After nearly two years of waiting, the next installment in our new Star Wars trilogy is finally upon us. Being a lifelong Star Wars fan, and one who truly enjoyed the last chapter of the famed saga, to say I was hyped would have been an understatement. Sitting in the theater opening night last Thursday, I eagerly awaited the new adventures that our heroes we met in "The Force Awakens" would have to endure.

As the end credits started to roll and classic overture roared, I walked out feeling… underwhelmed.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I thought it was a decent. I did like it, but I didn’t love it. "The Last Jedi" is a good but not great movie. Walking away from a Star Warsmovie feeling that way actually led me to being a tad disappointed.

As a fan, I do not think that it is unfair to have high expectations from aStar Warsmovie. Especially considering how high the standard for these movies has become, and how strongly Disney hyped up this film through its marketing campaign.

What we got instead were some truly bizarre aspects and sequences that stuck out like a sore thumb that I am still hung up on when thinking about this movie.

Leia floating through space

What the heck was this all about? This was an absolutely bizarre addition to this movie that had no business making the final cut. It was here that "The Last Jedi" actually lost me a little bit, and had me unable to go completely back to my excitement for the movie.

I could not believe they put this scene here. Leia has always had a connection to the Force due to her lineage. She is a Skywalker, after all.

Although the franchise has done a nice job of establishing her Force sensitivity, it was always to an extent. Her abilities were always feeling premonitions or sensing when something was happening to someone she cared about. She never took up the training ways of the Jedi, but now is suddenly so in tune with the Force that she can survive an explosion, survive the freezing vacuum of space, and have enough wherewithal to will herself to float through space to the safety of the ship.

In a saga with laser swords, weapons that can obliterate planets, faster-than-light travel, ghosts, and space wizards, this was the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen in a Star Warsmovie.

"The Last Jedi" Strikes Back

Everyone loved to gripe that "The Force Awakens" was too similar to "A New Hope," yet no one is talking about the similarities between this one and "The Empire Strikes Back." Here are a few:

Rebels evacuating a base? Check.

Our main hero going off to train with an old Jedi master in exile? Yup.

Our hero finding a bizarre part of the planet, rich in the dark side that didn’t make a whole lot of sense? That too.

Other secondary characters trying to outrun the Empire/First Order in space? Mm-hm.

A larger than normal Star Destroyer? Jeeze, I think they just copied the script here.

And, finally, smaller, more ill-equipped rebel vehicles facing off against large Walkers on a white planet? Bingo.

The casino planet

I hated everything about the storyline of Finn and newcomer Rose Tico going to this planet to find a codebreaker for their plan. It was so boring and mostly irrelevant. If I watch this movie again I’ll know when to use the bathroom, since almost nothing from this story will pan out in a meaningful way later on.

Nothing about this felt like Star Wars. From milling about in a casino that looked like James Bond would pop out at any minute to a chase scene with odd horse/giraffe looking things that might have been better suited for an episode of space National Geographic. There were only two purposes for this side story: develop Rose Tico (an unnecessary addition to a crowded cast) and to give something for Finn to do.

Speaking of Finn…

They ruined Finn

Finn was one of the highlights of "The Force Awakens" for me. He was a unique character, one we hadn’t really seen the likes of in Star Wars before. Starting off as a frightened and reluctant-to-help defector, Finn was hardly heroic. But when push came to shove, Finn stood up when his friends needed them most and helped save the day at a great personal cost.

How do we see the progression of such a charismatic character? By having him be a coward and trying to escape when the Resistance was being pushed to the brink. A huge step backward in my book.

After that, Finn went on a useless side quest, had a needless fight with Captain Phasma, and was pretty irrelevant for the rest of the movie. A character I loved suddenly became one I wished wasn’t even in the movie.

Captain Phasma

Two and a half years ago when I learned that Gwendoline Christie, the legendary Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, would be playing a Star Wars villain I was boarding first class on the hype train. In a saga rich with great villains, I was anxious to see what Disney would have Christie bring to the table

After a disappointingly underused debut in "The Force Awakens," I was excited to see what the character would bring to the table in this one. What we got was… almost the same.

Unseen for large portions of this movie, Phasma showed up at the end to fight Finn in what was clearly Disney attempting to justify a level in another LEGO Star Wars video game. Through two movies we saw Phasma in action once and then she died. What an absolutely tragic misuse of an actor as talented as Christie.

Captain Phasma is now officially the second most overhyped and overrated Star Wars villain of all time. Right behind Boba Fett.

Pacing and story

I don’t hate a slow build-up if it is done correctly. Unfortunately, the beginning of this movie, following the opening space battle, had a pacing issue. Plenty of scenes felt like they dragged on a little too long, prompting me to wonder when they might end.

Once the pace picked up, it really got going. Until the story’s crescendo was the throne room.

Everything about the throne room sequence was phenomenal, and it felt like a conclusion. The problem is that it was not, and there were about 25-30ish minutes left in the movie. In what felt like the end, the story sort of kept going on for a while.

Everything after the throne room felt like the story was trying to one-up itself with the new walkers, the battering ram, and Luke facing off with Kylo. There was no real conclusion, and the story just ended. All I can say is that I am ready for JJ Abrams to return for Episode IX.

Admiral Holdo could have solved a lot of problems, but didn’t

I actually really like Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo. Overall, I felt she was a unique addition. However, that does not change some questionable aspects about her.

First, she should have told Poe her plan of evacuating the ship in secrecy to the hidden base. Poe was clearly an anxious character with influence who is used to being right in the thick of things. She really should have just explained her strategy. If the reason she didn't tell Poe her plan is because she didn't trust him, then that's a stupid reason. Leia, her superior and friend, respected him deeply so shouldn't that have been enough to at least trust him with her plan? Also, when Leia explained Holdo's plan to Poe, he immediately recognized it was a good one. Keeping Poe in the dark was not the right call.

Second, when she stayed behind on the flagship, she stood around for quite a bit while plenty of the transport ships were being wiped out. Sure, the hyperspace jump was magnificent, but it could have happened a lot earlier.

Third, she could have solved the obvious Leia problem. Carrie Fisher, may she rest in peace, is no longer with us. I understand Fisher finished her parts before her passing, but story wise it should have been Leia who stayed behind on the ship for self-sacrifice, giving Holdo a more prominent role in the next film.

Where was Rey?

Rey has been the centerpiece of this new trilogy. She is clearly the main character, and a brilliant one at that. Rey is honestly one of my favorite Star Wars characters at this point, which is why I was so disappointed she was almost left entirely out of the conclusion.

Seriously, after she and Kylo teamed up to fight the guards she was just not in the picture. Sure she showed up for a brief moment in the Millennium Falcon, but it seemed as if the movie totally forgot about Rey. That’s not a character that you should ever be wondering where they are.

Luke’s needless death

I don’t hate how Luke died, I just hate that he died in this movie. Everything Luke-related was far and away the best part of this movie. By making him a bitter, world-wearied curmudgeon instead of a Ben Kenobi-style wise, old sage, the character has never been more fascinating. Luke finding his faith once again to help save the day was the most compelling part of the story, and it’s a rotten shame that’s all we’ll see of it.

Instead of getting a chance to witness a rejuvenated Luke fighting side by side with Rey to close out the trilogy, we’re robbed as Luke just fades into the ether. This feels even more out of the blue when Luke even told Kylo Ren “See ya around, kid.” Guess not. Kind of a wasted opportunity for something special in the next one.

Yoda

Finally, Yoda just looked awful. Seriously, it seems every movie his look changes. This time, he’s never looked worse. It was a bizarre union of the old puppet from the originals and the CGI Yoda we got from the prequels, creating an unholy abomination.

The Yoda from the Cartoon Network TV show looked better.

Shoot, he even looked better in the LEGO Star Wars video games.

In conclusion

I would be remiss, however, if I did not explain some aspects to the movie that I absolutely adored. Luke Skywalker was pure gold in this, we finally got a much better understanding of the power of the Force, the throne room sequence where Rey teamed up with Kylo Ren was some of the best Star Wars I’ve ever seen, there were plenty of twists that kept me guessing, and Admiral Holdo jumping to hyperspace through the Super Star Destroyer was breathtaking cinema. Perhaps I’ll write about what was good about this movie next.

Quite honestly, there were parts of this movie I really did love. In fact, about 85% was great. But, it is that 15% that I mentioned that I cannot seem to shake out of my mind when thinking back. In general, I am not opposed to filmmakers taking risks. But the risks had better pan out, otherwise, they will end up being so distracting they bog down an otherwise good movie.