Star Wars: The Last Contradiction?

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2018)

Laser cannons flash as "X" wing and Tie fighters do their best to dodge in between the deadly streaks of light in a desperate attempt to survive and win the day for their respective armies. Heroes loom larger than life, at times unrealistically so, as sarcastic quips rip through the explosions overshadowing the deadly struggles they're involved in. Impossible situations are serendipitously overcome time and time again as heroes manage to narrowly escape the clutches of their relentless enemies. Laughter, and clenched tears, are skillfully wrung from the audience as careful dialogue and likeable characters (despite their shortcomings) are centered on the silver screen. Such is the mixed bag of nuts that is Star Wars: The last Jedi, a movie that doesn't live up to the lofty expectations nor is it the abysmal failure that some have mistakenly accused it of.
I liked this movie. It was a visual and audio masterpiece, as the sights and sounds literally seemed to jump off the big screen and surround the darkened theatre in bright lights and thunderous booms. But like with most of the notable attractions of the film, it's being pulled down by it's equal share of out of balance moments. The over the top wisecracks by some of its heroes, at the beginning of the movie left me wondering if I shouldn't be viewing this film through a dark comedy lens instead of an action sci-fi epic I've grown to expect from this franchise. There were also several times when the characters were in some pretty tight spots, but instead of finding a clever way out of their situation, there was always a convenient prop that showed them the way out in the very next scene. These in of themselves were not movie wreckers for me, but it had the jarring effect of breaking immersion, and it took me awhile to get back into the film.
Despite its flaws, the sequel has many things going for it. The action and special effects were superb, and the overall story arc was interesting and fun to watch unfold. While at some points the writing seemed, lazy there were plenty of other times when the characters and dialogue really pulled at my heart strings, and I really cared about what was going to happen next. My two cents, if you're on the fence and wondering whether to see it in the theatre or not, I'd say see it on the big screen. Just beware its not an earth shattering movie but at the end of the credits, it's a great bit of escapism and a treat to watch.