It's taken me a long time to come to terms with this picture. The first time was December 19, 2017 in Charles, MO then again on December 25th in Chicago and then twice on Netflix. Now it's 2019 and I am finally getting around to finishing my thoughts on the film.
The Star Wars franchise has played a role in my life and values but I don't want to be the standard old white guy who hates change. Change is good and you can't stay stuck in the past, unless you're a Republican. I understand that Disney may not be interested in making a great Star Wars film, they want to make money off the film but maybe more importantly for them, merchandise. That's the way the film industry is going and George Lucas played a HUGE role in that.
Anyway, I tried to judge this film on it's own merit within the Star Wars Universe. Rian Johnson wrote and directed the film and took it to places that really didn't make a lot of sense within its universe. If you to see what's wrong with the film, then check out the CinemaSins review of which I agree with. It's also good for a few laughs.
One of the big problems I had was predictability. The film opens with Poe taking on the First Order Dreadnaught, a ship he refers to as a "fleet killer," but has no problem with destroying the tiny amount of surface cannons the ship has. Much like the Empire, the First Order just can't wrap its head around a small one man fighter being a threat. Nothing changes. Then surprise! A group of Republic bombers (?) show up to bomb the dreadnaught! In space mind you! At no point during the fight, good SFX and an enjoyable scene, did I get the sense that the dreadnaught wasn't going to be destroyed. Even when Johnson tried to get some tension in the scene, it didn't work. Rey goes to train with Luke, he gives here the old, "I can't train you" speech but eventually trains her. Finn and Rose go off an an impossible mission to find a needle in a stack of needles and succeed relatively quickly.
I would like to touch briefly on the fuel issue that is now a thing after 40 plus years. I do not appreciate the insertion of this new plot device that never mattered but there was a scene in Episode III where Obi-Wan asks a system to refuel his ship. It's a throw away scene but it's there.
The acting is good. There's a rapport between the main characters; Poe, Rey and Finn that the Episodes I-III did not have in any way, shape or form. The SFX are cool, given. But the story lacks a lot in my opinion. There's also a few other things I can go into; Leia's force powers (but the CinemaSins review touches on that), Yoda's increased Jedi ghost powers and the galaxy stretching arms dealer conspiracy. I also felt that there could have been a moment where Leia passes the baton to Vice Admiral Hodo but Johnson went in a different direction and I don't feel it worked.
I will see the next installment because I need to see how it ends. If you've put 40 years into this franchise, then see the film.
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