They keep moving just out of the range of our guns

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2017)

The original Star Wars, now 40 years old, was always presented as a complete but fairly sterile universe. We enjoyed the heroics of the first 3 films, but were largely nonplussed by the CGI laden effects of the next 3. Like the last film, this is a return to form.
And however enjoyable this romp is, it effectively admits that there is nothing much more that can be done with the franchise at the moment. The film is probably as entertaining as any of the other Star Wars films, and even shows occasional flashes of strong film making. But the fresh stuff cannot quite escape the weight of it's own familiar format.
The Star Wars pieces are deftly moved about in grand sweeps, but with surprisingly little outcome. The character arcs seem strangely un-epic.The humour is deployed well, but just serves to reduce the size of the characters, because there is little counter-balancing in tension. At no time do we learn anything new about the Star Wars universe, or anything about where we are today in the real world. It is stuck in a fixed moral code. The attempted theme of renewal splutters along careful tramlines, and just about keeps the show on the road.
Overall the film is satisfying, and is more than just filler for the video games and McDonald's toys, but it needs something fairy strong to make it anything more than an echo of what it was.