One of the most divisive films in the saga.

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2017)

The Last Jedi is already proving to be quite a controversial film. Obviously people have very strong opinions about Star Wars, and after seeing it for myself yesterday there's a lot to discuss.
The Good:

The performances in The Last Jedi are some of the best in any Star Wars film, period.

Adam Driver in particular is absolutely compelling as Kylo Ren. He is sympathetic, threatening, and highly unpredictable.
Mark Hamill is better than he's ever been as Luke Skywalker. This character is very different to the Luke that we're used to, he is much older and highly damaged by the events of the past but he isn't unrecognizable. He still feels like Luke.
Carrie Fisher of course is wonderful and has more time to shine here than she did in The Force Awakens. Rest in peace.
Daisy Ridley once again is a highlight and a wonderful protagonist.

The story makes some bold decisions. Characters go in directions you might not expect, there are twists in the story you probably won't see coming. Thank goodness! I loved The Force Awakens, and I can admit that film played it very safe. I was hoping that The Last Jedi would take a few risks and it does.

Not everyone is going to be happy with the way certain things go. You don't have to go far to find people who are already extremely disappointed with this film's choices.
Personally, I was on the edge of my seat. How refreshing is it to feel genuine surprise in a film like this.

Characters don't feel safe in the way that they so often do in big franchise films. There are many genuine moments of tension, and a character's safety is not guaranteed. This is also something I found incredibly refreshing.

Incredible actions sequences and definitely one of the best and most thrilling lightsaber fights in the entire saga.

The film is beautifully shot, which elevates the drama as well as making the locations and action sequences shine more than they normally would.

Do I even need to mention the music? It's Star Wars.

All of the special effects are obviously great, with some awesome CGI. I also need to mention the elite praetorian guards, whose costumes were particularly cool. There are some great new creatures such as the vulptex and of course, the porgs, who are extremely adorable.

The movie is fun in a way that a Star Wars film should be and maintains that same great sense of humor. Aside from a few moments that didn't land for me, there are some solid laughs to be had with The Last Jedi that aren't distracting.

The Last Jedi is different to any other Star Wars film, and I think it fits into the saga well while still maintaining a vibe of it's own. There's a lot of these movies now and they're only going to keep making more of them, so it's reassuring to see that they won't necessarily all feel the same.

The Bad:

The biggest single flaw that The Last Jedi has is a subplot involving Finn and Rose, a new character. While these characters are fun, and John Boyega is still very charismatic as Finn, their mission is easily the least interesting part of the film, and ultimately feels pretty insignificant. Unfortunately the planet they visit isn't particularly captivating, and the story doesn't progress a whole lot during their time there.

As a result, the middle of the film drags far more than it should, picking up again by it's third act.

Aside from Rey, Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren, none of the other characters really develop or go anywhere. Granted, these three characters are the most central to the film, and most of the film is devoted to them. The rest don't really have an arc, they are simply fun characters.

While I think one of the films biggest strengths is it's willingness to take risks, there's a small number of things I thought were a bit questionable in how they resolved.

I wasn't a fan of Laura Dern's character, and I also thought Benecio del Toro was fairly wasted, as well as Captain Phasma again!

There are still some questions left from The Force Awakens that The Last Jedi did not answer. Although I wouldn't count this as a major flaw yet as the trilogy still has one movie to go.

Overall:
I definitely think this is one of the better Star Wars films, and that says something given that it has some very clear flaws yet still manages to be a highly satisfying film.
I do see this one becoming one of the most divisive films in the saga, and I can definitely see a lot of people passionately hating it and the direction they chose to go with some things.
I think the biggest enemy a Star Wars fan faces when going in to see this film is their own expectations... The Force Awakens introduced a number of questions that fans have been making theories about since that film came out two years ago.
The Last Jedi is not afraid to shatter the expectations that came with those theories.
People complained that The Force Awakens played it too safe, and now those same people are probably going to complain about multiple things in The Last Jedi that challenged what they knew about Star Wars.
Whether or not you're able to get on board with this new Star Wars film is entirely up to you.
I found it to be highly entertaining and it kept me mostly on the edge of my seat throughout.
One of the things I wanted most for The Last Jedi was for it to take risks and go into directions I did not expect, and it has certainly done that. I am very excited to see where Episode IX will take us.