A excellent addition to the Star Wars universe.

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2017)

Expectations are always taken to insane heights with each release of a major franchise film with Star Wars: The Last Jedi being no exception,
Following on directly from The Force Awakens, the film is given an opportunity to do what the first film, disappointingly, did not do; develop the characters.
Shortly after the action oriented first 20 minutes of the movie I found myself disappointed with a somewhat lackluster, meandering and repetitive plot which seemed to not be heading anywhere. However those concerns were quickly put to rest as a space epic unfolded before and I was happy to be seeing the characters grow constantly more likeable, more fleshed out and more relatable.
The film (to the dismay of many fans it seems) handles its themes incredibly well. "letting the old things die" was a brilliant way to raise the stakes and to truly model a fresh, new and interesting world that still remains respectful to what came before it.
As a Star Wars fan there is a lot to love in this movie, specifically the characters and performances. it adds greatly to the fantasy element of Star Wars as a whole and challenged what we thought we knew about the force which I commend greatly. I love the direction this movie went in. much like the Empire Strikes back it is serious while having a sense of humor.
If you are looking for more of the same this movie is not for you. If you want to see beautiful effects, well written characters with understandable motives and an overall excellent Star Wars film: GO SEE THE LAST JEDI!