The Last Jedi's real villain is Rian Johnson

Rating: 1/10 (18 December 2017)

THE GOOD:
The special effects were amazing, as usual.
THE BAD:
The 45-minute subplot on the Casino planet, ultimately did nothing to advance the story, and should have been cut. Had it been, the outcome of the movie would have been exactly the same: our heroes failed in their mission, were captured, escaped, and joined back up with their friends. The time spent watching this subplot play out was a complete waste of time. May as well have shown them folding their laundry.
Leia being blown into space, unconscious, and then somehow using the force to pull herself into an airlock, still while unconscious. That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen in any movie, period. I'm speechless. I just ... how did anyone think this was a good idea? Did no one speak up? If anyone involved with the movie knew this was a terrible idea, and didn't speak up, then you're complicit - shame on you.
Luke Skywalker's archetype being completely ignored. This is the guy, who when he had the opportunity, wouldn't kill his own father, Darth Vader: murderer of children, and thousands, if not millions of others, all in the name of the Empire. The reason he wouldn't kill him? Because he could see the good in his father, and chose to save him. Yet, Rian Johnson would have us believe that Luke had no problem murdering his own nephew, who hadn't even done anything evil yet. Luke represents the best of us, all that is good and right and hopeful in the Star Wars universe. He's essentially the Star Wars Jesus. But his character in this movie was unrecognizable to me. A Star Wars fan would know this. And as director, it was Rian Johnson's job to know this. Shame on you, and shame on Kathleen Kennedy for not protecting Luke's legacy.
Killing Luke Skywalker because he projected himself to another planet? Why? How taxing can that be? Yoda would have us believe that you shouldn't judge an effort by its size, or difficulty. But I guess you just wanted to kill Luke. Because Rian Johnson is "bold and gusty."
The slow-motion chase through space had several common sense, logical issues. Among them: (1) at least two ships hyperspaced into the area to meet up with the New Order fleet. Since the New Order has Faster-Than-Light communications, why didn't they just contact some of their other ships to hyperspace in ahead of the fleeing ships and cut them off? (2) Why didn't the New Order send its fighters and bombers to take out the engines on the fleeing Resistance capital ships, like they did with the bridge? They still had fighters and bombers, because we saw them in the attack on the planet. (3) Are we expected to believe that a single Resistance cruiser has the shield strength to repel the bombardment from the entire New Order fleet that's pursuing it? I can suspend my disbelief for science fiction and fantasy, but it's very difficult to suspend disbelief for logical nonsense, or going against already established canon ("our ships can't repel firepower of that magnitude!")
Rey's parents being nobody of consequence. Of all the interesting people Rian Johnson could have made her parents, ranging from Han and Leia, to Luke Skywalker, to Obi-wan Kenobi, he chose nobody. That choice is as unsatisfying as Anakin being immaculately conceived by the force, and the demystifying, techno-babble explanation of midichlorians. Almost any answer would have been better than nobody.
Killing Snoke in the middle of the trilogy. When that happened, people sitting around me laughed. Afterward, my 16-year-old daughter told me she laughed because she couldn't believe they killed him. I agree. That leaves the only real villain as Kylo Ren / Ben Solo, but he's more of a tormented teen-like character than an archetype villain. And any student of Star Wars knows (or should know) that Star Wars has always been about large, sweeping, archetypal themes. Star Wars needs a clear, powerful, brilliant villain to be the instigating force behind the wars among the stars. Kylo Ren just seems to be in way over his head. Furthermore, if I didn't know this the second film in a trilogy, I'd just assume the story was done. Now that Snoke is dead, and the rest of the Resistance is small enough to fit inside of the Millennium Falcon, I honestly don't know what the final movie could possibly be about. After the Empire Strikes Back, we all knew Han had to be rescued, and maybe that Luke would have to confront Vader. I don't know what comes next, and more importantly, I really don't care.
I've seen this before, and The Last Jedi has the fingerprints of somebody who made a "bold and gutsy" choice, just for the sake of being edgy or artsy. The same thing happened with the movie Alien 3, when director David Fincher killed Hicks, Newt and Bishop, rendering the outcome of the previous movie, Aliens, completely pointless. It's like Rian Johnson intentionally made the choices that he believed people would hate, just because he could, and just to get a reaction out of people. Congratulations, Rian. And I hope it was worth it, because you just may have ruined the most valuable movie franchise of all time. The Alien franchise never recovered after Alien 3, and I can't help but wonder if the same thing will be true of the Star Wars saga films (I still have hope for the Han Solo movie.)
I rewatched The Force Awakens, and the incredible Rogue One, multiple times. Sadly, I have zero desire to rewatch the disgrace that is The Last Jedi.
Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy forgot the #1 rule about making a Star Wars movie: it's always about the fans, and giving them what they want. It was their job to thoroughly understand the franchise, its characters, the rich history of Star Wars, and to nurture and grow the Star Wars universe, while also protecting its legacy, not spitting on it. Making a Star Wars movie is never about the director, producer, actors, or even the profit. It's always about the story and the characters. Rian and Kathleen forgot this. That is why they fail.