Episode VIII finally comes out this week, and the initial reactions and reviews are already starting to leak out.
So I thought it might be a good idea to have a dedicated thread set up to house it all as the movie is rolled out.
Official release dates worldwide start from Wednesday 13 December, so not long to go now!
Well, parts of the Internet are currently blazing brighter than parts of Mustafar and Jedha (post-Death Star).
Iām not posting anything because:
A decent round-up of what the reviewers are saying (both good and bad) here:
Iāve only skimmed it though so as to avoid spoilers.
Iāll come back to this thread once Iāve seen it. 
Just as Vincent Hanna both admires Neil McCaleyās meticulous approach to crime while being as dedicated to bringing him down, so is this film likely to see people holding dual views, with each in opposition to the other.
āIt was so artistically doneā might be an apt and very fitting description.
Without saying anything even though this is a dedicated thread for it - yes, I have gone Full Spoiler - itās blown a rather large hole in that plan.
It may be, if the lot turn up on Netflix or Amazon Prime, Iāll take a look out of morbid curiosity but that might be it.
I think, for me, Rogue One remains the high point of the new material.
Hmmmm. Ever watch a Star Wars film and arenāt quite sure what the point of it was? I have.
Yeah. Iām going to sleep on it, but I found that very uneven. Some gorgeous cinematography, some genuine surprisesā¦ but a plot that I think wonāt bear much scrutiny.
I think as well Rhiann Johnson had too much input. He canāt seem to tell strong stories with a beginning middle and end. That works in the like of Brick or Looper, but you shouldnāt really leave the cinema after a Star Wars film thinking āWhat was the point of that?ā
It was like he took a look at all the set ups from the first film and just simply ignored them.
Luke throwing the lightsabre behind him was basically a metaphor for the whole film 
Thereās a lot to like, but it was gag heavy as opposed to the usual Star Wars quips and Iām left feeling very unfulfilled by the way in which the story unfolded.
Mark Hamill was exceptional, but the story around Luke kind of lets the character down in the end. Abrams has a lot to do in the next instalment, I feel.
Jeeesus heās the Looper guy???
oh you poor SW fans 
Well, at least it should look pretty and have great action scenesā¦ but if Looperās an indicationā¦ the plot might be shit =P
I can inform you that said indication is correctamundo. The plot is shit. Thereās still a lot to like elsewhere, mind you.
The bits where it was least conservative were what I liked most about it.
I definitely didnāt hate it, but I was more disappointed than I was hoping to be.
Some specific points that kept bringing me out of the story:
The chase element desperately wanted to be Galacticaās ā33ā but instead felt more like two of those clockwork wind-up granny-with-zimmer-frames chasing each other at a snailās pace.
what is the logic in Laura Dernās character (who I generally really liked) NOT telling the pitiful remnants of the Rebellion what the bloody plan is? That makes no narrative sense, and is done purely to engineer a false internal conflict between her and Poe. Even if you accept she is petulantly freezing out Poe (the Resistanceās best pilotā¦), at the point she is staring down a mutiny, why she doesnāt just say ālook - youāve got it wrong - THIS is the plan!ā, I have no idea. For a group who emphasise how much they are based on hope, to deny the Rebels any at that point makes no sense.
what is the timeframe of this film? How long does Rey spend on Lukeās island? How long is the Rebellion fleet under fire from Hux and co as they attempt to flee?
Lots of great stuff/moments, it frequently looked gorgeous. But ā¦
I agree with @Mike, the less conservative parts were pretty strong.
The issues were very much laid out above. Itās the weakness of story and plotting that downgrades the experiance. The time frames were especially annoying. How long were Luke and Rylo standing facing off?
It still manages to have a lot of awesomeness and I enjoyed much of it, but yeah, BSG already did that story about a hundred times better.
