Movie Review: Star Wars Episode VIII2 min read

After almost a month of release on the box office, The Last Jedi has managed to generate over $1.205bn worldwide to the excitement of Star Wars fans both young and old.
Despite always loving the originality that is George Lucas’ space opera, I went into the cinema as a neutral to see whether the new installment of Star Wars lived up to the hype.
I, like many, was intrigued by what JJ Abrams hinted to back in 2015 with The Force Awakens and whether or not new director Rian Johnson would fulfill audience expectations with the latest episode.
That being said, The Last Jedi has caused the biggest fan divide of the entire Star Wars franchise.
Some liked it; others were pretty skeptical of the directorial decisions Johnson makes throughout the movie.
You’d expect a two and half hour movie to be mind-numbing and boring, however the effects have maintained the high budget Disney standard and entice through out with some beautiful intergalactic visuals.
This movie is further away from a slow burn but in contrast, it has crammed in so many things into its 155 minute run time which makes the plot almost confusing and I think that’s what annoyed a lot of movie goers as it just isn’t justifiable.
Being a Disney movie, The Last Jedi has one of it’s production company’s most consistent trope and isn’t necessarily suitable.
We all know Disney are humourists, but it does not mean that you need to shove jokes down the viewer’s throat every five minutes.
It takes out the seriousness and character conflict that many have come to love from the Star Wars movie.
Speaking about Characters, fans do see their favourites return in episode VIII, but whether or not their contribution to the movie is satisfying is debatable.
Like I said, Johnson has crammed so much into this movie that there isn’t really enough time for development for all the characters.
Obviously, with any new Disney movie comes the batch production of merchandise placement and this fantasy flick has certainly done that with the addition of Porgs; those little puffin-like creatures we see in the trailer.
Though they are funny and cute, Johnson could’ve done better by showing less of these CGI rodents and focusing more on a well-rounded structure.
Should you go and watch this movie, there will be scenes that amaze you, scenes that shock you and scenes that will disappoint you.
As a stand-alone film, The Last Jedi is a pretty solid production, but as a Star Wars film, well…the fan base has already answered.