Showed promise, though couldn't follow through. (Spoiler free initial review paragraph)

Rating: 3/10 (26 December 2017)

If you know me in person, you'll know that I enjoy Star Wars. I'm no hyperfan (I'm yet to speak fluent Mandalorian) but I like to think I know my stuff. At least compared to the average cinema-going audience. It's because of this that I was rather nervous for the upcoming (and since arrived) Star Wars movie. The Force Awakens had left a poor taste in my mouth, and nothing else Disney had done with the property was giving me confidence. I was expecting perhaps a 5/10; the trailer was well edited, and I do adore Mark Hamill. That isn't to say I didn't want it to be good; I wanted it to be great. I was hoping that my expectations would be blown from the waters of Manaan, and be left ecstatic in anticipation for episode IX. In case the past tense didn't give it away, this wasn't the case after viewing the movie.
For this paragraph, I shall give a brief review without spoilers. Overall, in my questionable opinion, i'd give the film a 3/10. That may change over time, however. When I first saw The Force Awakens, I found it a disappointment. Upon repeat viewings, I grew to despise it. Hopefully, that shan't be the case with this instalment. I give it such a low score, as I feel it failed on almost every front. I felt the majority of the film was devoid of depth, and apart from a few minor sequences, only sought to pander to the audience. If you enjoyed The Force Awakens (which you are entirely entitled to do) you will most likely enjoy The Last Jedi. With that said, I shall now move onto a more in-depth discussion, almost certainly featuring spoilers. Proceed with caution.
Following the iconic, almost 'jumpscare'-like introduction and credits, I found myself nervous. Our heroes are evacuating the Resistance base, but already the acting left a lot to be desired. When making a film, your first scene should arguably be one of the strongest in the running time. It needs to captivate the audience, and pull them into this new world. Instead, I found myself laughing at various Extras. I appreciate they aren't the focal point of the film, but for a multi-million dollar movie, I expect better. This opening action sequence also highlights a primary issue with the movie: There is very little to be invested in. The characters in peril, aside from the late Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa, and Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron, are all strangers. There are a few returning characters sprinkled throughout the film, such as the unfortunately iconic Admiral Ackbar. Unfortunately, they are unceremoniously dispatched in a big CGI explosion. I appreciate that most viewers don't know, or care, who they are, but these characters are decades old in real life.
We witness a then-stranger sacrifice herself to destroy a 'Dreadnaught', then it rarely comes up again. This is surprising, as the character is revealed to be Rose Tico's (Kelly Marie Tran) sister. We are given a few scenes of the character crying for her sister, and frequent shots of a medallion, but not much else. The medallion comes into play later, but it could quite easily be removed from the film entirely, without making much difference. Much like Finn and Rose's subplot, actually.
This time around, I found John Boyega's portrayal of Finn to be far less grating. The acting was toned down a little, and he became far more bearable. Of the returning characters (besides Carrie Fisher) I found him to be the most improved. That's unfortunate, as his entire subplot could be deleted from the film. Finn and Rose are on a mission to find somebody capable of disabling Snoke's (Andy Serkis) ship's sensors temporarily, allowing the Resistance to flee. In the end, however, they fail. Not only that, but the plan is entirely forgotten. Instead, Admiral Holdo (portrayed by Laura Dern) sacrifices herself while going into hyperspace, aimed directly at the aforementioned ship. The only reason Rose Tico seems to exist is for a clumsy romance subplot to be squeezed in at the end.
A returning issue from the previous film is the comedy. Star Wars as a franchise is no stranger to humour, but yet again, they overdid it. It seems as though Disney is imposing a joke-per-minute rule. If it isn't up to par, it won't be made. It happened in the MCU, and it's happening here. I can't take scenes seriously when the characters themselves don't seem to, and that really hurts the film in the long run. Worse still, the majority of the jokes aren't even funny. Perhaps half of my audience laughed consistently, which isn't good enough if you have to derail the plot to achieve such a result. The writing of this film was, quite honestly, abysmal.
There was many baffling lines from the film, though one of my favourites was "You murderous snake!" howled by a furious Daisy Ridley. I don't feel her acting has improved from the last film, which is an enormous shame. She continues to overact, shouting almost every line in which she is impassioned. If this was a play at the West End, it might work. It isn't. The poor script, coupled with weak performances from actors, made this film feel closer to a fan project than an officially licensed cinematic venture.
One actor who didn't seem to falter, much to my relief, was Mark Hamill. Though at times I felt he struggled with the poor script he'd been given, he was relatively consistent throughout. Luke's character had the most depth portrayed on screen, only rivalled perhaps by Kylo Ren. Adam Driver brought a believable sense of vulnerability to the failed Jedi, and oftentimes he came across as the reasonable one. At least when playing opposite Rey's over-impassioned roars.
In case it wasn't apparent, I personally despise Rey. Ignoring the frequent debate on whether or not she's a 'Mary Sue', her character is simply insufferable. She hasn't seemed to earn any of her many talents, and she continues to act as if she deserves the world. Or galaxy, I suppose. Even while on the literal brink of death, she continues to talk. Snoke wills her into the air, as if she were a puppet, and she still makes demands as though she's oblivious to the situation. I feel no tension when the character herself doesn't seem to notice the peril she's in.
Speaking of Snoke, he was one of the weakest elements of the movie by far. That isn't to knock Andy Serkis's work. The voice is fantastic as always, but the character was almost entirely pointless. He gets killed in what feels like the end of the second act. It isn't a dignified death, either. There was no duel, or showcase of strength, nothing. He was just surprised, then carved down the middle. The film seemed rather confused about it's rating. There was full on decapitation during what I would consider the best scene in the movie (the battle with Snoke's guards) yet it was still rated a 12 in my country. I'm certainly not complaining; if anything, i'd like more amputation and the like. It just seemed odd how literally thousands of people died during this film, and we're never given a moment to dwell on that.
The pacing throughout the film is non-stop. You never get time to appreciate John Williams' score, or enjoy the cinematography, or anything. There's always something happening. In a shorter movie, that could be fine. When you have a 155 minute running time, however, you can notice a problem. It might have simply been because I was taking notes, but by the end of the film I was exhausted. Not due to how powerful the meaning was or anything of the sort (in fact I don't think you learn a lesson at all). It felt as though they were trying to cram in various ideas, when the film really didn't need any more content. Perhaps they felt they were struggling to deliver on the base premise, and sought to cover it with more dazzling effects and such?
There was additionally a myriad of minor issues, each adding up to a death of a thousand cuts. Each one alone could be forgivable, but all piled into the same movie, it's difficult to ignore. I may cover those in another post, as this review is already rather long.
Finally, I shall quickly talk about the settings. There's bland spaceships as expected. Also, Luke's island has some natives. The Porgs (whom I was promised weren't annoying, I was lied to), and some odd maid-like beings. They seemed to live to uphold the temple. Finn and Rose also go to a casino, but it's terribly boring. Apart from the various aliens, it looked like a building from Earth. Say what you will about the prequels, but at least each area felt like another planet. Snoke's ship seemed rather odd. There was a pure red background, causing each character to seem terribly out of place. Whether it was a greenscreen or not, I don't know, but I am quite sure it was a terrible design choice. Finally, there was the planet of Crait. While, for the most part, it was a barren wasteland, it had a few shining features. One were the rather adorable crystal foxes which actually served a plot purpose, unlike the Porgs. Second, the decision to have the surface of the planet be white salt, with red earth beneath it, led to some fantastic visuals. Whenever something broke through the surface, brilliant reds shot to the sky in a sand-like cloud. It almost looked like jets of blood, as though the planet itself was bleeding.
To close, I feel the film, though showing potential, fell short of it's mark. If you aren't a fan of Star Wars, you may enjoy it. Of course, you may also be terribly lost by the end of the film. If The Force Awakens and the trailer interested you, i'd recommend checking it out. If not, I'd suggest saving your money, or wait until it's on DVD.