Help us George Lucas, you're our only hope...

Rating: 4/10 (23 January 2019)

Without reiterating what the rest of the reviewers have already said, this movie was just disappointing. I have been a lifelong fan of the Star Wars franchise and saw The Last Jedi with the same mindset. After my first viewing, I decided that maybe seeing it with a fan-like mindset was not the best way to appreciate it.
Instead, I chose to see it again with the intention of appreciating what has been accomplished with a ludicrous budget and mass commitment by cast and crew to serve the storyline justice. Alas, behind a great cast and phenomenal special effects, there lies a weak script and underdeveloped storyline. Everything we were introduced to in Episode VII was stripped away. We were given the most linear, non-compelling Star Wars story since the plight of Jar Jar Binks.
Instead of describing why I am giving 2 stars for superb special effects and 2 more for originality, I'll describe why it's missing stars. For 2 of these missing stars, it's easy enough to point at the plot that was bashed to death with a rusty blaster pistol. Replaced by a politically correct agenda, a poor miscommunication of story direction; the plot failed to captivate or engage me. Another couple of stars are taken away for having a linear and meaningless story. There are many examples of underdeveloped scenes and dialogue, especially when it comes to Cantobyte. I'll use an age old reference: Pulp Fiction. My favorite scene is when Christopher Walken explains the meaning of Bruce Willis' deceased fathers pocket watch. Instead of meaningless dialogue that did not propel the story further, it instead gave a window in Bruce Willis' characters life.
In The Last Jedi, we get to see how Rose was impacted by slavery on Cantobyte, only to have it be irrelevant after they escape. Her actions do not reflect that of someone who has been enslaved and wishes to see it end.
The last two stars are taken away for ruining the expectations of the fans. It's alright when new movies are released with no ties to a franchise and underperform, but when a cultural phenom like Star Wars is released, Disney had better put the fan first. That's the best way to captivate an audience and create a timeless masterpiece, that the original trilogy succeeded in doing.