don't believe all these unhappy fans

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2017)

To start if you don't want to read all my review please if you do anything read the last couple of lines!!!
What the franchise needed, not romanticised like the prequels and not fan service to ep4 like 7 was, just good honest emotional space opera at its finest. sure there are quirks but when you reflect on these they are swamped by the enormity of a fantastic film that has been pulled off here. if you are sore about the changes in the whole universe just remember how much previous films changed the universe etc. reminds me of that dark knight quote not what fans wanted but what fans needed.
I could go on and yes there are some fair comments on how little was actually achieved in terms of rey's training, the premise of snoke etc, but what do Disney expect when a different director is hired for the next film should he pander to the questions raised from the previous one, well they have been but not to the extent the oh so clever fans expected. i'm glad this film has some originality in it in comparison to 7 which although had some amazing new characters has far too many similarities to 4 making me think it was played a bit safe to intro the new trilogy.
anyway about this film. my only niggles and i believe in an honest review it should be only fair to comment both ways, was the bad good bad good bad (yes it that many , swings of the code breaker character, hopefully he returns in 9 and gets resolved a bit more. (kind of like Lando) maybe realising the error of his ways and joining the new republic. that and the whole casino arc was a bit useless other than subtle moments of animal rights and inspiring force sensitives which i doubt would pay off in the next movie unless there is a big time gap (which i'm hoping there is).
That and no actual lightsaber with lightsaber combat. the scramble of a duel in 7 was hoping for a bigger payoff after more training in 8 but alas it was not to be.
overall i was decided after seeing it once, it was either fantastic but not in a normal way or a let down.
after seeing it twice it for me is worthy of my high star rating. far from perfect, but so am i for expecting a star wars movie to ever get 10 out of 10 with so much expectation to fill. but all the same it was new and fresh and for something new and fresh to blow my expectations away and get 9/10 for me should be testament to how good it is , at least in my eyes.

for me episode 3 really had the series best in terms of action especially on a galaxy wide stakes front, although poor scripting etc made it lack the heart which really lowered it in terms of its ranking by many. (don't get me wrong its not my faviourite)
if episode 9 has the high stakes and action of 3 while holding onto the emotion that 5 and 8 had it should be good as a finale.
so to reflect this is not as good as my favourites 4 and 5 but it really does have a sense of standalone to it that may make it something to comeback to when movies like a lot of the prequel trilogy can sometimes feel samey. sure not a lot actually happened but i'd take that any day over the likes of some previous films that traded emotional honest moments for forced (forgive the pun) plot movement and unconvincing character interactions.
people are moaning about the u turn on the fans. this film has been made to be star wars which i like as a fan. not for a fan of star wars. like ep4 people liked it because it was original. this is that. and if your an avid fan like me you get your fan moments too : Admiral Ackbar (rip), a wings, ep4 hologram, mon calmari cruiser shield effects and hyperspace jumps, at-at's alongside the new ones. and many many quotes about previous events. but this is my view please make your own.