Hold your fire...

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2017)

There has been a lot of criticism of this movie, and it certainly doesn't go the way many expect, but this is not a bad movie, and remember there is one episode to come.
Episode vii was strongly criticised for lack of plot originality, yet this movie has a plot that is totally unexpected with a few twists. It is far less predictable than episode vii. I personally felt the plot was mostly great, and the Snoke/Guards/Rey/Kylo scene/storyline was outstanding.
Some reviewers complain about the premature destruction of various story arcs that defined the previous trilogies, but let's just wait and see...if Snoke is who many suspect (me included) then the present plot fits in perfectly with what may transpire in episode ix. And Kylo is a proven liar so why take his word for what he said about Rey's parents (and why would the writers give that mystery much screen time if it were simply to be fobbed off?). I don't agree about Luke's character being ruined - most of the Star Wars key characters have major changes occurring during their Star Wars life, and just because some don't like what has become of Luke doesn't make it wrong. If Luke had turned to the dark side...well that may well have assassinated his character and left us angry and in tears...
Consider these observations from the "best" Star Wars episodes before criticising this story (which is not yet complete):
-if episode i-vi had been made in chronological order, then at the time Yoda returned in episode v most would say that yoda's character was destroyed - how he was reduced from someone wise, rational, and mature, to some juvenile comedic figure (ie. in the way he first interacted with Luke).
-remember obi-wan effectively killed off the "Luke's father" story in episode iv with a lie, only for the astonishing revelation to occur in episode v.
There is nothing wrong with any of the actors or acting - superb on all fronts. There is some comedy but I don't feel it's overdone, and there are less corny lines than some of the previous films.
If episode ix fails us by not properly completing the story and leaving key questions unanswered then I will be one of the first to criticise Disney and the current writers, but just see this film for what it is now: the middle episode in this particular star wars story arc (one in which questions remain unanswered, as they should be). This film is a lot of fun, with a few twists that we don't see coming (yet may rock some out of the comfort of their Star Wars crib).
My only criticisms were: the first profanity spoken in any star wars story (why do that? 'blast' was probably the worst previously heard); the casino setting felt too much like Earth circa 1920's, and could've been done better differently; the ending should've been tweaked to save one character at the expense of another, in light of the passing of Carrie Fisher.
I rate it 8.5/10