Hello my intrepid film lovers. Today I write to you from my perspective about a recent big-budget film: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

This film primarily focuses on Rey seeking an aging Luke Skywalker who inexplicably has given up on teaching the Force. His reason is a mystery for the bulk of this film until when it is revealed it sounded laughable: Luke sensed darkness in his student and thought of killing him.

This is the same Luke Skywalker who wouldn’t kill DARTH VADER, a child-killing, homicidal maniac who terrorized the galaxy for decades! This is garbage writing. Luke staying his hand from killing a murderer but he is ready to slay a youth who hasn’t done anything. This is NOT Luke Skywalker.

Another example of mediocre storytelling here is Rey’s backstory. Within the Star Wars universe her parentage has been kept a well-guarded secret. This film gives us bouts of anticipation: her endless mirror scene and the continuous conversations with Kylo. All this leads up to is with Kylo revealing to Rey that her parents ‘were nobodies’ in mid conversation. This was rubbish.

Speaking of Kylo, he is a boring conflicted character that lacks his own ‘weight.’ He is mistreated and put down by his poorly animated CGI Palpatine-rip-off boss (seriously why did we need a cheap Palpatine knockoff??), Snoke. We even hear Snoke say to his disciple “You are no Vader.” Thanks for reminding us movie… Not only is the main villain conflicted about being a bad guy, he lacks presence and resolve. His fight with Luke shows he is determined but not very smart. I don’t buy Kylo as an antagonist.

Luke, on the other hand, has good presence but weak motives. We were deprived of seeing Luke Skywalker, one of the most important characters in the Star Wars universe, until his final days. This was cruel. Not only was this cruel but what follows next is stupid: Yoda burns the tree containing the Jedi’s history. This will prevent the Jedi order from connecting with its traditions, which leaves a weak resistance force in the future should another Sith Empire arise. Not only does this swerve lack direction, it just feels like a swerve for the sake of a movie swerve. Why, Rian Johnson? Why?

The last bit of mediocrity I will expose in this film is the pointless meandering of Finn and Rose. They go to a casino world, ride terrible CGI animals, hunt for a code breaker only to find a different one with an inexplicable lisp. Their actions have almost no bearing on the plot and all it does is distract from Rey’s (far more interesting) plot line.

Star Wars The Last Jedi is a great example of a movie that could’ve been big but ended up being forgettable. They had an A grade cast, a huge budget and stellar special effects at their disposal. They could have turned out something memorable. Instead, we got this mediocre product, which pandered to audiences nostalgia because its content is largely forgettable.

Film rating: 70% (It could have been a 91% if it made the best use of their resources).

Thank you for reading.