This is Not Going to Go the Way You Think

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2017)

Luke's line mentioned in the trailer is exactly what this movies about. It does not go how you think. It is almost like they read all the fan theories on the net and said ok lets not fulfill those notions. And you know what I'm ok with that. This new trilogy started with Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, theses movies are about them not the original cast. The movie is good I was entertained but the problem lies (for me) in the elongated 1st act. Just like with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 I didn't realize that I was within the main plot until about halfway through the movie. The first half of the movie is a lot of filler that did not need to be there. I get what the over arching idea is supposed to be. The resistance in their most desperate hour, losses are great, choices are made, authority is questioned. I like all that but it could have progressed in a better paced way. During this first act though all the stuff going on with Kylo Ren, Rey and Luke are very interesting (and will create more fan speculation before Episode 9 comes out). Now to get into the good and the bad.
The Good: The opening battle, The second half of the film, Kylo Ren, Rian Johnson's direction (in the second half) and Mark Hamell's performance.
The opening battle reminded me of the opening of Revenge of the Sith but I think it was done better. This is also where Rian Johnson shines because its done like a little short film. We have two very, very interesting characters (good and bad) in this sequence I wish were in the whole film.
When certain events occur mid way through then the film becomes a true Star Wars movie. There are 3 sequences and a heartwarming scene that actually saves this movie. If it were not for these this movie would be a boring mess. It took an hour but the movie does find its pace.
Kylo Ren has about the most interesting story arch of these new movies. I really love how they are fleshing him out. You know why he is evil and you can see how he sees things. It does in a way echo Anakin Skywalkers motivation but it differs where as (spoiler) Anakin's fall to evil was for love while Kylo's fall was because of the betrayal of love (and may also be seeking it...hmmm.) This is why the Kylo Ren and Rey demographic that was presented in this film interests me the most and excites me as to where it is going in Episode 9.
Rian Johnson does a good job of bringing his style to Star Wars. It is nice to see a Star Wars movie with some style to its direction. Casual movie goers will not see the artful direction but inspiring filmmakers will and will notice he directed with his own style (to be fair so did JJ Abrams with the Force Awakens somewhat). There is a sequence that is so, pardon me, bad ass when the whole scene goes silent (and if I remember correctly I think it went into black and white also). There is also an awesome lightsaber battle (battle not fight) and a heartwarming scene with Luke and Liea. Its these moments that save this film. And the performance that Rian gets out of Mark Hamill is excellent. Hamill may have not agreed with the direction Luke was going in this movie but neither did Luke. And it gave Mark Hamill some juicy dialog to act to. I think Rian made the right choice for Luke, he is, after all, "only human".
The Bad: The first halfs pace, Canto Biat Casino, The subplot, Liea and the force.
Ok so like I mentioned before the first half has problems. The pace is off and goes into a slow crawl because it seems to want to fill time which it really didn't need to. The whole mutiny subplot was ok but it amounted to nothing. Finn and Roses mission was just out of place and once the story unfolds the sequence was very unneccassary. Finn could have been used a lot better here (I think his character as a whole could be more important to the resistance, like if he was an high officer or one of the technicians of the ships.) Laura Dern was used very useless until he bad ass moment but I was just started to like her character when it hinted that she may be more than she seems. But nope.
The Casino scenes were boring...that's all.
The mutiny subplot was ok but once the story unfolded it was unnecessary and would have had more weight to the subplot if the hint of what Laura Derns character really was turned out, but nope.
And when Liea uses the force is the most corniest scene in any Star Wars movie...EVER. The scene reminded me of a scene in Guardians of the Galaxy but I can except it in that film because they are superheroes. The scene took me out the movie and thought ok so now she is a superhero.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a entertaining film. It is worth the price of admission and I will go see it again. It's just that first act and some story points that are questionable but once the movie gets going boy does it get going (pretty much its when all the characters leave the locations they were at in the first act). Not as good as the originals, better than a couple of prequels and better than the Force Awakens do to its originality. One of the better Star Wars films but not the best.