It's original, and not what you expect

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2017)

By all means, this is not a perfect movie, but it certainly NOT the train wreck that users on here would have you believe.
After the criticism that TFA followed the plot of ANH too closely, and people comparing this one to ESB based on nothing but the previews, I was quite pleased that this movie contained a lot of surprises for me.
I thought I knew how this one would play out, because after all, there have been 7 other movies. However, this one kept surprising me. Something would happen and I would think "Now what?"
There are some spots that the pacing slows. There were some plot points that had me scratching my head. But there were enough surprises, enough NEW and ORIGINAL stuff that despite the detractions, I enjoyed it.
Go in with an open mind. Forget where you think this would go. Forget all the thoughts you had about what sequels to ROTJ would consist of. Don't try to anticipate this one or go in with some idea of what it should be. Just go in, be open to everything, and you'll be amazed.
Remember the lesson of the cave in ESB? "What's in there?" "Only what you take with you."
Don't take any preconceived ideas with you. Just go and take it all in.
Listen to what the story is telling you. There are a lot of deep themes in this one - about who we are, what we can become, why we do things, and what is truly important.
Is it a perfect movie? No. But it is new and original, and despite how I didn't like what happened to some of the characters, I applaud Rian Johnson for making a bold choice, and while this may not be the Star Wars you wanted, this is still a great Star Wars movie.