I will finish what you started.. or will I?!

Rating: 6/10 (11 January 2018)

The Force Awakens relaunched the franchise to a generally positive reception. The Last Jedi has divided opinion greatly, does it finish what JJ started, is it really a bad movie, or just a bad Star Wars movie?
Straight up, this movie has top notch production values, the visuals and set and sound design feel authentically Star Wars. Acting performances are generally well done, and there are some excellently choreographed action sequences. As a piece of stand alone cinematography - this is a first class production and Disney has shown it's not scrimping on the budget with the franchise.
The controversy really begins when we start looking at the storyline and characters. This is where terms like "you've ruined my childhood" get thrown about. The direction taken in The Last Jedi was certainly not one which many old-school fans might have expected it would take, and some of the plot-twists leave a lot to be desired. The purpose of the new direction is to move Star Wars into a new (post George Lucas) era and expand the universe beyond what we've seen before. We're introduced to more force abilities, more new characters, and new worlds. However, some of the new settings seemed shoe-horned in rather than fulfilling any significant purpose to the story arc. Character depictions deviate from expectations, with little pay-off. I wonder if the writers could have given previous leading characters more heroic roles whilst not undermining the next wave of characters in any way? In any case, the emphasis was definitely on the new characters, they are the stars of this new franchise so perhaps it was for the best.
We are left with a feeling that the past movies are no longer relevant to the new wave of Star Wars, the older characters almost feel like their purpose was to simply pass on the torch. In many ways this movie is a transitional one, preparing us for the next in the series. It has let down many die-hard fans in the way it handled this transition and we can only hope that the change in direction will give us an epic closure to this trilogy and not an epic disappointment.
SUMMARY
A+ for entertainment value, great action sequences, awesome on big screen
C+ for storyline, character arcs could have been handled better in more deft hands.
Overall history will judge this movie by the movie that follows it, and it's not the type of movie I would recommend watching more than twice.