Aaah!...
This post is likely to be the most controversial I have ever written; given the intensity of the Star Wars fandom.
But I am not a part of that fandom. I saw and enjoyed all three of the original Star Wars movies as they came out; and I rewatched them on video and DVD; but the movies never communicated any special depths to me. I never developed the special affection I had for the first four Dr Who incarnations; or for Blade Runner.
So - the most I expect from a Star Wars move is entertainment with a good heart.
That was the attitude with which I approached three recent Star Wars movies. All had been rather negatively reviewed by most of the people I read - and I expected not to like them and to give-up part way through; but in fact I watched them all to the end, which means I found them sufficiently entertaining.
The best was Rogue One; which I have now rewatched twice. It is worth 4 stars (out of five); entertaining and a bit more; very strong movie albeit not quite first rate (spun-out climax).
The Force Awakens was less good; but still worth watching - I gave it 4 stars on first view, but perhaps it declines to 3 stars on re-watching, as its flaws become more intrusive (and as its inconsistencies do not get explained by the next movie).
The Last Jedi is clearly the least good of these three movies; and I had read quite a few fan reviews that suggested it was Very Bad. Indeed, I waited until I could watch it 'free' - because I was not expecting to enjoy it, and expected to bail-out before too long...
However, to my surprise, I found Last Jedi entertaining despite its many and obvious flaws and incompetences. So I watched it through to the end although it is - as story telling - a contrived shambles.
The main plot and characters, their (non-)motivations and improbabilities and competences are clearly nonsense - the movie as a whole is nonsense! So, what kept me going?
It was the abundance of details that I enjoyed. Perhaps especially the weird animals and creatures, and most especially the small and cute penguin-like ones ('porgs' - see above). But also the big, loping, Anglo-Nubian goat-eared racers. The little drunken Victorian gentleman-creature guy in the casino, trying to put coins into R2D2 under the impression he was a slot machine... The Toad-as-Washerwoman (from Wind in the Willows) creatures that inhabited Luke's Island - and I also liked the Island itself; modelled on the beehive huts of Irish hermit monks of the dark ages. Micro-stuff like that.
I also appreciated the acting, or maybe just the face-acting, of Adam Driver as Kylo Ren - despite (again that word!) so many suboptimal lines and situations, he is strangely compelling; he has star quality (unlike several other cast members...).
In sum, I enjoyed enough about 'the world' - the general 'situation', to keep me going, despite the risible things that went on in it, and despite that I probably won't rewatch. So I would have to say that The Last Jedi is 'worth watching' (once), and therefore (by definition) worth 3 whole stars...
Sorry!
