A Guest Review - STAR WARS - THE LAST JEDI - Spoilers within.....

Again, we have opened up the floor to a guest reviewer, James Oliver, who provided his thoughts before on Justice League, is now back with his review of Star Wars - The Last Jedi.  Our own review is in the works, so keep an eye out for that.  In both this review, and in our upcoming one, there will be spoilers, so please do only read if you have seen the movie or are not bothered about spoilers.

In the meantime, take it away James.

As I departed the Odeon cinema having just watched the continuation of the latest Star Wars trilogy I realised I was now part of the minute percentage of people who did not like this film...

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

It would be hard to convey my disappointment without spoilers if I'm being honest as there's much I want to vent about. The main key points are as follows;

. Leia lives?! 

. Snoke's death

. Supposed revelations 

. The battle of Hoth recreated in just 5 minutes 

. That last segment 

So I'll get started, Leia lives? This is truly baffling as within the first hour her ship is (mainly) decimated by The First Order and she's obliterated into the cold vacuum of space... A little bit of a rushed death but fitting nonetheless. But NO, summoning sudden God like powers and ripping a page straight from the Guardians of the Galaxy film she "FLYS" back to the safety of her ship and sees out the rest of the film in one piece, when there was another opportunity to kill her off. With Carrie Fisher's passing it makes no sense to keep Leia alive as if you're going to have her killed off screen in Episode IX or rendered in cgi is almost disrespectful. 

Next up, Snoke's death. Portrayed as an even greater threat than Darth Sidious, how then (if he's so powerful) is he able to be outsmarted by Kylo Ren who uses the force to drive Rey's lightsaber through him, killing him instantly. The big bad protagonist of this franchise gone, just like that without ever learning the extent of his powers beyond force gripping Rey for several minutes. 

This latest installment hinted at bestowing upon us many revelations such as how did Maz come to acquire Luke's lightsaber? How did Kylo Ren form the Knights of Ren? Yet none of this is answered at all. 

The Battle of Hoth is a cinematic spectacle to behold, even still to this day, so to recreate it on a different planet in just 5 minutes is pitiful. Here's more powerful AT-AT's which do nothing really, even the way it's shot (the resistance fighters scrambling into the bunkers) is a complete rip off of this. 

And finally the tension builds as we see Luke emerge once more, ready to confront his past and hinting at ending Ren's life because he's no other choice. As Kylo comes down to meet him on the barren landscape I'm getting goosebumps, master vs student. It erupts in a flurry of opening swings from Ren which Luke sidesteps and dodges with ease. Then I think to myself he'll sacrifice himself just as Obi-Wan with Vader but no, something much worse happens. It turns out to be a trick of the mind and he was never there at all, still on his secluded homeland.... To me that was the final straw, the film could have redeemed itself with that one fight which would have stood the test of time alongside Luke vs Vader in the Empire Strikes Back or Qui Qon and Obi-Wan face off against Darth Maul and his double ended lightsaber but alas it was not to be. 

I'd give it a 6/10 overall. 

So there you go.  I have to say that The Last Jedi has probably proven to be the most divisive of all the Star Wars movies, with many proclaiming it to be one of the best, and just as many pointing out its flaws and inconsistencies.

What do you think?  Agree with James, or are you ready to step up to the plate, lightsaber drawn and defend it from all and sundry?  Feel free to sound off in the comments.