It's a small step for a movie, one giant leap for Star Wars universe.

Rating: 7/10 (18 September 2018)

Eight episode's motto could be: "Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to." There are average parts (battle at start), good parts (chemistry between Kylo and Rey) and iconic parts (meeting Luke, final farewell). Johnson is not afraid to go against conventions and thus relativises the Force, the Jedi, the Darkness and even Luke himself. Sometimes it's done well, sometimes it's worse.
Finn's heist missions and fleet rebellion are not very interesting, at times it's just boring filler. The best part is by far the island plotline revolving around Rey and Luke. Philosophy of the Force, discovering the past and breaking of old dogmas, together with good atmospheric build-up. The mental dialogues between Kyle and Rey are very impressive - the Force finally woke up. But the whole story takes place during few dozen hours, so the speed of key moments and character transformations doen't make much sense. Fortunately, the final half-hour is filled with emotions, action and visuals, so typical for Star Wars at it's best.
New characters, though actors are trying hard, are deep in the shadow of the characters from the original trilogy. Finn is more or less useless, and his sidekick, Rose, is the most irritating character since times of Jar-Jar Binks! Poe didn't interest me either. Rey is more mysterious and serious than before, still very likeable, but ... While in the previous trilogies it took years of hard training before an apprentice became Jedi, here Rey becomes Jedi after a few minutes of lightsaber fencing (I'm not exaggerating). Her development is hasty and unconvincing, which is stupid because half of the movie revolves around mastering the Force with all the dilemmas it brings. Snoke was the biggest disappointment - his character had an incredible potential, which was in 99 % wasted. He proved in each scene that he could be a really formidable villain. Shame on writers for that! Kylo Ren has improved - he is more torn, ambitious and unpredictable than last time. Yet he still lacks charisma of his grandfather. Anyway, Adam Driver's acting is perfect but there's still room for improvement. Princess Leia is both bad-ass and noble at the same time, alas Carrie Fisher's age is showing. And Hammil's Luke Skywalker? He's the heart of the entire movie, dominates in every scene and the final shots with him belong to the top tier of Star Wars saga.
However, I missed the liveliness and playfulness of Force Awakens. The Last of the Jedi felt empty, gray and maybe too constricted. On the other hand, the eight episode isn't (unlike 7th) afraid to be innovative, to take steps forward - sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.