Luke Skywalker's peaceful and solitary existence gets upended when he encounters Rey, a young woman who shows strong signs of the Force. Her desire to learn the ways of the Jedi forces Luke to make a decision that changes their lives forever. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and General Hux lead the First Order in an all-out assault against Leia and the Resistance for supremacy of the galaxy. The Last Jedi is the second entry in the sequel trilogy and is considered one of the most divisive movies in the history of the Star Wars franchise. It was so divisive to the point where it completely split the fandom in two. My initial reaction when I saw it in theatres with my Dad was it was fine. I didn't really think more about any more till the DVD finally came out and I saw it again. I began to notice a lot of issues I had and ultimately concluded it is my least favourite Star Wars movie of all time. Funnily enough, I wasn't the only one, as many other fans found themselves in the same position. For me, there are simply far too many flaws and glaring problems that make this film feel so unenjoyable, which isn't good when your film is the longest in the series. The story follows very swiftly after the triumphant victory over the First Order in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), with little to no time jump that is present in every other movie of the saga, making the opening crawl redundant. Here we see a split between two narratives, the first being the First Order's pursuit and battle with the retreating, battered Resistance. The second consists of Rey's trial to gain the help of the now-hermit Jedi, Luke. Both of these separate stories held a collection of faults that are present over a plethora of areas. A main one would be the use of characters who in terms of older, returning figures are mistreated, misused and completely unrecognisable. Whilst new characters, make bizarre choices that make no sense, hinder the mission or dampen the acts of other characters. The most disappointing of them all would have to be the use of Luke Skywalker. Whilst I can see some of the interesting potentials of a secluded and pensive Luke in hiding, it all comes crashing down with the discovery of why and how which fundamentally ruins him and everything he stood for. Equally, characters introduced in the last film like Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Snoke, Hux, Phasma, etc... undergo similar treatment, being truly wasted, humiliated or thrown aside. It is extremely ridiculous and unforgiving to see the amount of potential be flipped or dropped in favour of subverting viewer expectations. New characters introduced like Rose, Holdo and DJ, were difficult to put up with. They are simply annoying and make stupid decisions that seriously get on my nerves. For example, Holdo choosing to keep her plans to herself instead of informing everyone, which leads to a pointless mutiny and detour mission with Rose and Finn on a waste of time caper to a casino planet with space horses is so bad. One of the saving graces was easily Kylo Ren and his force connection with Rey, which was fascinating. Their scenes are probably the best moments of the film and the duel against the guards was pretty awesome (that is until you realise how many mistakes and disappearing weapons make the fight dumb). In terms of praise, this film gets from me, it would have to be the visuals. I cannot deny it is the most beautiful of the sequels. John Williams is as fantastic as ever, although I found fewer songs standing out in this production. The sequel's grandest issue is realised here with the lack of a cohesive story not being drawn out from the beginning. It becomes such a mess with directors having conflicting ideas, wanting to do their own thing instead of making one whole project like George Lucas did. Overall, The Last Jedi was one of the biggest disappointments for me as a fan and has cemented itself in history as one of the most problematic in the franchise. Sadly, I'd have to say, in my opinion, this doesn't feel like Star Wars and is not worth it. But what do you think? Do you like it, hate it or think it's just meh? See the final entry of the sequels in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019), which also split the fandom.
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