This is not the Star Wars you are looking for. - Mouseverse Version

Rating: 5/10 (17 December 2017)

Let's keep in mind is that this movie was not written and directed by George Lucas, so the movie has an entirely different look and feel. In turn, many people complained that this movie did not feel like Star Wars. Star Wars was bought by Disney, so much of the story formula fits into the Disney story telling format. Having four children I have watched a great deal of Disney movies. I mean nearly all of the animated movies. So, I recognized the format, stances, and interactions from other animated movies. Disney is great at creating enjoyable children oriented, light hearted scenes, but falls short when it comes to creating strong storyline. Instead they rely in a series of enjoyable scenes to satisfy the watcher.
I had to watch the movie a few times before writing this. My first impression was that the writers missed several opportunities to cash in on fan expectations for all the characters. Many solutions to plot situations felt as if the writer did not ask what would be cool to see, what do the fans expect to see, and fits within the legends of these characters. In many ways it was as if the writers realized canon was out the door, thanks to the Mouse, and here was their chance to change things and change they must. The sad thing was they must not have reviewed canon as well as legends. As a result we see several scenes that make no sense, or have no reason to even be in the movie. Hold that thought.
All Star Wars fans will tell you that the Star Wars universe was rich in stories that fit well together, and could have been used/included in the Mouseverse. It seems that this movie was an excellent candidate for incorporate some of the legend stories in this movie.
I have heard from many sources saying that the goal of the writers where to approach the characters from the stand point that they are just human, so there was a desire to not to show the characters in a superhuman light. Sadly, superhuman is the best descriptions of force users. In a way the writers literally cut the heart out of both the Jedi and Sith. Fans wanted to see Luke saving the day in "godmode". When the movie failed to deliver, they were understandably disappointed. Sure the mental project across the universe was cool, and how the scene played out was great, but it still feel short. You would think in a time when movie viewers are so critical of a movie the writers would have tried harder to hit viewer expectations.
One let down was the conclusion of the Snoke storyline. I literally sat there thinking to myself this can't be the real ending? I literally felt ripped off. Hopes for a awesome fight between force users, but no. Snoke was this great force user who has unbelievable powers. Fans expected to see the character provide insurmountable challenges to the heroes. There was a build up leading to a great confrontation as Snoke used his powers with just a flick of finger, but in the end nothing.
Having watched all the previous Star Wars movies, read many of the books, played several of the video games, I feet what was written for Luke was out of character. The character, once a leader, now seems to be over come by self doubt and self pity. I will say I did enjoy some of his more human responses to other characters.
Let's talk Poe. I quickly became annoyed with the characters continual and never ending Disney style pep talks, joyful shouts, and tantrums. Sure it very cool to have a pilot who can do cool things with his ship, but I just found it hard to take him serious when most of the time he was proving himself to be a tool. By then end of the movie I found myself hoping he would killed off.
The Finn character, or comic relief guy, distracts from the overall story. For the most part he is filler. Towards the end his part becomes a bit more serious, but still out of place.
As I stated earlier, there are several scenes that made no scenes or had no reason to be in the movie. One scene is Chewy's meal. It was latterly a few minutes of the wookie interacting with small critters, but it did nothing at all to move the story along. Another scene that left me scratching my head was when Leia was blown out to space, then Supermans back to the ship (Meaning flying back into the ship.), opens a door to the vacuum of space in order to enter the ship. Now in the case of Leia one could argue that there was something Star Trekish there to protect her, but the story never stated such. They never took the time to tell the viewer this is what happened and why. Another case of this can be seen when the Falcons dice are passed around.
Conclusion
SW:TLJ is a good movie to watch so long as you understand it is not Star Wars. Look, I get it, it hold the title, it has the characters, and so on, but with the changes in characters, story development and telling it just doesn't fit in to Star Wars. To be honest it fits well with Star Wars Ewok Christmas. Still, it is enjoyable to watch, and it isn't violent or feeling insensitive so most people can enjoy it.