Star Wars: The Last Jedi reviewed by Mark Kermode 

Love that due to Mark not being a fanboy he didn’t have any hype and was able to enjoy the film as it was without unnecessary nitpicking and folk in the comments are saying he’s an idiot or wrong. Not like he’s a professional critic or anything..

Who's here watching this after Kermode's Rise of Skywalker review?

Star Wars is that one movie franchise where I try not to take the comments section too seriously.

"Action is character." That also applies to Dunkirk earlier this year as well for people complaining about its lack of characterization.

Love how I can tell the sentiment of the review before watching it by just looking at the like-dislike ratio. Not just this video, but every other review of The Last Jedi.

I was so surprised by how good it was. I thought Looper was good but not that good, and The Force Awakens made it seem like the whole series had set off down an incredibly predictable, formulaic road. So I wasn't expecting much, but I came out of it thinking it was the best sci-fi film I'd seen in a very long time, and the richest, most satisfying Star Wars film ever made. There are flaws here and there, sure, but the amount of startling, dramatically loaded scenes, scenes that do that thing where you realise you've been holding your breath the whole time, overrode those flaws completely. And there just hasn't been a character as interesting as Kylo Ren in a Star Wars film before. The bit of dialogue where he talks to Rey about her parentage, is the most brilliant piece of writing in the whole film - what he says, and the way he says it, is at once callous, contemptuous and emotionally vulnerable, and says so much about what is going on inside both characters' heads. The whole film was a magnificent balancing act between dramatic subtlety and all-out spectacle, and the Snoke fight scene was utter genius.

Thank you for this nuanced review. This movie was totally focused on the characters and their single small arcs. They have never been so fleshed out. First it seems the general plot may not have developed so much, but actually it not just moved forward, but jumped.

The Last Jedi is my third favourite Star Wars film, but I think it’s the most important in the series in terms of the Jedi as an organisation - their arc from Prequel to Originals to now.

I really don't know why people hated this film

I really loved it. It was genuinely funny, engaging, unpredictable and bold. Finally a movie on its own, not another cheap playing on nostalgia and doing a fan service.

When i first watched it I really hated it, probably because it went against everything I expected. On 2nd viewing though, I think its great and it really deserved a better pay off from the last film.

I liked it too !

I am so conflicted on this movie. I felt it could have been better. Really disappointed but it had moments I loved.

LOL, people are legitimately, unironically alleging that Kermode is being paid off by Disney? And Star Wars fanbois wonder why the world at large views them with contempt?

I honestly can't understand this mindset that the last two Star Wars films are "SJW propaganda". The characters race/gender has literally ZERO baring on the plot or character development. The mere presence of a black man or a strong female character is not a good enough argument to support this.

Mark Hamill was the saving grace. And old Frank Oz. The scene with little Yoda literally had me gushing with tears. Here was the real Yoda that we grew up with.

You know Mark really likes something when he starts using vague metaphors to describe its quality. :P

Did Mark watch the same film that I did? He makes it sound like Citizen Kane, while I sat there thinking “are Disney trolling Star Wars fans with this piece of junk”? It seems that Disney knows that anything to do with Star Wars will make a huge pile of cash, so don’t really care what they release now. The story was weak, the characters boring and everyone I spoke who were leaving the cinema was very disappointed in this film. Goodness knows what the film critics are seeing that they give this turkey great reviews. Honestly I am baffled.

One of the best star wars movies, funny to see all the ultra fanboys who hated Tfa for being too similar now hate tlj for taking too many risks

One of the worst feelings I've had watching a film at the cinema was the Last Jedi. Plot all over the pace, several ridiculous scenes that were met with open derision at the screening I was at and actually largely quite boring (despite things happening on screen). Worst of all was the feeling that these films are really detracting from the significance and emotion of the conclusion of the originals. Really disappointing, and I quite liked Force Awakens.

Couldn't agree more. Been a huge Star Wars fan since I was 8 years old, and while the movie certainly has its flaws it still mamaged to be an amazing experience.

Did Mark watch the right film?

i may be one of the few, but i agree with mark 100% that this film did such a good job with character development. i felt fully satisfied with how newbies were introduced, how characters went on their individual journeys and how they all end up together again at the end. but feel free to comment on why you disagree.

Rian johnson delivered with this one. So many terrific moments. Ppl hate this because of the new concepts. Its too different for them. Weird because ppl hated the force awakens because it felt to similar

Really not impressed by TLJ, not sure why its getting such amazing reviews.

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me." Well that didn't last long. What a kick in the teeth.

Coming back to this after just getting out of the Rise of Skywalker. Whatever they set up in this film was undone in a sentence (two at most) of the opening crawl. Completely baffled as to how to sum up this trilogy in the end. Muddled at best?

I have never felt so disappointed and underwhelmed after seeing this film. I had such high hopes for it. Although I enjoyed the The Force Awakens, it did have its flaws but this film makes it look like a masterpiece. I was perhaps disappointed that JJ Abrams was returning for episode IX but now I am looking forward to him returning.

Loved it, once you stop trying to impress your notion of what a Star Wars movie should be, you can relax into it and enjoy the movie. I loved how it broadened out the whole scope and for first time I got the impression the rebellion was a galaxy wide struggle.

Originality isn't an issue at all. It's fine that it takes it in a new direction. The problem is that the story and character arcs are so incoherent that it actually hasn't taken it anywhere at all. Luke teased the idea of the Gray Jedi (finding true balance between the Light and Dark Side), but it wasn't fully explored, and as a result, Rey's character doesn't develop. Completely dismissing TFA alone is one thing, but TLJ doesn't even know what it wants to do in its own film. It's wrong for people to slam others for enjoying it, but it's truly worrying that so many are failing to see its flaws as not just a Star Wars episode, but as a film in its own right. It's genuinely as structurally and narratively troubled as Alien: Covenant. No disrespect to Kermode, but what he deems as positives in this film, especially in regards to character arcs, are profoundly unjustified.

My problem with the film was that we got too little of what made it work, namely the Luke/Rey/Kylo stuff, and way too much fluff. I simply didn’t give a damn about what was going on with Finn and Poe and Rose compared to the other stuff.

I've seen it twice and I think Mark needs to watch it again because his review does not match with the film I saw. I'm not saying I hated it but I feel no excitement for the third film and this was a trilogy wasn't it ? Not to mention all the set up story threads from awakens that were ignored or destroyed ?? I hope Disney haven't gotten to you Mark....

I’m not a hardcore Star Wars fan...but everything that happened was irrelevant. All the plot points that hinted at developing a character ultimately put them back to where they were before the dramatic moment happened.

I think the hate for the film is ridiculous and proves the point that no one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans. The Last Jedi, not only as a Star Wars film but as a film as a whole, is arguably in the top three best Star Wars films. Sure, it's not as complex as Empire and doesn't have some of its emotional intricacies but it represents a continued vision of what Star Wars can be from Empire. The Last Jedi is not only beautifully directed but full of emotional depth and complexity. Some parts don't work well with me but others, such as one particular event near the end of the film, resonate with me deeply. I also like that there was a clear vision behind this film and didn't feel like it was put together by executives like Rogue One was. The use of eyeline matches with Kylo Ren and Rey, for example, felt very German Expressionist and it works excellently. This film, like Empire, is going to be very divisive and it's not a perfect film, it's more like a great film with some "perfect" in it, mainly Kylo Ren's character arc.

Just saw the film 2 hours ago and it was so stupid for so many reasons i wouldn't know where to start.

I clearly saw a different movie. Complete waste of Laura Dern and Del Toro. The whole section devoted to finding the code breaker was a distraction and ultimately pointless.

This is a film for the critics, not for the fans. The action felt tagged on and the inner soul implosions Kermode references are overshadowed by flat jokes and an unforgivable underuse of core characters. I can't justify my view further without spoiling the movie for those yet to see it - but the tone is set within the first few minutes and barely salvages itself in the latter half (which seems like a different film altogether). I hope anyone reading this loves the film in a way that I couldn't, and, as a Star Wars fan, I pray the tangent for the franchise hasn't been adversely set by this confused and uneven entry in the sequence.

I thought it was pretty boring. The main plot is basically the slowest chase scene ever. And it goes on forever... and ever. Most of the subplots are a waste of time - Finn's, or contrived - Poe's. Main characters are wasted. It should have been a first act, or maybe a first half. But 2 1/2 hours is a joke for how little there is in it.

And then they effed it all up in Rise of Skywalker in order to pander to a bunch of cry-baby 90's-born fan boys.

Totally glad I had the pleasure to watch Disney presents a Disney film, Disney's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a Disney production.

I guess Batman v Superman is no longer the most divisive movie of the past years.

Kermode gets it wrong on star wars again.

Will Carrie Poppins get a spin-off?

When both Episodes VII and VIII ended I left and went home and basically forgot about them. When I went to see the original trilogy movies I left absolutely buzzing and that stayed with me for days. Is it because I was only 10 years old when the first one came out and I grew up to adulthood with the sequels and I'm now just a miserable old git, or is it because when the original trilogy came out it was just a great straight forward story with no questions left unanswered and had proper jaw dropping sets and special effects that were part of the experience and not just the usual cgi that deliberately overwhelms movie viewers these day into thinking they've actually been to see a great movie when basically they havent? Oh, regarding Rogue One, I did leave feeling like I had just watched something akin to the original trilogy but the ending left me feeling it could have been much better.

I love seeing people become angry when someone with a interesting and conflicting opinion upsets them!

I saw the last Jedi last night (no spoilers) and it basically has too much comedy, no good villains, bad character decisions, no answers from TFA, and it's not dark at all, in fact more villains die than heroes despite the fact that heroes should've died multiple times. It's all just explosions and mindless action without any mythology. See the movie for yourselves and be disappointed

I'm not a fan of this film. Parts of it were too changed from what went before, scenes weren't needed and I don't like that humor which is creeping into every Disney owned property, it worked for Pirates of the Caribbean then Iron man and Avengers and now it has to be in everything! The story points I was looking forward to being answered were glossed over or thrown away too; which I suppose in one respect some people may like that kind of bold statement the film makes. But when something so serialised ignores tantalising plot points the community of fans has been looking forward to being answered, to me its just thrown away the opportunity to tie their characters in a greater way to the preexisting lore. I felt less for those characters as a consequence. And the first thing I said about the film to another person was one not about the story or characters main arc (which can't be a good thing) and instead about a possible panning meeting whereby I felt that someone had to be told to say "its salt" so that we didn't think it was Hoth.......

It's a genuinely good movie, and I'm really disappointed with the reception it's getting, the star wars fanbase behaves like religious culture often and they're being really close minded, and I think the risks and twist they took with this movie has really upset them, they don't want to be surprised and were expecting some wholesome fan service.

It makes it a lot easier to like this film if you don’t like Star Wars.

A damn fine review This is some intelligent and well-reasoned analysis right here, unlike some of the hyper-critical stuff I've been reading from certain fans. I get that everyone has an opinion, and truly I think Star Wars fans are some of the most sophisticated viewers when it comes to filmmaking techniques, story construction, character development, etc. But I think this has also become the fandom's curse, because any single minute aspect of the movie that diverges from their personal expectation of what a Star Wars movie should be somehow becomes a crippling flaw that ruins the movie in their minds. I will point them to this review for a more level-headed opinion of the film lol :)

Am I going mad? I thought it was atrocious. What is he talking about when he says the characters "obey rules"? It's just a rehash of what came before. He slated Justice League (rightly) for being about the threatiest threat to ever threat. That is exactly what this movie is. A series of increasing threats each more threatening than the last. It allows for action set pieces, half of which have NO CONSEQUENCE AT ALL. Seriously, at least half of the "rescue" style missions that are so prevalent in Star Wars movies go nowhere in The Last Jedi. None of the main characters interact in a way that propels the story or gives any closure or intrigue. It is a shoddy plot, a small ship running away from a big ship for three hours, with clunky exposition laid around it. The dialogue was dreadful. Here in Vietnam, there were people walking out of the movie halfway through. I'd say they were fed up with reading the boring dialogue. This is a terrible movie and Mark Kermode should see that. In fact I suggest he does he just knows that slating this movie won't do him any favours.

According to Kermode, The Last Jedi has brought balance to the Force. Not entirely convinced myself though.

Not often I 100% disagree with Mark but I hated The Last Jedi. The plot was predictable and felt forced, the humour, was mixed at best and too often took away what should have been tension in a scene. The First Order came over as morons and the Rebels not much, if at all better. The characters motivations were silly and often made no sense much of the time. I didn't find the fight scene to be particularly good and at one point I was thinking, this is more of an attempt for Disney to sell toys than to make a good movie (Made worse when I came out of the cinema to see a Disney store selling all the Star Wars merchandise). The film was too long and the scene with the Falcon going though the cave, just seemed to be in there to please fanboys. I can't think of a redeeming feature of the film and I haven't been this disappointed since The Phantom Menace.

What you're simply not mentioning is two things.. 1. This isn't really a star wars film and 2. That's not how the force works

It was good. I liked it. 8.5/10. Actually felt like the next chapter in Star Wars (unlike the deliberately crowd-pleasing Force Awakens). Didn't go the way I thought it was going to go (which is good). Existing characters have actually grown, instead of just staying the same (though some who take the original trilogy a little too seriously may not like who they've grown into, life + time = change). And I especially like how it crushed all notions of "chosen ones", lineage, heritage, etc. Choosing instead to look forward, rather than back and essentially cleaned the slate for Episode IX.

Was very lukewarm on Force Awakens, which grew into an active dislike of it when I thought it through. Really enjoyed The Last Jedi, perhaps particularly because it was not just a remix of previous Star Wars tropes and motifs - it was a bit weird and a bit unexpected, which I will take any do over some rigid adherence to the narrow outlook of Star Wars diehards.

I left the cinema thinking I'd watched a Marvel film. Can't say I was a huge fan of the shoehorned jokes and weird plot twists. (Not to mention Leia's daft Mary Poppins floating through space scene).

Not only did I love it but it's the only Star Wars film that I enjoyed enough to really want to see a second time. I think what I loved about it is what hardcore Star Wars fans hated about it - that it's different.

People who actually care about cinema as an art seem to love this movie, but pedantic nerds who are obsessed with a children's media franchise and want their wish-fulfilment fantasies played out on screen hate it. Who should I trust?

Most of Marks 'praise' seems to be for things that all films should have to be coherent.

Great Job Kermode. Keep up the good work!

Mark is on the money with this one.

few times i agree with mark... and like he, i've never been a SW fan growing up...and just been a fan since Force Awakens.

*THE REVIEW WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR*

I was really surprised at how much it subverts expectations and takes risks. It's definitely the most different Star Wars movie we've ever had, It's much more of a character focused piece compared to recent films.

Normally I agree with Mark Kermode's reviews (even down to Warcraft), but in this instance I reckon he's got it mostly wrong. That said, I think it's because Mark just isn't into Star Wars as much as being a movie reviewer. He likes it for the resons which I do, but misses the points whch make it bad. Those resons are, though not limited to the following: - It is never explained how Snoke rose to power or who he was, nor is it explained just how under-prepared the galaxy was to deal with the threat of the resurgent Empire/First Order. - Many of the character deaths felt cheap i.e Snoke & Luke. - What was that rubbish about the Imperial ships not being able to chase down the resistance fleet? Just jump ahead of them and cut them off! Also, if Light speed ramming is such a powerful tool in anyone's arsenal and X-Wing fighters can achieve light speed, why has nobody ever thought to strip a few of them down & load them with ordnance, have them be piloted by droids and simply wreck face? - What happened to B-Wing bombers? Those new ones have all the manouverability of my dead grandmother! - How did Rey escape Snoke's ship? - How did Finn and Rose get back into the bunker? Also, if Rose was there to ram Finn off course and save him, why couldn't she have just shot the battering ram thingie? Al in all, I left the cinema feeling a deep sense of dissatisfaction. It wasn't a terrible film and it had its moments, but it felt disjointed and unfulfilling.

It's rare for me to disagree with Kermode this much. I can understand fanboys like Schmoes, Jahns, Stuckman etc giving positive reviews, but a more serious critic like Kermode giving this movie, with the elongated bogged down tedious plot (albeit punctuated with good moments) a positive review...I'm just gobsmacked. It's a poorly constructed film from a pacing, editing and narrative point of view. Calling it "subversive" doesn't mean that it works.

I don't agree with Mark on this, but I respect his opinions. When I came out the cinema at midnight, the audiances reaction to this movie reminded me of when I saw Suicide Squad. People were looking around trying to gauge each others reaction to what they had just seen. It was an okay movie, solid, but not great. I felt it dragged in the middle, and was bit all over the place. The movie looked great, but I couldn't see the point in alot of the character arcs that Mark is talking about. Star Wars works best when we care for the central characters. I couldn't really care for the new characters and their back stories didn't really matter to me, and this I felt is why the movie dragged. They tried to shoehorn in soo much that it all got convoluted. 6/10 for me.

I didn’t understand Mark’s take until 7:39. Now it all becomes clear.

Did he watch the right film? Basically everything Mark says is wrong.

Kermode doesn’t often get it wrong but he has with this. Tone and vibe of the film was all wrong and Jonson saying he had a clean slate sums it up. He takes the hard work that was done in TFA and throws it out the airlock (like Leia).

Wow, can’t believe Kermode took the Disney money.

Couldnt believe when Lando turned up with Vitiligo

Has BBC been purchased by Disney?

Oh come on Mark, you're trying way too hard here! Certainly The Last Jedi is entertaining enough, the direction, the visuals, the performances are great and there are nuggets of really good cinema in there but the story, the ideas that it fails to exploit, the questions it doesn't answer, plot threads from TFA it just drops, the characters that it nonchalantly dispenses with, the black hole in the 2nd act (sojourn to planet Las Vagas, prequal stylee anyone?)... As a review I watched earlier suggests, the entire franchise has now spent 2 films simply recreating the status quo of the original trilogy; Rebels (and they even start referring to themselves as such in the film) verses The Empire...again. It's a very frustrating film for me, which squanders a lot of the opportunities it had. The choices it does make aren't terrible, but it could have been much better. Unfortunately at this point it leaves me unenthused for the final part of the latest trilogy. I think a second viewing is needed to firm up my thoughts but at the moment, with regret, I'm largely in disappointed territory.

Hugely disappointing movie don’t get why everyone is gushing about it not going to bother with the next instalment

The Finn and Rose storyline was the only thing that halted the story. We do not need to hear a story about animal cruelty in a Star Wars movie. We know enough about it in real life, so why put it in a film series where we want to escape the world. Besides that displaced storyline, I loved it. Great character arcs, and the story was fairly different. You can say what you want, but it is hard to find originality in the eighth installment of a film series.

Even if the rest of the film were particularly good the casino adventure drags the whole thing down like heavy wet washing on a clothes line - any sense of brio is lost in the connected plots and the many missteps including the heavy footed 'humour' are magnified. It's one ruthless piece of editing they'll regret never doing.

Unfortunately Mark talks a lot about character and character development but doesn't give a single tangible example as to which characters develop and how. Here are some brief concerns I have with the film: -No explanation as to the aftermath of episode 6, the rise of "The first order" and "The Resistance". -In turn this makes Snoke an incredibly weak villain with a serious lack of background and substance. Who is he? Where's he come from? What does he want to do? -Rey doesn't have a personality. Came from a desert planet with no family, ok that's fine, but doesn't seem to face any serious challenges or hardship (due to the fact she can already do everything) so there's no conflict spurring her to grow and change.

i knew from looking at the dislikes that he must have liked it, seeing as the childish people that hate this film can't help but go everywhere to dislike this film. i have watched it twice, and the bits i didn't like were nowhere near as bad as i remember. i hate the leia poppins bit, i hate rose, i hate the casino bit, and i cannot fathom how lasers arch in space, seeing as light only travels in straight lines. the comedy bits weren't as bad as i remember when i saw it in the cinema.

it was appalling, but perhaps that's because i'm invested in star wars, in isolation its ok, in cannon its a shambles.

I enjoyed the film... but I was just so disappointed we didn't get any answers. We just got Snoke dead, nothing about his background or intentions, complete none threat; where were the Knights of Ren? Were they Snoke's bodyguards? Wasted opportunity there. How exactly did Snoke turn Ben to the dark side? Who are Rey's parents? No one... oh. Ok then. That's anticlimactic. The rebel fleet dropped from light speed into "the middle of nowhere", which after less than 18 hours of standard real-space drive happens to put them NEXT TO an old Rebel base. That was convenient. Why didn't they have the ship ram the Supremacy as their smaller ships escaped in the first place? If I knew that was an option I would have set the ship to do that as we ALL escaped. Not throw it in there randomly. Why has no ship ever done this before in Star Wars? If every ship was in fact a missile of such unbridled power why build Death Stars? Why not just ram a city with hollowed out ships fitted with nothing but a hyperspace drive? Same effect apparently and ubiquitous technology. Also, now there's cloaking tech in Star Wars, but it doesn't make the ships invisible like in Star Trek... yet no one on the Supremacy or accompanying Star Destroyers could see the escaping ships through their windows, their giant, giant windows. The casino planet was completely superfluous. They went and found a guy to help them, he betrays them, the end. The last rebel ship hitting the Supremacy at light speed made that entire plot arc meaningless. So no answers. Nothing. Things blew up and laser swords. I really wanted to see Luke wreck shop, I mean, I really wanted to see him at the height of his power. I suppose in a way we did, but it felt... meh. Maybe after repeat viewings I will feel more comfortable with this film, but I wanted a dark exploration of Ren and Snoke, I wanted to feel genuine terror at what they could accomplish and I wanted to know the reasons and origin for this hatred. Had Snoke been orchestrating the growth of the Empire from afar? Was he Darth Sidious? Instead we got bland baddie who dies when he's having an arrogant rant about being the best. Star Wars has such a rich and vibrant lore and this film capitalized on none of it.

Wow, what a fantastic film Mark Kermode saw. Can anyone tell me which film he saw, as I had the misfortune of watching that pile of dribble, The Last Jedi. The film that single handed shows what a fantastic story teller and director George Lucas actually is.

I guess as Kermode is not generally a star wars fan explains why he is so positive about this film, it works fine as a self contained film, it doesn't make sense as part of the saga. His point that all the characters actions are grounded in their characters is one I strongly disagree with. Luke is unrecognisable from the person he was in the original trilogy, the one who would try to rescue his friends, the one who risked everything on his belief vader could be redeemed. Now he is the person who considered his nephew too far gone that he would kill him in his sleep, and then would abandon his friends and family, refuse to come back even when they were in danger. I am not opposed to that character arc, but we really need to have been shown exactly what the stakes were, what he was so afraid of that he would go so far against his established character. I think thats why so many fans are really down on this film, it ruins his story and character without much reason

I notice the trend of prequel lovers hate this one. The themes are too advanced for them

After listening to this review I’m absolutely convinced 1 of 2 things has happened. 1 I mistakenly watched a movie that sounded incredibly like Star Wars TLJ. Or 2 this critic mistakenly watched a movie that sounded incredibly like Star Wars TLJ

Not being a hardcore Star Wars fan either, I completely agree with everything said in this review, though I still preferred Rogue One out of the all the recent ones.

Characters get developed? I can't think of one character whose outlook is substantially changed during the runtime of the film. Anyone willing to help me out? Also, it *isn't* a blank slate. Rian Johnson didn't treat the Luke Skywalker character with nearly enough care or reverence. It felt more like a watching a wrestler turning 'heel', or a soap character whose motives completely change when a new writer is employed. As Redlettermedia said "Did he even watch Star wars?"

I hated it with a passion. From the first line of the opening crawl, the initial back and forth right the way through to the very final shot. (Via a completely unnecessary storyline) I wasn't looking for another nostalgia trip, but I was at the very least expecting Luke Skywalker to resemble Luke Skywalker and not be a completely different character.

I most often agree with what Mr. Kermode says, but in this I think he is completely and utterly wrong. The fact is that as much as character exploration and arcs are important, they only have relevance in the context of the whole story, what the film is actually doing, trying to achieve. This is the second chapter in a trilogy of sequels and in that, has boundaries in what it can and can't do, which if broken, detach it from the progression of a trilogy; and in this case from a (so far) nine (going to be twelve) chapter saga. The Empire Strikes Back is a shining beacon of sequel story telling - one of the greatest cinematic sequels ever written. Sticking to a few simple and strong plot points, remaining faithful to everything established in a New hope and then adding (again) a few strong new plot points, with an excellent 'didn't see that coming' right at the end. What is even more remarkable is that Empire follows a film that is pretty much self-contained (Lucas didn't know if he would ever be able to make ch's 5 and 6, Star Wars may well have been a flop); the good guys fight the bad guys, they win. The end. In Empire we see that the characters are given room to breathe and expand, because the bloody script is so well written (Thanks to Krasden, who helped with The Force Awakens, which is why that is such a fun film to watch and also a homage to a New hope); and since the central plot points are few and strong there is enough time and space to allow that to happen, naturally as well, as the humor in the film comes from performance and delivery, not from badly written and ill timed, over-saturated and failed attempts from a writer who clearly cannot write comedy and doesn't understand comical timing. The writing in 'The Last Jedi' results in quite possibly the most incompetent and confused mess of a sequel that I think I have quite possibly ever seen. It ignores almost everything from not only the foundation of 'The Force Awakens', but of the whole Star Wars cannon, breaking established mythos at the drop of a hat, ignoring the unanswered questions everyone has been baited with to go and see the sequel. The script jumps from one random plot point to another, from the boring to the outright completely ludicrous (Leia turns into Supergirl?! When the F did this become the DC Universe?) and gives scarcely any time for any of the characters to have room to breathe, constrained as they are by the needless and failed attempt to try and 'shock' the audience (ALL the time). It completely disrespects established characters, Ackbar just goes out in a literal puff of smoke; a Casino is introduced but no sign of Calrisian; and quite literally the fading out (the erasing) of Luke Skywalker in the most mythos breaking (he just wills himself into the force? 'That's not how the Force works!') and anti-climatic way that could have been thought of for the central character of the whole saga. Strong plot twists like in Empire's ending are not only rare; but need to be built upon a solid foundation. The script decides that it doesn't need the foundation and immediately starts sinking into the dirt from its own weight. A sequel in a 40 year in-the-making franchise that decides it wants to be its own entity and not only that, but actually be the second and third installments in the new trilogy by killing off the main protagonist (Who is the most over the top and ludicrously powerful force user ('They' ve gone to plaid!' - Spaceballs (Brooks, M)) in Star Wars saga history; and then fumbling about trying to recover with some lame hair-brained idea that Kylo-Ren, about five seconds after he has turned to the light (saving Rey - an unselfish act), changes his mind and suddenly wants to be Snoke, after just killing him! It is just a complete mess. A script that is trying to be too clever for its own good, full of self-indulgence and proving to actually be a huge f.u. to all those who are deeply passionate about the franchise and the giants that wrote, directed and created it. Rian Johnson maybe able to direct, but one things for sure he CANNOT write.

I find it so amusing that people accuse Disney of being cash grabs, in it solely to rob you of your cash without regard for the property, and look back on Star Wars (of all franchises!) as something that used to be above that. Star Wars is the living embodiment of merchandising! Lucas invented the idea of milking a franchise dry. Mel Brooks made fun of that way back in 1987 in Spaceballs. Did everyone forget that? Or did I somehow end up in a parallel universe where Lucas is a saint and the prequels were masterpieces of storytelling? Was this film flawless? No. But it was an entertaining piece of space opera that fit well within the Star Wars universe. It did some unexpected things, it did some familiar things. All in all, pretty standard for a Star Wars movie, and quite a bit above average for this franchise.

I saw a midnight screening with my wife and she was yawning by the end. It was too long, the middle section dragged, the casino section was contrived and trivial, and much of the story simply continued the “Star Wars greatest hits” plot recycling that plagued the previous film. Having said that I enjoyed some of the humour, it looked great, and overall it was still fairly enjoyable - but I won’t be rushing out to see it again soon.

Love Kermode but he’s absolutely winging this review. The amount of empty phrases he’s throwing around: “it’s a film full of huge explosions in space and little explosions in people’s souls” ....... um, what?

A lot of people are disliking the last Jedi

The difficult thing with Star Wars is it appears to be an epic landscape but there is zero depth of content. If you go "off piste" then some hardcore fans will hate you instantly. If you stay safe other hardcore fans will hate you instantly. I enjoyed the film but it was about 45 minutes too long. Idve lost the entire casino storyline and replaced it with further exploration of what happened with Luke and Kylo Ren. I think it would have been interesting to have taken it down the Rey and Ren team up idea.

I appreciate you want the new Star Wars movies to work Mark but frankly it was an utter disappointment - I left the cinema feeling of the entire star wars legacy - "What a waste"

After The Force Awakens I thought Kaylo Ren is just a angry boy with a mask and this is exactly what the The Last Jedi itself said of him. They make fun of him. What a bad villain! We need a character like Darth Vader, but nobody could write such a character yet. I was disappointed!

Mark you must be talking about a different movie. This is a review for The Last Jedi right?

Rabid fanbases are always angry when their unimaginative fan theories and expectations aren't spoon-fed back to them. Give it time and everyone will look back on this as an all-time great Star Wars movie, more so than Force Awakens.

Normally agree with Mark but this was dire, it was Battle Beyond the stars but with a bigger budget.