfilling an ancient prophesy to topple a wicked Empire, the solar system regressed into the same mess. All the heroism and sacrifice in vain. Skywalker's pledge to return the Jedi Order led to Kylo Ren's betrayal, just like Anakin's betrayal of his mentor Obi-Wan With the revelation in the prequels that the Jedi Order's complacency and corruption lead to the rise of the Sith, Luke may have genuinely felt that the Jedi were causing more harm than good, like many ineffectual government programs.
Luke also warns about idolatry and the danger of deeming mere flesh and blood mortals as legendary. I can attest that many of my personal role models turned out to be rotten when I met them in person, which left me crestfallen.
Not to worry, son of Skywalker is back in action at the end. I am a sucker for duels in which a trendy whippersnapper faces off against one of the greatest of all time. Suffice to say I was pumped by the outcome of this generational Winner-Take-All showdown.
His newly acquired powers are something we haven't seen before: The ability of astral projection shows that Luke has indeed ascended to heights that Jedi and Sith had never reached, demonstrating that Luke is indeed one of the most powerful champions of the mythos, still the focus of the story and not just a cast off cameo.
The nostalgia factor makes the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs. My favorite scene involves C3PO, when his Master Luke saunters past him in the cave. Conditioned to think that Luke would blow off the protocol droid like every other character in the movie, grouchy Luke unexpectedly turns and acknowledges his old friend with a knowing wink and appreciative smile, It was a fleeting moment, but enough to convey their endearing bond forged decades ago. The sentimentality of lasting friendship made me teary, especially as one who also gets overlooked.
It was nice to be reunited with old friends. If only someone didn't spoil the surprise visitation by the green eared Jedi Master for me. And I enjoyed making the acquaintance of the stuttering code breaker who plays both sides. I wonder which side he will choose next installment.
Many other aspects cast compelling twists on the saga while being true to the source material (or is that Force material?).
Star Wars lore is colored with exotic planets, each with it's own environment and particular climates. The casino city of Canto Bite was a seductive setting we've never seen before. I could just imagine suave Lando Calrissian rolling dice on the tables. Likewise, the salt planet with swirling red dust provides distinct imagery.
The cosmic critters add to the palette. The crystalline foxes with tinkling tails advanced the plot in addition to just looking cool. The winged Porgs were adorable but not overused as to make them annoying. I want one for a pet.
The cast is racially diverse .Females finally get their fare share of the action to pass the Bechdel test. Rose is charming as a spunky common person. Kudos for
casting a normal looking actress instead of a malnourished super model. Jurassic Park's Laura Dern, with her commanding presence, fiery spirit, wry smile, and purple hair, is a new kind of sexy.
I enjoyed witnessing the loose cannon Poe's flight wings get clipped by Leia and Holdo, I am sick of the movie cliche where someone can blatantly disobey direct orders and go unpunished.If only real life would follow suit.
Many of the special effects were practical instead of digital. Puppets, sets, props, and stages were used instead of computer generated images, more elegant special effects from a more civilized time.. The action sequences were well choreographed, The fight scenes themselves tell a story and were not just chaotic action.
What was missing?
One aspect that fans anticipate is a menagerie of bizarre alien species like in the cantina scene in Episode 4 and Jabba's palace in Episode 6. This was indeed filmed for The Last Jedi but was unfortunately left on the cutting room floor. The gambling den was full of alien oddities unlike what we've ever seen. The Last Jedi would have topped the other installments in this regard, had they bothered to leave it in the movie.
No new music themes caught my attention. This could have used a "Duel of the Fates" to spark interest.
What prevented this from being a classic?
I must to agree with my friend Ken Wheaton that the tone was off mark. Luke's abandonment of his sacred Jedi vows should have been treated with deference, yielding dramatic and poignant possibilities. Instead, it was a mere vehicle for cheap laughs.The trendy in-your-face, sassy humor will soon be as dated as Mark Hamill's bowl haircut in A New Hope..
The low points mostly result from the hand director Rian Johnson was dealt from the first movie. (Someone in Canto Bite must have been dealing from the bottom of the deck). Namely, the new characters from the previous chapter aren't interesting. A valiant effort was made to develop these characters, unfortunately I was not that engaged with them to begin with, so I didn't care what happens to them.
Snooki, Snoke, whatever his name, is a poor man's Emperor. Was Poe even in the first movie? If so he was forgettable. Rey is bland- a modern cliche of the strong-independent-heroine who has everything except a personality (Daisy should have learned how to emote from irrepressible Carrie Fisher). And let's not forget the biggest female character in the movie: the crybaby Kylo Ren, who plays more like a chess club dweeb bullied by the football team rather than a cosmic villain.
Sorry, Poe. You are not allowed to tell Threepio to shut up. You haven't earned that privilege. Golden Rod was saving the Rebellion long before you were recklessly endangering it (and the movie franchise").
I could be more forgiving if this was just an off shoot movie, but since this is an official Episode, what transpires in this movie gets cemented into canon,
Perhaps I am too harsh. Generation X had our run with Star Wars. Maybe it is time that we step away and bequeath our beloved franchise to the millennial generation. Just like Kylo Ren urged Rey not to hold on to the past, maybe we should embrace the new tone and characters and respect the new direction.
This is a Disney property now, the George Lucas era is an irrelevant relic,
However, every word in that last paragraph was wrong.