An Insult to the Star Wars Franchise

Rating: 1/10 (15 December 2017)

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I am severely disappointed. In all honesty, I really enjoyed the Force Awakens. The new characters were lovable, it had a good balance of old and new so it appealed to all audiences, and it had that classic "Star Wars" feeling. I left the theater in 2015 feeling hopeful for the future of the saga, thinking that The Force Awakens had set up a ton of potential for the characters and story.
For two years, I looked forward to The Last Jedi. And...well...it's bad. Really, really bad. If you enjoyed it, good on you, but here are my opinions:
In short, the plot is nonsensical, incoherent, slow, and does not match up with the films before it. There is an injustice to nearly every single character involved--it's clear that Rian Johnson cared more about being edgy than he cared about the story or its characters.
I'll start with Rey. In episode 7, she is shown to be an intelligent, strong, independent character with her own story. She is set up to be this huge special mystery character. None of that is present in episode 8. She is turned into a de-powered, gullible nobody (literally, after 2 years of this parentage debate, her parents are just junkers? It's anticlimactic and a boring cop out). Her entire story revolves around Kylo, and the decisions she makes don't make any sense. It's annoying and unfair to her character.
Next, Finn. For a character who is SUPPOSED to be the leading male protagonist, he is incredibly sidelined. He was one of my favorite characters of The Force Awakens, and he gets sent on some pointless B plot that gives him no development whatsoever. Not only that, but he doesn't share a single line of dialogue with Rey. Really? Critics raved about John and Daisy's chemistry, they spent the entirety of the Force Awakens together, and in this one their relationship doesn't develop at all? Very poor writing decisions regarding a character who had great potential.
Poe's personality does a complete 180 as well. He goes from a brave yet kind leader to an arrogant hothead who risks his fellow soldier's lives for the sake of glory. What's up with that?
Snoke even gets the short end of the stick. They set him up to be some all-powerful, mysterious villain, but het gets axed in two seconds with no explanation on who his character is. Nice.
Leia spends half the movie in a coma. She deserves so much better. There is so much I want to say regarding her, but I feel like that sums it up nicely.
And finally, Luke Skywalker. Nothing enrages me more about this movie than the treatment of Luke Skywalker. There is not a single aspect of this portrayal that does a shred of justice to the character we know and love. He is robbed of his personality and stripped of everything he's meant to stand for fundamentally. His biggest traits, compassion and love (especially for his family), are all but absent from this movie in a way that makes no sense and disrespects his character entirely. They advertised a great relationship between Luke and Rey, but not even that happens. There is no resolution. His story in this movie is weak and receives no justice. He is one of the most legendary characters of Star Wars, and this is the treatment he gets. I don't know who this character was, but it was not Luke Skywalker. Not at all.
I honestly do not understand the good reviews that critics are giving this movie. Yes, the visuals were stunning and the acting is well done. I will give it that. But for me, the integrity of the characters and story are far more important, and this movie fails that on both fronts. I am incredibly sad that this is the outcome.