*****SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS*****

The topic of the action scenes can be split either positive or negative. On one end, there are not many action scenes BUT, in my opinion, when the action scenes do happen, they are an epic event enough to make up for the lack thereof. EASILY, I am primarily focusing on Kylo Ren and Rey Vs. the Elite Praetorian Guards. For now, when reflecting on previous combat scenes, this is now one of my favorite scenes in Star Wars.

I can not sing more about how much I love Rey and Kylo Ren after this film. Another piece of the film I am about to talk about is the story itself but while delving into the characters, Kylo and Rey’s depth is a marvel to watch unfold, AND THERE IS STILL MORE TO FIND OUT! These two are (as if not already after ‘The Force Awakens’) becoming the flagship characters that have all eyes on them. I.want.more.

While focusing on the main story of ‘The Last Jedi’, all aspects of this story with Rey, Kylo, Luke, and the Force is wonderful. I feel like this story takes many risks which in turn, makes this story feel new. I desperately have wanted this since ;The Force Awakens’ came out because in my review of the film and through conversation, I have been worried Disney Star Wars would continue to take safe routes and simply feed off of the Star Wars name. With ‘The Last Jedi’, again, I see the risks, I recognize the fresh take, and I applaud in appreciation.

And now for the bad:
Concept Vs. Execution:
Probably my most glaring problem with TLJ. Let us focus on “Superman Leah”… Hi, Dylan… The famous Leia scene people are talking about where she seemingly is killed off in a targeted attack lead by Kylo Ren yet he is unable to pull the trigger, resulting in his henchmen blowing out a portion of a Resistance ship holding a number of leaders. Leia is then seen floating in space, “dead”. However, we can make the safe call that with her family tree being deeply rooted in the force, she connects with the force and pulls herself to safety. This last ditch effort to save herself results in her being placed in a temporary coma.
Concept Vs. Execution… I love this concept, this idea, but visually and how it was executed: This was horrible! The sequence of Leia floating through space and how it was done is straight up comical. She is stiff, one arm out like a superhero floating through space. Bad, bad, bad. Could have been done way better.

Another Concept Vs. Execution… Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo tricks Snoke into what looks to be an execution of Rey. While displaying the guise leading up to this execution, Kylo turns the lightsaber sitting on Snoke’s arm of his throne and turns the saber on, easily cutting Snoke into half (I miss you Maul).
Killing Snoke off to further Kylo Ren’s revealed agenda of creating one true party of the Force is a great concept. I love it as it has the capability of splitting fans on supporting and/or disagreeing with Kylo’s agenda. Yet, what do we even know of Snoke? He seemingly comes to power after the falling of Vader. He is Supreme Leader during ‘The Force Awakens’ and then, bye bye. Snoke is dead. Again, I love it on the side of pushing Kylo’s character further but I would have liked to know more about Snoke. I feel that if Snoke was given more of a purpose, it would have made his demise feel less sudden and more impactful rather than simply being the purpose of pushing Kylo’s character.

Comedy:
Continuing from ‘The Force Awakens’, my biggest gripe then was unnecessary comedy scattered throughout the film. This time around with ‘The Last Jedi’, I found myself enjoying a number of comedic moments but there are still too many other moments, to my liking, that just seemed unnecessary and ill-placed. And yes, I am looking at you Luke, milking an alien for milk. How the hell did that make it to the feature? *cringe*
As I have said before, the comedy in some places fit well and added a significant amount to the entertainment value of this film but there were a decent amount of other moments that bumped me out of the film and served as a distraction. Ironically with that said, it leads me to my next point.

Subplot:
This could almost even be filed under Concept Vs. Execution but I decided to focus on the entire subplot as a whole. Good old Finn and Rose. We all know Finn thus far, First Order Stormtrooper turned traitor turned Resistance soldier. I previously spoke on how I am, and remain to be, a fan of Finn but I feel this subplot did not do him justice. Likewise, his newly introduced counterpart, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), was a 50/50 hit for me. This entire subplot of finding the codebreaker so they could infiltrate the First Order ship so they could turn off the hyperspace tracking yet have none of it really matter because Holdo and Leia had a plan the entire time to escape. *deep breath*
I am overall upset simply at how, as of now, this subplot does not serve much purpose. Sure we can say that this may be that same “spark” that the Resistance and Poe spoke on, as we saw from the after credit scene. And on top of that, this subplot may prove to be worth greater importance in future films but again, as of now, I feel as if this could have been shortened and the focus could have been on Luke giving Rey more training, but that may just be me. Instead we got Rose kissing Finn…. Yeah, I said Rose kissing Finn… Awkward

The Wrap-Up Pt. 2:
Moral of the story, or the review rather, is that the entertainment value of this film far exceeded the negatives aspects of it. From the limited but immaculate action scenes, to the enticing main story, and intricate characters. I am riding this fresh take of Star Wars and I only see it getting better. However, the negatives of this film do give me a bit of a scare on if they keep this trend up. I am hoping despite having some execution problems (no pun intended, R.I.P. Snoke) that those end here. We know where we stand with Kylo as head guy, we know where we stand with Finn’s adventure done and out of the way, and we know where we stand with Leia moving forward. So here’s to what I predict will be a stellar Episode 9.