A Disney-fied INSULT to Star Wars fans

Rating: 1/10 (16 December 2017)

The Last Jedi. With a title like that, it's no surprise that Star Wars Episode VIII was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The implications and perceived darkness of the title and trailers gave mega-fans like me more hype than we could handle, especially coming off the nostalgic and satisfying Force Awakens, which was a grand-slam commercially, critically, and most importantly: with the fans. I bought my tickets at first release, wore my favorite Star Wars shirt, and arrived at the theater expecting great things and to be blown away again.. but I can't believe I'm saying this: I left The Last Jedi disappointed & feeling like I got insulted by an old friend.
The movie has good visuals and a lot of action. There, those are the only pros I could think of. Now, the flaws. First and foremost: Disney-fication. I have noticed and been calling this out since the summer and how much Marvel films have changed since their Disney deal in movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok, where it feels like Disney is trying to skew the movies towards weak-minded kid audiences who want silly jokes and fuzzy creatures instead of films that take the artform seriously or have any wit, consequence, or point to make. The SAME problem bleeds over to TLJ, even more brutal as things like Porgs (the new Jar Jar Binks as far as I'm concerned..), burping dwarves, Luke cracking jokes, and alien maids in nun outfits are shoved down our throats, when the film was marketed as being dark & serious like Empire Strikes Back and is essentially a big lie on that front and insult to Star Wars fans who trusted it.
Next, the script is a mess. I found myself thinking at several points in the film 'Wait, this doesn't make sense. No problem, they'll fix it in the end.' But they never did. First, the entire Finn and Rose subplot is completely useless and does absolutely nothing to progress the story in any way. It feels like they just wanted to give Finn something to do & fit in an Asian character to appeal to that marketplace's $$$ (even more insulting). Also, the plot on the ship made NO sense. If Captain Phasma had just explained her thinking to Poe instead of leaving it muddy for dramatic effect, all would've turned out better for the Rebels instead of the disaster it did. Finally, I don't think the filmmakers understand how space works (crazy to ponder as it's called STAR Wars) as Leia had the perfect opportunity to have a meaningful (and well-needed after her tragic passing in real life) exit, but somehow survives being in DEAD SPACE without even a suit and swims to safety like nothing happened when science says she would've died instantly. Wow.
Finally, accuracy to the Star Wars name and vision George Lucas built over 40 years. The film feels almost like a parody and betrayal of the character of Luke and the Jedi. I have to wonder if Rian Johnson even watched the original trilogy because of how different Luke is as a person, COMPLETELY flip-flopped in every way from who he is as the biggest character in the history of Star Wars, and one of the biggest characters in the history of fiction. Like I could maybe accept that isolation can change a person a little, but not this much and his explanation and reasoning made no sense and were so poorly written: Luke sensed a little darkness in my student so Luke is going to kill him and all Jedi he spent an entire Trilogy begging to be part of!!!! Also, why did Yoda come back and say Jedi need to die and go along with his reasoning (which at least would've made for a more intriguing storyline if the movie had stuck with it and ended the Jedi and tried something different), but at the end of the movie, we are in the EXACT same position narratively as when we started: The Rebellion is scrambling to survive as they're being hunted down by the First Order. The only difference is *SPOILER* Luke's exit, but even that lacked the true gravity and emotion that we should 100% expect from the exit of MAIN CHARACTER OF STAR WARS.
In the end, (I still can't believe I'm saying this for one of my most hyped films of the year) I left The Last Jedi disappointed and like I got let down by an old friend. The title, marketing, trailer, and "critics" all lied to me (Rotten Tomatoes is without doubt to me on payroll by Disney to give every one of their major releases a 90%+ (every giggly Marvel movie seems to challenge Dark Knight.., TLJ rated higher than A NEW HOPE & EMPIRE), even when fans are hating it and gave it the lowest audience score in the history of Star Wars (even lower than PHANTOM MENACE!) I do not plan on seeing The Last Jedi ever again & will not watch Ep. IX if Disney has anything to do with it. They ruined Star Wars for me.