Flow & Continuity

Rating: 5/10 (30 January 2020)

Let me start by saying this: I didn't hate The Last Jedi, there were aspects of the film that I liked and some (many) that I didn't. But my overall opinion on TLJ comes from the fact that I have watched every Star Wars movie time and time again including TLJ, and every time I watch it I find myself disliking it even more, here's why...
Aspects I didn't like:
1. The way Luke's character was written. I can understand Luke's concern for Rey's raw strength, but no one and I mean NO ONE wanted or expected to see Luke toss his lightsaber behind his head like it was some meaningless toy, that was just an example of the terrible writing that his character received. Luke's persistence for the Jedi Order to end May as well have insinuated that he wanted the First Order to rise, it just didn't make any sense. Finally, I wish that Luke would've actually appeared for his showdown with Kylo Ren, that would've been a killer lightsaber duel, and we were robbed of it.
2. Holdo. When I watched this in the theater, I just couldn't understand why Holdo was made out to be a coward by not telling anyone her plans (I was convinced at that point she was a traitor) and then sacrifice herself like that, again, lazy writing.
3. Rose and Canto Bight. A LOT of time would've been saved if Rose was left as a minor character and the whole Casino Royale business on Canto Bight would've been cut from the film. I personally didn't have much of a problem with Rose except the fact that she came across as a bitter person, it was the Canto Bight nonsense. All that they needed was the code breaker, instead it became what felt like a 30 minute affair of riding a horse to safety and being predictably betrayed by some sketchy code breaker, it all just felt so wrong. And then there was Rose, who wasn't so bad until she ruined Finn's epic moment. Finn was hell bent on sacrificing himself to end the Battle of Crait which would've been gut wrenching but amazing, instead, we were given a forced romance.
4. Pacing. The movie's terrible pacing puts it on par with Attack of the Clones, a movie where you don't even see Count Dooku-who's supposed to be the main villain-until an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie. The first sequence of the Dreadnought'a destruction provides a lot of promise for a fun, action-packed movie; however, the film easily bores as the action decreases more and more until the First Order tracks the Resistance through light speed, where the action picks up again, until it slows down more and finally picks up again about an hour and a half later when Kylo Ren kills Snoke. Another example of lazy and off-beat writing.
Aspects I liked:
1. The Throne Room. One of the few impeccable scenes of the film where Kylo Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke, this is followed by Kylo and Rey teaming up to duel Snoke's Praetorian Guards. This scene alone almost made up for the 1 and 2/3rds of an hour snooze fest that preceded. The chemistry, the choreography and more make this scene amazing.
2. Kylo and Rey's Force connection. Although it is controversial, Kylo and Rey's connection through the Force displays their chemistry to perfection and elaborates upon their power of being a dyad in the Force (as described in The Rise Of Skywalker).
3. Yoda. Yoda's appearance in the movie was awesome, mainly because it expanded the powers of a Force Spirit; also, Yoda had to appear at that point to talk some sense into Luke by subtly encouraging him to let the past die and confront Kylo Ren.
The title of this review is Flow & Continuity which, in terms of any movie, is essential because in order to make an enjoyable movie, you must maintain flow and continuity with the storyline by respecting previous notions created by a movie's predecessor (in this case, The Force Awakens), and you must maintain flow with the pacing of the film mainly with this example: if you start with an action-packed opening, you cannot let the action just decrease or the audience will lose hope and interest. TLJ has no flow and continuity, not with the storyline first instituted in The Force Awakens, and DEFINITELY not with pacing.