The Last Jedi: Spoiler-Lite Initial Thoughts

Spoiler Free: It's a very good movie. It avoids a lot of cliché while remaining "Star Wars" and having a number of subtler call-backs to previous themes and arcs. All the major characters are developed pretty well, including nice doses of humor. Plotwise, the film reminds me a bit of the second X-Men movie, that is, very good but so complex that it loses a certain clarity and, well, force of narrative movement.

Despite some gripping action bits and good light saber fights, overall, the action lost impact for me by being too big, crowded, and defined by implausible escapes. True, Star Wars action has never been realistic: storm troopers' aim is a meme in itself. But I don't think it's just nostalgia goggles saying I can better suspend my belief for people dodging blaster fire than surviving giant explosions unscathed (and I'm not talking about intervention by the Force).

Spoiler-Lite reflections are at my Wordpress blog