Ignore The Disinformation

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2018)

Never in my experience have I come across a more concerted disinformation campaign by a small core of obsessive fans.
Every regular cinema-goer I have asked has told me this film is a good Star Wars movie, with enjoyable characters, twists and action. But after reading the reviews on this site, I actually wondered if I should skip this film at the cinema. I'm so glad I didn't.
Just as when The Force Awakens premiered there seem to be a small but incredibly vocal bunch of Star Wars fanatics who are incredibly angry that the series has not moved in the direction their own fan-fiction and are unable to see beyond that.
The Last Jedi's story and script is a refreshing take on Star Wars. Kylo Ren is easily the most interesting and complex villain since Darth Vader, and not some pantomime villain like Christopher Lee or Iain McDiarmid. The action is thrilling and inventive and the humour in this film is not heavy-handed.
There are the usual flaws in Star Wars films - it's marketing-heavy (let's not forget that George Lucas created this franchise with marketing in mind). It has to work really hard to explain its own mythology (George Lucas hadn't thought it through when he wrote part IV - he didn't even know it WAS part IV at the time). And there are lots of exposition-heavy scenes to explain why it's so urgent we need to get to X to obtain Y etc etc.
But actually, in comparison to previous Star Wars movies, these flaws are mostly kept to a minimum. And there's a nice subtext in this film about how the Force belongs to everyone, not just a select few with a high midichorien count. Whatever the heck THAT is.
In short, the one and two star reviews of this film are an absolute disgrace. This is an enjoyable, exciting movie. It does NOT contain the worst lines (that would be part 2) it does NOT contain stupid plot holes (that would be part 3) it does not contain cloying childish humour (that would be part 6).
If you're able to view Star Wars films as just that - films - and not scripture then you will likely enjoy this movie.