Disheartening

Rating: 4/10 (20 August 2018)

I rated "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)" a 7 and in that review I explained why I gave it that rating and that I expected the sequel to be rated higher. In short, I gave The Last Jedi's predecessor a 7 because Luke Skywalker was not in it until the final minute or so of the movie. That led me to believe that they'd bring the Jedi master back in the Last Jedi in a very powerful role. I couldn't have been more wrong. I went to see this movie because I expected Luke to be reengaged in the battle. Well, they engaged him, but not in any meaningful way from a warrior's perspective. After his big moment, he was apparently so overexerted that he died and faded away. Just sad, I mean really sad that this was the manner in which Star Wars' greatest hero dies.
This sequel should have leveraged Master Skywalker in a big way, but instead it focused on Rey, Fin and Ren. The story line of the three of them together didn't hold a candle to the story lines of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. It was one disappointment after the other.
Before seeing this movie, I felt strongly that fans of the original three movies released need to see the remaining Star Wars films, and not all of them were good. My advice now would be to see everything through The Force Awakens and then walk away. Use your imagination to conjure up a perfect sequel. That's the only way you'll be comfortable with Luke's evolution.