The Last Jedi is a masterpiece that most fans at the time of its release couldn't recognise. The Last Jedi was a shining gem in an otherwise flawed trilogy of movies. It dared to be different, added complexity to characters, humanising them, and taught a valuable lesson that we are not defined by our mistakes, that they simply exist as a lesson for us to grow from. With some of the most iconic scenes within Star Wars, such as the Throne Room fight or Luke's standoff, this movie felt like a true sequel to the original trilogy. It's a shame that people were so critical of this movie, mostly due to its portrayal of Luke, that caused such a negative reception to the movie. Because at the heart of this movie is a beautiful story with beautiful visuals and amazing action sequences to accompany it.

How very, very disappointing this was. The not in the least menacing "Kylo Ren" (Adam Driver) has got the rag-tag rebel fleet under the command of his mum "Princess/General Leia" (Carrie Fisher) firmly in his sights, and only "Luke" (Mark Hamill) who is training "Rey" (Daisy Ridley) to become a Jedi too, can hope to thwart their ultimate destruction as the First Order's intergalactic pursuit gradually whittles down the remains of their fleet. Meantime, "Finn" (John Boyega) with the scene stealing BB-8 embark on an highly dangerous mission to nobble the tracking device that is putting them all in such peril. The original "Star Wars" (1977) is probably my favourite film ever, and this is not even a distant cousin. Sure there are a few vestiges of the first film - the attack on the Dreadnought is quite exciting, but the rest of this is a poorly written and conceived version that throws the characterisations under the bus that is CGI. Great effects, loads of laser shoot 'em ups, but where has the charisma gone? There is no jeopardy - the storyline plods along with bumps in the road, but with little doubt as to the final outcome. For me (a baddie-lover) that means the thing lacks anything of interest. I enjoyed it ok - I saw it as part of a triple bill before the final instalment was released, but the more I watched the less I remembered. What a pity.

Some of the praise, at least from the fans is because of the deviation from Star Wars tradition which, honestly, I have an issue with out the door. We are watching it because we want to see a Star Wars film. And the deviation from Star Wars tradition seems especially ridiculous given how hard it tries--like The Force Awakens--to rely on nostalgia to keep the fans that felt alienated when Rey turned out to be, well, absolutely flawless, absolutely loved and trusted by absolutely everyone, and faced no real challenges or struggles... ...so, bank on nostalgia because giving the primary character a real literary struggle to add to a sense of character and plot is still seemingly out of the question. And that kind of seems like a troupe now days of characters that are diverse for the state of diversity. It seems like their creator and political fans feel that adding any struggle for said character to overcome would somehow take away from the political importance of the character. And that holds true for The Last Jedi. Rey still has no real struggles that can create even the slightest bit of dramatic tension for the audience. It is understood that she is the best and can easily overcome anything the story throws at her...and she does. And that is the reason her character is rejected by fans. It doesn't make for good cinema. Skywalker had the same issues in I-III, but at least it was understood that he was going to fail at the end of his story arc only to be redeemed in Luke's. Rey is still so perfect there is no dramatic tension where she is involved. But, don't let that be the only thing that kills it for you. Poe's initial radio play with the new faux Empire sets the entire movie up for one long eye roll. Those jokes seemed so out of place for science-fiction that it killed the movie from the start. But then the bad humor of your lame aunt that only think's she's funny is also a new troupe for movies for movies like this. So the films have to rely on nostalgia to market it to fans of the last two trilogies...and in this case it doesn't really work. The nostalgia is more along the lines of "Remember when Luke Skywalker was a thing" variety. The sort of nostalgia that references the old beloved franchise, without really understanding the dynamic of it. They did the same "Remember when this happened" nostalgic ploy in The Force Awakens and, like then they didn't have the background and understanding to pull it off. Solo wasn't really the cynical untrusting scoundrel that made him so beloved. And in this one Luke isn't the whiny flawed but blindly moral hero that gets in over his head. The result is a nostalgia that is just an empty reference. A nostalgia that has no real idea what it is referencing, or at least not one that runs any deeper than the surface. So the jokes don't land. So hero doesn't struggle and... ...the film has no real drama because of the lack of struggle. So the nostalgia is only skin deep and... ...it results in a nostalgia that is more of an insult to the older fan base that it tries to appeal to. Disney didn't listen to the fans that complained about The Force Awakens. They were too busy calling them names for not loving the film. All the fans wanted was a story, that is all, they wanted a struggle, they wanted real drama. They wanted the characters they loved to be the characters they loved. What they got instead was a character easily walks into every situation and beats every adversity with ease still...despite that being the main complaint. What they got was old heroes acting like different people again. What they got was another bad movie.