Critics slam Star Wars: The Last Jedi as 'the worst Star Wars movie ever'

The latest instalment in the Star Wars franchise is already a hit. Star Wars: The Last Jedi thundered its way to a US$220 million opening weekend at the box office, and its critical rating currently stands at a highly favourable 93 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

But not everyone is up for the ride. While most critics are praising the second instalment in Disney's new Star Wars trilogy as a high-octane, emotionally affecting adventure, some disagree – even going so far as to call it the "worst Star Wars movie ever".

That slamming comes from Frank Chung of news.com.au, who blasted The Last Jedi for its "boring characters" who stand around "giving cringe-worthy motivational speeches and crying".

Chung is not alone. Richard Brody from the New Yorker says "the movie comes off as a work that's ironed out, flattened down, appallingly purified". He describes the Star Wars universe as one that has grown ever more intelligent and complex, but that in The Last Jedi, "that world has been tamed, tamped down, boxed in, neatly packaged, to a chilling extreme".

Kate Taylor, of Canada's Globe and Mail, says the film is "crowded, busy and long," with "promising" new characters that end up "short-changed".

Variety's Peter Debruge argues that though the film hits a high standard of franchise filmmaking, it remains "ultimately a disappointment," resulting in "the longest and least essential chapter in the series".

Slant magazine's Sam C. Mac says the film tries too hard to merely replicate George Lucas' original films without attempting to add anything new.

These reviewers remain in the minority – The Last Jedi's 20 negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are countered by 276 positive reviews.

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