Well, certainly wasn't what I was expecting. And it payed off!

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2017)

The Last Jedi is probably going to become canonised as a cinematic classic in the next couple of years; who knows? I think that although it is just under The Original Trilogy, this and The Force Awakens are pretty worthy follow-ups to George Lucas' monumental legacy.
This film starts right where The Force Awakens left off; no dilly-dallying, just straight into the action, and even some surprisingly good spur-of-the-moment comedy that is a result of the action happening on-screen.
The story; Luke Skywalker is called out of hiding to take on The First Order and his old apprentice: Kylo Ren.
There's one area I've neglected to cover, because I found it painful: Carrie Fisher's final performance as Leia Organa. It was great seeing her again, and there's a reveal in the film: she is strong with the force, and it saves her life when she's blown into the vacuum of space in the middle of battle.
Luke is called upon by Rey to help save the galaxy from The First Order destroying the remnants of The New Republic. For the most part Rey struggles to get across to him, but that all changes when Luke is confronted by the past coming back to haunt him all over again.
The Last Jedi is a 2017 milestone. It's unfortunate that this wasn't included in the AFI's Top 10 films of 2017 list. This NEEDS some critics' top-10 2017 list-love; and soon!
Rian Johnson is probably the closest person who's emulated the scale the aesthetics that George Lucas and Irvin Kershner achieved with the first two Star Wars movies. And what an achievement honestly. This is new Star Wars territory; Lucas or not, this is bold stuff and pretty memorable. It's just a damn shame we'll never see this trilogy end with Carrie.
We miss you Leia. May the Force be with you.