I ABSOLUTELY understand the Hate

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2017)

Let me be frank, I ran for A New Hope and Empire once I was done watching this over-inflated film. BUT, I can't help but feel it was attempting to tread on new territory and build on what was already established. Unfortunately, it carries the burden of a 7 movies before it, so a LOT of comparisons will be drawn to it. This is very much like Empire. She goes to train with a reluctant Jedi master as her friends are fighting to stay ahead of impending doom. We even get Lando's doppleganger in Benicio Del Toro. If you ever wanted to get a sense of Lando and Han's relationship...this seems to be an echo of what may have transpired.
I don't blame Star Wars fans for blasting this. The jokes are pretty much parody of itself. The characters do dumb stuff. And lead characters are separated. My guess...to introduce more people into the new universe. Why am I giving it a favorable review?
It's so well made. Much like the Spielberg/Lucas teaming, you can tell Rian Johnson makes...films. Rogue One seemed to be movie by committee. Though I don't think Johnson has the pixie dust buoyant touch of JJ Abrams, I can tell he is adding much more academia to future episodes. So this is more about the hope of better things coming up rather than what I've seen. Take that for what it's worth. As a film, there are heartbreaking moments that I won't get into. But it tugs at your memories in a good way. You sense Han Solo's presence, but...it seems so long ago. And how they handle Luke and Leia made me misty for the ol' days. Forget the underlying political junk of this era if you can. To me when we age out, it's always a sense of moving forward.