Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) was released on Dec. 15, 2017. There have been many reviews about the movie already. For those who have not seen the movie yet, I will avoid spoilers as much as possible.

The movie starts with an interaction between the First Order and the Rebel Alliance (or the Resistance) as the Alliance is clearing out of one of their bases. The movie follows the consequences of this interaction as well as the consequences of Rey going to Luke Skywalker and learning about the ways of the Jedi, which changes the lives of those in the First Order, the Rebel Alliance, and those caught between forever.

For the most part, I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed seeing the beloved characters from The Force Awakens again and seeing their characters develop more. I also enjoyed seeing the characters that we’re introduced to on the Dark Side – Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma as well to an extent – also grow and develop over the course of the movie.

I do have several problems with the movie, however. One of the plot points of the story involving Finn and Rose, a new character introduced in this film, felt more like a side quest to distract us or fill up time from the rest of the plot. The movie runs at 2 hours and 35 minutes, which is a bit longer than an average movie. The run time could have been vastly reduced if the side quest element was either greatly reduced itself or cut out together, though that brings up the problem of key elements of the story happening off-screen.

I personally find myself rooting more for the First Order than for the Resistance. It’s a controversial opinion but I feel more empathetic towards Kylo Ren especially.

The Last Jedi is a must-see if you’re a fan of the Star Wars series.

    5 out of 5 Spurs.