One of the Best Star Wars Films - EVER.

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2018)

The hate this movie gets for not being like Star Wars or doing disappointing things with its leads is misguided desire for depthless action. The criticism that this isn't a Star Wars movie is a willing denial of what Star Wars has embodied for the past 40 years.
This movie takes a lot of elements of the other two trilogies are spins them together into what isn't just a visually stunning sequence of action/adventure but a deeply nuanced look at grief, loss, and desire - all central themes we've seen explored to varying degrees before. We all see that Kylo is a more nuanced version of how Anakin SHOULD have been. We can see the struggle and conflict within him far more realistically and nuanced than Anakin's whingey emo tantrums and that's expanded so well in this movie. Kylo and Rey's conflict goes into shades of grey instead of polar black and white like the prequels.
Now I've seen a lot of issues with how Luke is portrayed. When we last see him in the end of The Force Awakens he's banished himself to an island to mope and be hidden from everyone. You may have heard the criticism that his character is misused, not interesting enough, blah blah blah. No. That's like if you watched Star Wars in numerical order, got really impressed by Yoda's badass lightsaber flips in 2 and 3 then in 5 and 6 when we see him again you revolt at this swamp frog that makes jokes and doesn't do anything interesting (though without getting into detail: Luke is actually shown as being very powerful so where's the issue?). When we see Obi Wan in #4 he seems to be relatively unhaunted by how he went against the will of the jedi and demanded to train Anakin, thus leading to the downfall of the jedi. Yet he's banished himself. Yoda and Obi are Luke's rolemodels. What were people expecting? We find out more about why Luke has banished himself and it's haunting. It's terrifying and saddening. It's more realistically tormented than Obi Wan. We see angst and loss in a far more real and nuanced way than we've ever seen in the previous shoot-em-up action of the previous Star Wars.
And then there's more. This movie is brilliantly introspective. It takes a critical eye to the universe it exists in and the tropes it has contributed to in the genre and popular culture at large. The director hasn't only taken all the themes of Star Wars and revisited them in more depth, but he's put Star Wars under a microscope and demanded to know what makes it tick. What do we expect? Perhaps the criticism is that it turns a few tropes on its head. But that's good! We got annoyed that TFA was too much of a rehash of A New Hope. This movie still retains a lot of what we know and love about Star Wars but mixes around the pieces, plays around with the jigsaw puzzle of audience expectation, and creates a fluid yet coherent series of surprises, trope reversals, and important character growth for all of our central characters. We break down the sexism of male heroism (a reason for misogynistic fan boys to hate it but not a real fan), we break down the illusion of a distinct black and white world of morality, and it's just amazing. I love it. I love how it challenges the form yet is still familiar enough to not feel completely different. It what was Star Wars needs to be to survive a new generation of viewers with new codes and social contexts.
Now let's talk about action. Oh boy. Can I pin down my favourite action sequence? No. Not even close. This is perhaps the most visually stunning Star Wars I've ever seen. No. It definitely is. From (redacted) to (redacted) to (redacted) you'll have rewarding after rewarding moment of either just plain epic action to a deeply satisfying conclusion to a metaphor about good vs evil. If you have seen it you'll understand.
Admittedly there are a flew flaws in this movie but rarely do we get a perfect movie. Still, it's such a thrilling movie I cannot help but give it 9 out of 10. Hot damn! This movie will be one that our children will watch over and over. It's finally a trilogy for a new generation to grow up watching and fall in love with. And that's the most important thing to me. It proves that Star Wars is for everyone.
So see it again and again and again until every layer rubs off onto you and you can fully appreciate its brilliant.