After watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi again, I can say that it I liked it even less than I did the first time.
To be clear (or, maybe more confusing): I like the movie just fine. I just have major reservations about some choices made by director Rian Johnson. For example, a few months haven’t lessened my annoyance with a frozen Princess Leia flying through space to save her own ass; Kylo Ren with his shirt off; and just about everything Johnson did with Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac). Too much of this feels decidedly non-Star Wars to me.
However, the stuff with Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is so good that it saves the movie. Their bickering on that island as Luke basically goes through a bit of a wuss phase is great moviemaking, and feels right at home in the Star Wars universe. Having Hamill back as a different version of Luke—a version that still feels like Luke—was a nice feat.
The film gets a pass, but I want to be a little more emotionally wowed the next time out. This Star Wars is the first one I didn’t watch multiple times in a theater. Usually, I march right back into the theater after a Star Wars release for a second and third viewing. That didn’t happen this time.
J.J. Abrams will right the ship with Episode 9. I’m sure of it.
Special features: There’s a behind-the-scenes doc that is feature-length and better than the movie, along with some deleted scenes and a director’s commentary.