Gutsy storytelling that doesn't quite work in the context of a franchise

Rating: 7/10 (3 July 2019)

Possibly the gutsiest Star Wars film. Rian Johnson went for the gusto as he basically did the opposite of JJ Abrams in not playing it safe but instead making decisions that although craft a great narrative also carried potential to upset a lot of the fanbase, and it did just that. The movie has a much more grounded tone while also giving a lot of surprises throughout. The movie functions almost like a roller coaster in the dark as every action taken in the film in jarring and often unexpected. The bold decisions by Johnson although repelling to most fans really worked for the most part (with the exception of some of the casino stuff and Rose Tico). Unfortunately, the movie was just way to sloppy to stick the complete landing. Many action sequences are a great spectacle, but Johnson did not know how to put it all together smoothly especially with a lot of small plot holes. It feels clunky at times, and many small details are just left hanging leaving the audience not fully satisfied especially when it comes to advancing the overall trilogy storyline (since it does not do that AT ALL). Ultimately, the Last Jedi is creative, exciting story-telling that looks beautiful but leaves to many loose ends to put together a masterpiece. So instead we end up with is overall a solid Rian Johnson film but also a very poor Star Wars film that really holds back the sequels from progressing as a franchise.