Merchandising megopolous!

Rating: 6/10 (17 December 2017)

For a movie more than 2 hours in length, you would think they would move along the story more. Without adding spoilers... not a lot really happens in this movie. Oh, there are lots of fights and stuff blowing up, but to what end, I'm not sure. Plus, didn't it feel like it took Luke a lot of mentoring and training to hone even the basic Jedi skills? So how it that Rey has leap frogged so far into her skills and knowledge, with virtually no training?
Also, Star Wars movies have always been ripe and fertile ground for merchandising. That's why the forced insertion of various characters (usually of the muppet like variety) seems like more of a money grab than adding to the story telling arch of the movie.
Finally, what the Star Wars universe really seems to miss (besides actors over 5ft 5" in height), is a bad guy with the gravitas of Darth Vader. The crew they have now wouldn't scare my bulldog, and he hides in the closet when the doorbell rings.