Film Shapes

Well. Episode VIII.  The Last Jedi . I went to the Orana Cinemas in Busselton with Merv to catch this and his first word to me as we were leaving was 'underwhelming?' (it was said as a question). I usually need a few hours to ruminate on films but I had to nod. Here's why I nodded. First, and most importantly, it seems unsure of what it wants to be.  The Force Awakens  was an unashamedly nostalgic retread, great as it was.  Rogue One  was a brilliant, dark cracker, eschewing the sentiment of its forebears. For me,  The Last Jedi  had a cheek on both stools. I know that  Rogue One  was a stand-alone film but it still showed what a 'new' Star Wars film could be. Kylo Ren's recurring directive of killing everything old and beginning again has merit but the film took its time to realise this (in fact, it didn't quite and maybe won't until the future trilogy). Speaking of Ren, the central theme of  TLJ  is neat and workable. K...