The Last Jedi is definitely not The Empire Strikes Back

Rating: 3/10 (14 December 2017)

Is it still a Star Wars story? I guess. I don't really know what to feel about it. Having just seen it a few hours ago...I think phrasing it in a nutshell is that: Star Wars is now just a franchise norm, unable to live up to the hype that it had all those years.
Well...SPOILERS after this line. Here goes...
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I thought we would be exploring on the characters Rey, Finn, Poe and the legends like Luke & Leia Skywalker. But it turns out that they are all very two-dimensional now, unfortunately.
First off, lets start with Rey. The Force Awakens established her as the main protagonist. So here I thought we would dwell on her more - about her character. But it doesn't seem to go anywhere, other than the fact that her heritage is just from a "nobody". A nobody that is able to wield The Force to such extend, that without showing any real "training" from Luke...she is able to just do what she does in The Last Jedi. It begs to make me question - even if she does not meet Luke at the end of The Force Awakens, she would eventually know how to do what she does with The Force in all of its aspects that are shown in The Last Jedi because her plot requires her to do so. Like communicating with Kylo Ren light years away or lifting multiple boulders all at once, that could be just as heavy as one single X-Wing, yet she does it with such ease. And the fight she had with Kylo Ren - we did not see Luke train her, but we saw her training herself as Luke looks on. So...I guess her "training" happens by being close proximity to a real Jedi Master like Luke Skywalker. Makes me wonder, if she is close to Master Yoda while he was alive, will she be able to command the atmosphere at will too? Since Master Yoda did that in ghost form (I do not want to get started on that Jedi Ghost ability that we witnessed).
Next, we have Finn and Poe. One of which is delegated to being the humor relieved character, whom is inexperience and aspiring to be the hero that he should be, while the other is just a hot-headed leader-wannabe. I'll let you guess who is who. Since both are just the same when we were introduced to them in The Force Awakens. Nothing more. Nothing less. As for their stories that they partake in the film...I kept wishing that their subplots would just disappear - so that we can get more screen time for Rey & Luke. That is how disinterested I was.
Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master. Whom now can project himself through galaxies because the plot requires him to do so. I would had think that the writers would actually think of something plausible...but no...they just went with the simple - power of projection. It also makes me wonder, all those while with Master Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda...why didn't they do that in Prequels or in the original trilogy at all?
And Leia Skywalker-Solo (bless her soul. RIP Carrie Fisher). The Jedi power that they showed her do...wow...I am sorry...but it does boggle my mind. After all these years of trilogies...I am beginning to ask myself, when did the Star Wars script ever devolves into a Mary Sue state? Oh well...
As for the others...I didn't care about the asian ethnicity characters that were introduced. One lived and died in the introduction, and served as a motivation for the other? Whom by the end of the film was just gone, and I do not feel anything at all for that character. But I guess they did it, because China will appreciate it a lot.
Supreme Leader Snoke? Whom is supposedly to be so powerful and yet killed off by the middle of the film? WOW....bo-ring. zzz. And Captain Phasma....makes me wonder why they even bother introducing this character in the first place?
As for the story itself - well...i guess it is passable. Oh-Kay. So-So. If we treated Star Wars like any other franchise norm. There are dramatic moments. There are easter eggs. There are humor of all kinds that some are almost slapsticky. There are porgs here and there....and everywhere PORGS! I guess toy sales are more important.
Well, that is the gist of it all. Just my opinion. My reaction. Will I rewatch it ever again? Probably - only when it is on tele. Maybe others will enjoy The Last Jedi tremendously. And that is good. Go and enjoy yourselves with it. Or just go and check it out for yourselves. After all...It is Star Wars yah.