Episode 10-12 on the way?

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2017)

Its been a while since a movie has driven me to a review, but this I think deserves it, warning on spoilers
Director JJ Abrams creates an amazing trilogy plot line only to have Director Rian Johnson ignore it and create a movie that is a waste of a good 122 minutes of run time. I'll give it half an hour of a decent showing of some good cinematography.
The good:
The visual effects are brilliant, clearly a lot of focus has been put here, the space battles (though you could argue that's all the movie is), look brilliant and its underpinned with the falcon brilliantly manoeuvring its way underground. Though I do wonder, since episode 5 was such a success and the amazing shots in the asteroid scene, if this now just a part of the staple Star Wars diet? RotJ had it but still not huge, Force awakens had a great one, was it needed here? Im torn but I do appreciate it still. The end scene with the Falcon and the standoff of the walkers and Luke. Really they finished the movie well on this with the least amount of issues sitting in this scene.
Luke giving a balanced context of the Jedi was also well done, illustrating the Jedi's are not the legends made out, though this was the subplot to the movie ('everything has a balance' which is jammed down our throat like a stale donut), I think it started what may have been a very interesting future to star wars
The bad:
Leia, Everything Leia. An amazing character and woman playing superman, come on there's no pretext for her surviving a missile blast, the oxygen and freezing cold temp of space and calming knocking on the door of the ship which when opened should have immediately sucked its occupants out into space!!!
Merchandising, I could stand your BB8 (who should have a bad point of its own considering the screen time it got above the other things that deserved screen time), but I don't want your ferret or diamond cat plush toys!!!
Phasma - pointless, just kill Finn! why the complexity; how did she get off star killer base? She was in a trash compactor then it blew up and now shes here. You have Brienne of Tarth, one of the most badass female actors ever and she has what impact?
The humour! Every 5 minutes you need a joke? None were that bad individually but every 5 minutes?? Or a very impactful and poignant scene does not need to be dulled by a sh!tty joke.

Finn and Rose love interest like a pie in the face and how did they get off the cruiser in the first place??? This girl falls in love with Finn after how long? And we are just meant to accept that? Its like in the Avengers: age of Alan Shaw when the hulk and Johannsen's character are in love. really? As a viewer I'm just meant to accept that's the state of the play now? At least this had 15 seconds of build-up (1 conversation at an escape pod, then shes in love with the guy)
The casino: Are you trying to set us up for episode 10-12 already
Finn hurt in ep 7 and fine in ep 8, what was the point in this big deal about him getting hurt and carried back by Chewy and then put on a medical table. Just to have him up and running around within 5 minutes
The huh?
Luke: everything about Luke was just odd, wants to kill his own nephew? This from a character who is self-sacrificing for the mere chance of saving his father who he feels a conflict with, decided to just go kill his nephew? Luke would never do that, who proof read this script? Obviously not Mark Hamill. Oh wait, I believe he did, and no one listened to him clearly! Luke drinking the green milk WTF was that about?

Missed opportunities:
Luke's background between 6 and 7, if I recall theres a point in the lore that Luke does turn briefly to the Dark side, it would have been so easy to have this hinted, it would have given so much depth, not just to explain why hes suddenly 'hmm my nephew is having bad thoughts I must kill him' but you could sense a Star Wars story movie, that would have been really good and started to explain how the first Order came to be with Snoke. Speaking of Snoke. Who is he?!? The biggest question of Ep 7 was who is snoke, which was carefully and beautifully scripted in. only for this director to just ignore it completely. You know you could have cut that stupid moronic Casino scene and given 10 minutes to Snoke!!!
Rey's parents are nobodies? Come on seriously, talk about a treasure chest of mystery , for a year everyone was either asking who is Snoke or who are Rey's parents. While I feel Abrams could fix this and get it back on track, how much more does he need to cram into Ep 9 to save Ep 8?
The Knights of Ren, such an interesting pathway into one of the background cults on the force, clearly demonstrated by Kylo having Vaders mask, and if you were interested in this, be interested no more with this new past is the past and forget it strategy.
How did the blue lightsabre get back? "a good question for another time" remember? Oh of course you don't remember Rian you never watched the original trilogy to know what happened to it.
It appears really the Rian got to his interview for episode 8 and sold Disney episode 10,11 and 12 and Disney neglected to ask if he had seen any of the others. So he rolls up to work like this
Day 1: yeah I don't like snoke.. gone
Day 2: Luke really doesn't seem that important. Lets keep him to the side and get rid of him
Day 3: everyone likes Leia, I know. SuperLeia
Day 4: Rey's parents? Who cares really
Day 5: Snoke again! A throne room. Oh look playboy magazine, hmm I have an idea
Day 6: oh no! there needs to be a love interest, quick! Finn and umm
Day 7: theres how many other movies? Im not watching those.. I know! The past needs to be forgotten! Perfect, we can ignore everything
All in all, I really struggle to rate a star wars movie low, and I put more depth into Episode 2 than this one. Its still a must see for the Star Warsian but my recommendation, have a drink or two before hand, and be prepared for the most stand alone confusing and dull plot line of the entire series, including senate talks and blockades. If you sense Im overly negative, please see that I still do recommend seeing it, but for me, every interesting question raised by Abrams is destroyed by Rian, who clearly had motive to set up ep 10-12, am I disappointed? Yes, am I dejected? Yes, Do I think this movie will appeal to some fans? Yes I still do. Will my future children now watch star wars in this order: 4,5,6,1,2,3,rogue one, 7, 9. probably