The Last Jedi Delivers

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2017)

This was an enjoyable Star Wars movie.The special effects are there. The music is there. The acting is fantastic, and that's a rarity in SW films: Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, and Carrie Fisher steal every scene they are on (In fact, I am more than likely to say "Daisy Ridley" when someone asks me "who's your favorite actress?").
That being said, the film spreads itself out too much in a rather trivial area, which is Finn and Rose's journey to the casino planet. In the end, this subplot serves no purpose to the main story, except it's message that rich people make their riches through the war, by selling arms and weapons to both sides. But that's rather obvious and not really relevant to the story. And Finn finds a girlfriend, which again serves no purpose to the plot. The film spends a good 20-30 mins here; it should've been cut, along with all the characters that were tied to it (Codebreaker, Cpt. Phasma). It's a distraction from the main story.
Looking back, that's my only problem with this film. Everything else is done well. We get to see Luke as a cranky middle-aged man following his master Yoda's example, rejecting Rey first, then warming up to her as he breaks out of his solitude. Luke knows the Jedi must end and it makes sense; for as long as Jedi lived, there will be force users from the order who will betray the Jedi and turn to darkside. He feels the weight of being a master and the burden of training a padawan that can potentially turn.
The act between Rey-Snoke-Kylo plays well. Turns out Snoke is a powerful force user, but not cut from the same cloth as Emperor Palpatine was. And that's about as far as he goes, as Kylo outsmarts him and ends him.
The final 20 mins of this movie is critical. We find out that for all those years, Luke hasn't been idling. He discovered a way to harness a rather incredible use of the Force, Force Projection. It's worthy of his name and legacy as a Skywalker; he is no ordinary force user, and I lauded writers for giving him the credit he deserves.
Of course, I'd have liked to see more of Luke Skywalker, but he is too big a character for the kind of threat the First Order and Kylo poses. He is the stuff of legend and he passes into a legend in the end.
Every other little annoyances are just that: little annoyances, including cheesy humor here and there; but they are kept minimal, doesn't detract from the emotional weight of the story.
Now, I don't know why people give this 1 star, maybe people focus too much on the negatives or can't accept that SW has evolved. But this is a good movie, unburdened with over-engineered CGI porn that Marvel and Michael Bay films throw out every six months. It's balanced and carries emotional weight. Sure it could've been better. But it doesn't do justice to give this 1 star with knee-jerk reactions; it's utterly disrespectful to the legacy of Lucas, of Carrie Fisher, and all the other characters we came to love. People are so goddamn hateful and snidey these days.
I am more concerned that the next movie is going back to J.J.'s hands. They should've kept Rian for the next installment, he understands star wars.