Disappointing movie with one or two good set pieces

Rating: 3/10 (17 December 2017)

I had quite high hopes for this movie as I've enjoyed some of Rian Johnson's films in the past. The Last Jedi ultimately fell flat for me however.
The main problem was Rian was extremely cautious in his main themes and tried to be ambitious in the ancillary parts, but this created a disconnect making the side quests and extra characters seem pointless and underwritten.
The whole script was quite weak, but that's never been Star Wars movies' strongest points in fairness. The whole movie did need tightening up though, the whole middle section was baggy and unmemorable.
In contrast a movie like Rogue One was safe at the edges but ambitious in it's main theme. The Force Awakens was safe in most ways but introduced several interesting characters. Both these movies were superior to TLJ in my opinion.
The humour in TLJ grated on me quite a bit. The actual gags in themselves weren't the problem but rather the context in which they were placed as every time they occurred they undercut a dramatic scene, or a plot point.
It made me think am I supposed to take this bit seriously or not, or really care.
Star Wars has always had humour but it's been character driven. A lot of the gags in this were misplaced and unnecessary.
At the end I thought what has actually happened, has this universe become more interesting, do I want to see more of these movies. The answer is I'm not sure.
I worry that we're going to seesaw between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi rehashes till everyone get sick of them.
Some things I liked were Mark Hamill who added a gravitas to older Luke. The interplay between Kylo Ren and Rey was interesting and Adam Driver has grown into the part well.
Leia was a powerful character with some interesting choices and wasn't just a damsel in distress. (although one scene jumped the shark for me)
The end battle scene was visually stunning.