Good, not great, but also not horrible (an even-handed review)

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2017)

It's as though they where pitched a softball over the plate, while playing against a 5-person softball team, and yet only managed to hit a double (we've all been there though, haven't we?). But the movie doesn't strike out, and it is able to score better than a single.
Before I give a brief review of this film, here is how I rank all of the Star Wars films in order of best to worst: Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, Force Awakens, Return of the Jedi, LAST JEDI, Rogue One, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, Phantom Menace.
I would actually rank The Last Jedi and Rogue One on the same level. People who are giving this movie a one-star rating shouldn't be allowed to review films - ridiculous. This film is no where near as bad as episodes I - III (which the worst of those films should still get at least 3 stars).
The film is entertaining enough for those who are NOT looking for it to change their lives and create world peace. Its main weaknesses are in the lack of character development and overall narrative structure. It is as though all the pieces are present (decent acting, good narrative elements, great ambiance and cinimetagraphy - as opposed to Attack of the Clones), but they just couldn't take it from good to great. The good news is that it has a lot of potential. Even though this potential wasn't realized in this film, it still sets up plenty of good pieces for the next film. I could also see how this film could get better with age when it is contextualized with the next one....we'll see.