Here we go again.

Rating: 4/10 (16 December 2017)

The second of the third trilogy and the third Star Wars movie produced by Disney. One more movie added to the collection of what seems to be an endless series (and endless conflict in space). No matter what, Disney will get their money and it'll not stop until the franchise is no longer profitable. I'll be waiting for those times, but for now, let's talk about Episode VIII, shall we?
I'll keep this review spoiler-free, since most of the IMDb reviews are not.
Now, if you didn't like The Force Awakens (like me), it's best to ignore Episode VIII. If you liked The Force Awakens, I honestly don't know whether you're going like this film or not, as feedback from fans seems to be mixed.
In short, Episode VIII - The Last Jedi feels like its made by the studio executives, rather than the movie makers. This is a very cliche thing to say, but would you be surprised if most of the decisions were made by the studio? I have nothing against people who made this. As matter of fact, I feel sorry for them as their talent were completely wasted. I think this can be applied to most Marvel (or Hollywood in general) films too.
There are a lot of problems in this film. Most of them may seem like nitpicks to some people, but for me personally, immersion is very important and some small, and not so small, details can break the film; to a point, I stop caring about what will happen. Mistakes and missteps can make the film artificial and make you think about the decisions filmmakers made.
I have no problem with unrealistic scenarios and irrational decisions made by characters in a film but then rules need to be established and some sort of line between complete fantasy and realism should be there. Let me just say that "the force" seem to be very inconsistent. Sometimes you need training, sometimes it just works without it. There was one moment that almost made laugh. It's something that just happens and we are not going to see the same thing happening again, even though it could be one of the most useful force abilities you could imagine. Speaking of inconsistencies, most characters sometimes speak of something and then proceed to do something else. "We need to stay. No, we need to escape." This leads me to another problem.
Too many plot devices and coincidences. When everything goes bad and there is no hope, something always saves the situation. Either it's a dumb decision that just works or a situation that just can't possibly happen, no questions asked. There will be no tension when things just happen due to lazy writing.
And there's more. There are too many forced (no pun intended) sequences where you are supposed to feel sad about the tragedy when you don't care about the character. Also, many of the jokes seem to be focused on these CGI creatures that reminds me of prequel trilogy, and I already forgot what the jokes were about. I think they were just weird alien creatures being weird or something.
Technically, the film is standard Hollywood flick, maybe even too standard. Action sequences were uninspired, but competent. There were no unique/creative camera angles. CGI wasn't bad, but it was very noticeable. Now, I'm not 100% sure about this next statement, but there was some unnecessary focus points. Especially the CGI creatures in the background. Again, weird alien things being weird and some hamster creatures that were suppose to look cute. They didn't add anything to the story and seem to be there to sell toys. Hey, atleast ewoks were doing something useful. There isn't any other reason for these creatures to appear.
There's definitely more to say, but due to limited space, I have to end it here. Episode VIII is yet another Disney studio Star Wars film that play it safe.
Oh, one last thing. There are reasons why Mark Hamill wasn't keen on this film and probably are the same problems that made Harrison Ford left this franchise, but who knows. Atleast we got another Star Wars film. It's all that matters, right?