A huge disappointment

Rating: 2/10 (28 December 2017)

Well, it hurts to write this. But this movie was quite disappointing.
I really like Star Wars. The original trilogy is quite remarkable. I even appreciated George Lucas' prequels, which were highly controversial among some fans.
I went into this movie with a healthy dose of cautious optimism. I thought its predecessor, The Force Awakens, was a fun enough popcorn-chomping romp--though there were also things I didn't like about it. But the pros, I thought, far outweighed the cons.
I wish I could say the same for "The Last Jedi." But, sadly, I can't.
"Last Jedi," plainly stated, is a mess, extremely hard to follow. I expected to be dazzled at seeing Mark Hamill on screen once again as Luke Skywalker. Simply put, Hamill does as good a job as he can with the lackluster material he was given. But this movie, simply put, doesn't pass muster.
Let's face it--these "passing of the torch" movies never work. We love the old timers. They're irreplaceable. In "The Last Jedi" it is painfully obvious that Disney used Luke solely for ornamental reasons, cleverly draping him over the new characters of Rey, Finn and the other guy whose character's name isn't even worth remembering. (Finn and the other guy are instantly forgettable. I kind of like Rey, but not enough to carry the movie.)
What I really don't like about this movie, in addition to a boatload of other complaints I haven't the time to get around to, is just how lousy the CGI looked. Yes, I said it: Lousy. Disney spent a fortune on these special effects, and most of these new animals, aliens, that are supposed to be cute, cuddly and awe-inspiring just look...well, ridiculous. For goodness sake, Yoda wasn't even a puppet this time around. He was digital! "Lame this movie is."
I much, much prefer puppet Yoda, animatronic Yoda. Whatever he was, I liked him.
It was good, and sad, to see Carrie Fisher in this movie. But her character, much like Luke's, doesn't seem genuine. There's certainly something off. It's sad to see her, of course, because we know the actress tragically passed away last year.
I'm only giving this movie two stars out of ten because getting to see Fisher and Hamill onscreen together again was mildly enjoyable. But they weren't given much to work with. With a better, this could have been something truly momentous.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Go watch the original trilogy instead. Wait till this is on TV, or Netflix: Somewhere where you won't have to pay to see it.