A mixture of good and bad writing and a lot of wasted opportunities

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2019)

Never before have I felt such conflicted feelings towards a movie. On one hand, there are moments of genuinely brilliant filmmaking and on the other, there are some bafflingly stupid moments that makes you wonder how this was made by the same director.
Let's start with the positives. This movie deals with some really mature themes such as failure, letting go of the past, leadership etc. These themes were utilized very well to fulfill the arcs of Luke, Rey and Poe. Kylo Ren is arguably the most complex and well written character in the franchise. The lead performances, especially by Mark Hamill and Adam Driver were top notch. Rian Johnson's visual style is evident throughout the movie. The technical aspects like the production design, vfx, cinematography etc were outstanding and this is probably the most visually stunning star wars movie ever.
As a negative, there are instances where good storytelling is sacrificed for the sake of the theme. This is most evident in the scene where Rose saves Finn and says the much maligned, "saving what we love" line. This was an excellent message but it is misplaced and doesn't fit innthe context. The light speed ram is probably the most visually stunning moment in the franchise, but since it was done by a poorly written character like Holdo, it wasn't very effective emotionally. Rose was another underdeveloped character. The casino sequence was poorly executed and doesn't fit in this movie. It was very reminiscent of earth and I wish they could've done something a little more creative. The force awakens provided numerous opportunities to expand the story. But this movie wasted a lot of potential and instead of building up on TFA's story, it feels like it tried to be its own thing. Another aspect was the humour, which didn't suit the movie very well and caused some tonal inconsistencies.
I can clearly understand the divisive response this movie received. The main storyline which includes Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren was excellently crafted and incredibly satisfying. Eventhough I really liked this movie, I won't ignore the numerous flaws and wasted opportunities throughout the movie