Star Wars: Brought to you by corporate america and millenials with short attention spans, diluting the original since 1997

Rating: 4/10 (19 December 2017)

I was hoping that a change in director, from the steaming pile that was Force Awakens, would have helped to dramatically improve the direction of this great franchise, especially after the critical acclaim of Rogue One. Sadly I was wrong.
The plot was almost entirely pointless, with so many holes that it is as unqualified as a star wars sequel as one of Donald Trump's judicial nominees is for the Federal bench.
The slow speed chase that consumes two-thirds of the movie simply makes no sense. The First Order could in theory go around them, rather than wait for them to run out of gas. Apparently, the First Order killed off an entire galaxy of republic leaders, warriors, and citizens, leaving not a single person in the galaxy far far away to come to the aid of Princess Leia, the hero of the Rebellion. With the knowledge that Carrie Fisher is dead, one would have hoped that the writers would have had the good sense to give her character a grand exit in a meaningful battle, and NOT have her FORCE FLOAT her way back into the ship and essentially pass out for the rest of the movie.
WHAT WAS THE POINT OF SNOKE AT ALL... SERIOUSLY, I feel a great sense of sorrow for all the fans who expected something to come of the mystery only to be utterly disappointed by the lack of fanfare with which he is dispatched. The throne room fight was entertaining but absurd. Surely everyone has had their fill of Kylo Ren's emo/bratty Darth Vader knock off.
The lone saving grace of the film as a star wars trilogy episode was Mark Hamill's overall performance as Luke Skywalker, in perfect step with where his character was expected to be in this cluster of a plot. He performed well, only to be let down by the writers who kill off Luke just as he bids a prominent return to the series. His lackluster death left much to be desired and little hope that episode 9 will turn a corner and reinvigorate a great franchise.
I can only hope that LucasFilm will again game-change the cannon and simply make Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire series into a new sequel trilogy... though by the time that happens, hopefully the CGI will be able to bring the original cast back to life decades later...
This was disappointing...