The Last Jedi For Me

Rating: 3/10 (17 December 2017)

This is the first time I have ever logged in to leave a review. This is how disappointed I was with this film.
Now I don't have too many problems with it as a standalone film, aside from the pacing and just general boredom that it provokes. I'm rating this as a Star Wars film, and more importantly, as episode VIII, the sequel to episode VII.
It feels like this movie took a dreadnought sized dump on almost every single character arc that JJ Abrams set up for us in VII.
WASTED CHARACTERS
2 years of questions about Snoke's real identity, purpose, backstory, etc. He gets a few villain-esque lines in before dying halfway through the movie. Luke Skywalker's is also a wasted character, but every other review probably has a detailed explanation of that already. It was painful to endure.
I won't go into detail about supporting characters, but I will say that Captain Phasma (a younger audience favourite) and Admiral Ackbar (an older audience favourite) were also completely discarded, with no advancement of the plot whatsoever. Which brings me to my next point.
STORY
Where did we begin the movie? Where did we end up? Is there any difference? What changed? The correct answer is pretty much nothing. Rey is just a better Rey. Kylo Ren is just a more confident Kylo Ren. Leia hasn't changed and probably won't in IV either. Finn's character hasn't changed. The situation between the Resistance and the First Order hasn't changed. Why is this movie here?
NO ELEMENT OR FEAR
So the imposing, 8 foot tall darkside mastermind who we caught glimpses of in episode VII turns out to be no more than fodder. Okay... So who is going to be the main cause of fear now that he dies? Who is going to be the next Vader, or dare I say, Palpatine? Kylo Ren certainly isn't going to trouble me any time soon. I was not scared, frightened, nervous, worried, concerned at any point in the entire movie.
HUMOUR
So I do understand that this movie is made by Disney to sell toys to younger audiences, but that doesn't imply the need to fill the film with childish and unfunny jokes. Did we learn nothing from Episode 1? The first scene where Poe was trolling General Hux made me think had accidentally walked into Guardians of the Galaxy 3. This was not Star Wars humour at all, and neither was the rest of the movie.
THE GOOD
The acting was a great step up from VII. Poe delivers a great performance, as well as Adam and Daisy. Mark Hamill did surprisingly well with the garbage script he was handed.
The light-speed suicide scene was a work of art. Well done. I could watch it 10 times.
The palace battle was entertaining and gave me flashbacks of the prequel fight scenes.
SUMMARY
If you are a fan of the franchise or the genre, you need to watch it, just because it is a Star Wars movie. Just don't go in with high expectations.