Star Wars: The Last Duel of the Fans (Spoiler Alert - it won't be) (TLJ Spoiler-free Review)

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2018)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi makes for an entertaining watch - if you can abide by some very poor screenwriting. The hype is definitely misleading. To the detriment of the series, this instalment ultimately does (irreparable?) damage to its own mythology, leading many "hardcore" fans to rebel and call for the episode to be struck from the "canon" - a call answered by more than 70,000 incensed audience members. Although I wouldn't go so far, I can't imagine exerting myself very much in defense of the story and the characters' motives. Sure, I enjoyed my cinema experience. Would I suggest it to others? Likely - if exclusively for an effects-heavy ride through intergalactic space. For an intensely emotional experience, I am inclined to direct one to Revenge of the Sith. The Last Jedi has its strong moments, but the worse ones dominate the better ones. Abrams surprisingly set up an exciting, fresh premise in The Force Awakens, and Johnson (curiously applauded by Disney for his less-than-amazing work) promptly tore most of its framework down again.
The acting is good, though not entirely exceptional. Obviously Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa is a particularly pivotal role, owing to the actress's death late last year. Benicio del Toro's DJ is a fun and convincing character, despite the manner in which the film oddly sidelines him. The players' attitudes (noteably one more than the others) have undergone a seemingly illogical transformation from previous iterations which don't quite gel, as many fans have kindly (or unkindly) pointed out. Snoke is also one of my favourite characters - I just wish he played a more extensive role in the movie than he does. I will say, heedless of others' counter-criticisms, that I disagree with the feministic nature of Disney's agenda, demonstrated clearly in movies like The Last Jedi. I think Daisy Ridley makes an excellent lead, but I do also disagree with representing the male sex as a mob of egotistically macho tyrants. Additionally, by spotlighting women, we are advocating not for equality; we are preferring one sex to another, rather than both sexes participating in harmony for the common welfare. Token diversity is also preposterous. Both these movements are positively irksome.
Some new locations, though a bit unestablished, succeeded in being unique and captivating; I only wish they'd been used under smarter direction. The special effects are a noteable high in the movie, being expectedly top-grade and visually pleasing (and better used than Rogue One's!). Some creatures, such as the crowd-pleasing newcomers, the Porgs, are cute, amusing incorporations into the Star Wars universe, while others are slightly irritating, or else add little to the story. I tire of the "cantina scenes", which are beginning to feel overused and familiar. Our protagonists cannot be forever marvelling at the curiously shaped, many armed, numerous eyed creatures lounging in such establishments. Rehashing scenes to dig past emotions is a miserable way of garnering praise - much like the fatiguing wonder-turned-horror strategy so prominant in the Jurassic Park movies. Will they ever learn?
To sum it up, The Last Jedi is an engaging, worthwhile movie which, despite quality visuals, a classic score, loads of effects and its all-round exciting 152 minute bulk, fails to deliver on most plot-related subjects, forcing the viewer to a crossroads - will I choose to regard the movie as an insult to its own tradition and a disgrace to the Jedi Order franchise, or simply as a typical mistep of Disney's blundering supremacy, a popcorn movie, a crowdpleaser? It's the decision of the individual viewer, though I would counsel against staking my claims on the arbitrary whims of the insatiably money-hungry tyranny everyone knows Disney is.