Unexpected but great

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2017)

I really enjoyed this movie. As a Star Wars movie it felt familiar but fresh und often did not give into the twists you expect. All the mayor characters are allowed to move forward and grow. All the deaths are well earned and the ending is well set up during the course of the movie. It has great details and a great re-watchability factor. Were the middle chapter in a trilogy can be a bit weak this movie stands well on its own and at the same time leaves you excited about what is still to come.
The missing star and I guess some missing stars from other reviewers is no fault of the movie's craftsmanship but to mourn the characters of the original trilogy. We leave them on a high note on Endor and I always imagined they lived happily ever after. To realize that Han and Leia could not make their relationship work in the long run, that they failed to give their son a happy and stable home, that Luke was not the best teacher and that life robbed him of his spark breaks my heart.
But if you can let go and let these old notions die you and your inner 12-year-old will thoroughly enjoy this movie.