Review of Star Wars: the last Jedi

If only I could be convinced that this really was the last Jedi...but instead it's another action-packed but dull installment in the franchise that never ends. This is an evening I'm never going to get back. It wasn't particularly offensive...there was more than a gesture in the direction of ethnic diversity, and several strong women characters who talk to each other about things other than men. But it was mainly a collection of scenes of things crashing into each other and features of the landscape, together with many scenes of 'moderate violence' - that's people being shot or cut up by special weapons but without any blood or gore.

The 'rebel alliance' is no longer (if it ever was) about any sort of rebellion, the 'republic' is led by a princess, and the only difference between the good and bad side is that the latter seem to stand in very straight rows while the former stand around in looser groups. The baddies sometimes wear uniforms that suggest inter-war Poland, but both sides have their fair share of British accents (very confusing for those of us brought up on the tradition of it only being bad guys who sound British); later on both bad and good guy ground troop seem to be looking like US soldiers.

The overall look of the film isn't all that interesting...there is a casino which is sort of art deco themed, and where electro swing light plays in the background, but much of it looks like other Star War films...as usual there is a scene on a narrow bridge over a deep shaft on a spaceship...doesn't the Empire have any safety regulations? The geography of the plot - and the plot as a whole - doesn't seem to make much sense, and there is increasing reliance on supernatural Jedi power to more it along. Admittedly I dozed off for a bit, but I didn't seem to miss much. That little sleep was probably the most enjoyable part of the evening.

I really must stop watching these.

Seen at the Everyman Muswell Hill, in some comfort in a near-empty cinema. I note in passing that the cinema offered me a discount for being over 50, which seems like an odd segmentation choice.