Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This movie is not going to go the way you think & that is a good thing. I like surprises.

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2018)

Just in case you live under a rock in Jakku. This movie has been rather divisive for audiences, despite the fact, that the visual/special effects from ILM were impressive, the sets & costume were beautiful, the film score by John Williams was amazing, and the action scenes, while, nothing really new, was entertaining enough to get by. Most of the criticism, come from director/writer, Rian Johnson's sharp retelling on the space fantasy mythos. Some examples, being discuss & highly criticize about, is how the sequel does not sync up, well, with the previous movie, 2015's 'Star Wars: Force Awakens' continuous story elements. Fundamentals key points, like Rey (Daisy Ridley)'s journey for closure with her parentage, the disaster-like effects of the Resistance & First Order, losing key battles, like Starkiller Base & Hosnian Prime, and Kylo (Adam Driver)'s quest to kill, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) with his knights of Ren, were downright ignored, talk little about, or turn into 'red herrings'. Even, significant original trilogy (1977's A New Hope, 1980's Empire Strikes Back & 1983's Return of the Jedi) establishment tropes, like powers of light-speed travel & how force projection works, are drastically changed to serve Johnson's vision, thus, become a little more muddled for the fans, on what, characters & vehicles can and cannot do. So, it was no surprised, these changes to the mythos, rub people, the wrong way. For me, I really didn't mind too much, as excessively familiar with no mystery, can led to mediocre rehash writing. Nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed, by certain story beats that the film glaze over, such as how Snoke (Voiced & Motion Capture Performance by Andy Serkis) rose to power, or why the New Republic was so ill-prepared to stop him. You have to go to outside sources to find any information on this. The movie story is not so flesh out. Because of that, it weakened, the last movie and this. Another, frustrating thing about this film is the morality, it's trying to tell. Using examples of unseen forces, playing both sides into conflict: such with the 'on the nose', side-quest filler, through Canto Bight, the burning of the Jedi texts & the scenes onboard Snoke's ship, 'the Supremacy'; its seems that Johnson was going to take, the ultimate risk, by praising something that was good about the prequels (1999's Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith), by exposing how the universe isn't as cookie cutter good vs evil, as the original trios of films make it seems to be. However, it seem like he got cold-feet, and backpedaled, quite a bit, by this adult-driven nihilism approach. In the end, the film play it, safe, by showing yet another kid-friendly coercive persuasion repetition hopeful message. The climax with another naÃ¯ve generation following in the same footsteps of its forefathers into believing in one ideal symbol, over another; rather than seeing the whole picture; that seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent, was disappointing & somewhat cheesy. I wanted the film to show, that the old-school dualistic dogma thinking about morality is not that fundamental sound; as it only leads to the same tiresome continuous circle of violence. Because of that backpedaling, it kinda ruin any big counterculture beliefs like 'the Grey Jedi' concept; which I felt, would had work, better for these series of films. In short, it makes more sense that the only way, to find balance in the force is to walk the thin line, between the light & the dark. Maybe, producer and director, JJ Abrams would introduce that concept, in the next film. Regardless of that, this movie had other problems, going against it. A great deal of the film is devoted to a fleet chase scene that just wasn't that good of a premise; seeing how the First Order could have ended it, just by calling another fleet to interception the Resistance fleet during hyperspace travel, but whatever. The film had to go somewhere, even those sequences led only to more awkward & pointless filler doesn't really connect much, with what's happening on Ahch-To. Although, as much as the movie suffer from pacing issues; at least, most of the acting in the movie is good enough, to overlook it. Ridley as Rey was commanding in her role. Unlike some fans, I wasn't really bothered by how the picture portrayed Skywalker, as grumpy bitter old man/ teacher. Hamill was good in that type of a role. Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, on the other hand, felt a bit wasted, & misused. It's sad that this will be her last role. All people will remember from her in this movie is the 'Shooting Star' meme. As for Driver, he brings a certain gravitas to Kylo Ren that makes the character, one of the most interesting villain, in a long time. A fine good job from him. With John Boyega as Finn, I found him, less annoying in this, than the last movie. Boyega is enjoyable. Plus, he does have better comedy chops than Oscar Isaac, as Poe Dameron, ever had. Any jokes fed to Isaac felt force and awkward. As for supporting characters like Kelly Marie Tran, she never really deserve the racist attacks from some Star Wars fans who were dissatisfied with her character. She was alright, as newcomer, Rose Tico. Once again, I was somewhat disappointed with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) & felt that, Benicio Del Toro & Laura Dern were wasted in their roles, as well. As for the cameos, I like all of them. Overall: I somewhat enjoy the film even with its flaws. It was still an entertaining popcorn flick, worth going to. Nevertheless, films like this, are starting to feel more and more like a postmodern experience. While, the spirit of repetition doesn't sit lightly for some viewers, this movie brings enough nuance to the table to stand on its own. So seek it out. It's a force to reckon with.