The arrival of a new Pixar film is usually something to look forward to. After all, this is the studio that brought us Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Up. This is a studio that brought us incredible and original ideas like "What if your toys could talk?", a movie from the perspective of your emotions or a silent film starring a robot left on earth to clear up garbage. We'll just skip over Cars for now...
So why was it that Coco did not seem to be generating the same level of Joy in this Pixar fan's mind? Why didn't Coco Pop?!
On paper, it ticked all the boxes: Gorgeous animation, excellent voice cast, Pixar easter eggs plus the ability to tug on the heartstrings in a way only Pixar can.
Yet the end result left me rather dead inside. Just like the deceased members of Miguel's family I guess.
The story revolves around young Miguel. Born into a family who make shoes and have banned music due to a family tragedy, yet something deep inside him yearns to play the guitar.
A shocking discovery on the Day of the Dead leads to a fight with his family, a curse that transports him to the Land of the Dead and a quest to find his great, great, great Grandfather Ernesto De La Cruz, the greatest singer in all of Mexico.
The film plays on the importance of family and memory. Particularly the use that music can have in stimulating memory. In fact, there is a lot of work being done in this area in real life with dementia sufferers.
It also encourages us to keep the memories of those who we have loved and lost in our hearts and minds so they are never forgotten. It is this that forms the emotional core of the film and slowly the film turns on its head and the reason the film is called Coco, rather than Miguel, comes to the fore.
The problem was that with all the talk of memories and the trailer's claim to explore a world you've never seen before, it brought flooding back the memories of the 2014 film The Book of Life, produced by Guillermo Del Toro which featured a love story set in both the land of the living and of the dead and was a superior film to Coco.
It is difficult to be too critical of Coco however because despite its lack of originality, one cannot fault it's execution as come the final scenes, Pixar had once again worked its magic and despite my general feelings of indifference, managed to tug on the right guitar strings to feel a twang of emotion.
NB: Note that there is no Pixar short in front of the feature due to the selected short Olaf's Frozen Adventure being pulled from the US prints due to length, confusion and quality. Instead it played in front of special Christmas screenings of Frozen here in the UK.
With the Golden Globes now behind us, the BAFTA nominations just announced and the Oscars heading our way, it is safe to say that we are firmly in the grip of Awards season in the cinematic calendar.
But what about when the dust settles and the last award is handed out... *whispers* to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. What then? What do we all have to look forward to in 2018 at the cinema? Or indeed at home with original content on Netflix et all?
I have looked through the 2018 film slate on Launching Films UK, a great website for anyone looking for confirmed release dates for films getting a cinema release in the UK, and kept tabs on Netflix Originals and have come up with 18 films to tantalise your cinematic tastebuds this year.
(The only stipulation is that they cannot have been nominated for a Golden Globe, BAFTA or Oscar as the majority of them are released in January or early February. Hence why Three Billboards and The Shape Of Water are not on the list).
NB: The list is in chronological order of UK release date.
Black Panther (13/2/18)
The MCU is always taking risks. Remember the time when they had a space adventure headlined by a talking raccoon and tree monster soundtracked to the hits of the seventies? Marvel Studios have now done Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Political Thriller, Heist Movie and Comedy. True, they still haven’t done a female led movie but now it is Blaxploitation time with Black Panther.
When the first trailer hit, you could split the audience demographic into two groups: the ones who saw a LOTR reunion of Bilbo and Gollum (aka white people) and everyone else!
The risk has paid off with Panther selling more advance tickets than Civil War. 2018 is the year of #BlackMoviesMatter.
Annihilation (23/2/18)
There is still some confusion over the UK release of Annihilation as to whether it will be on Netflix or a cinematic release through Paramount but Alex Garland’s follow up to his Oscar-winning Ex_Machina looks like it should be experienced on the big screen if possible.
Assembling an all-star cast with Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Natalie
Portman as the biologist who signs up for a exploration mission to discover what happened to her
husband. Anyone who has ever watched a sci-fi film with this premise will know that when it comes to
describing how the mission goes, the likely answer is: not well. Not well for the characters but great for
the audience.
Mute (23/2/18)
This film was actually on my most anticipated list of 2017 but it finally looks as if though Netflix are ready to screen Duncan Jones’s spiritual sequel to Moon and loving ode to films like Blade Runner and Casablanca to the masses.
Duncan recently announced on Twitter that after 14 years of trying to get it made, audiences will finally get to see his vision realised on the big screen (well I say "big", it really depends on the size of your TV screen to be honest) on the 23rd February.
The Meg (2/3/18)
Definitely the most ridiculous film on this list, The Meg’s inclusion here can be summed up in five words: The Stath versus Giant Shark! Cue Futurama Shut Up And Take My Money meme!
Thoroughbreds (9/3/18)
Anya Taylor-Joy is a star on the rise and this film has a great Millenial Heathers vibe to it with the added bonus of the opportunity to see Anton Yelchin’s last on-screen performance following his tragic death in 2016.
You Were Never Really Here (9/3/18)
Joaquin Phoenix as a New York-set action hero in the vein of Taken and John Wick but directed by Lynne Ramsay and scored by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood? Say no more.
Isle Of Dogs (30/3/18)
A new Wes Anderson film is always reason for excitement but when it is another stop motion animation in the vein of the wonderful adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox and it’s announced that it will open the Glasgow Film Festival on 21st February, excitement levels reach a huge Ca-Nine out of Ten.
Journeyman (30/3/18)
When it comes to this sports drama, it certainly won’t be the British Rocky but more akin to the Southpaw or Warrior in terms of the effect that the sport can have on a family.
Paddy Considine directs and stars in this film which has apparently had critics weeping in the aisles during the credits and it is no real surprise given the talent shown with his equally hard-hitting directorial debut Tyrannosaur.
Ready Player One (30/3/18)
As a child of the Eighties, the novel Ready Player One was tailor-made to appeal to me and I loved the story which was the “Holy Grail of Pop Culture references” so I’m interested in seeing how it translates to the big screen. It has the most iconic film director of the Eighties at the helm in the form of Steven Spielberg but given he has taken out all the references to his own films (and there were many) it is likely to differ quite heavily from the source material and that could be a ultimately be a good thing when it comes to making a VR quest more cinematic.
A Quiet Place (6/4/18)
A Quiet Place is a film, ironically enough, that I had heard nothing about until a trailer dropped at the end of last year. A wonderfully atmospheric teaser of a family living in a cabin in the woods and forced to live in silence for fear of an unseen terror. It is a fantastic concept along the lines of 2016’s Don’t Breathe but the real draw of this is the pairing of real-life husband and wife team of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Plus the added shock at the end of the trailer to find it has been written and directed by Krasinski himself.
As Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained would say “You had my curiosity. Now you have my attention!”
Ghost Stories (20/4/18)
A great horror movie experienced in a cinema with a receptive crowd that responds to the will of the filmmaker and jump, scream and shout as intended is a marvellous thing to be a part of.
So if the film adaptation of Ghost Stories plays anywhere as near as well as it does on stage, then this could be THE breakout British horror film of the year.
Expecting that certain elements of the storytelling will change for the medium of cinema but very, very excited to see this play at the Glasgow Film Festival in February.
Avengers: Infinity War (27/4/18)
In a year with no shortage of superhero films (The New Mutants, Deadpool 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Ant-Man & The Wasp and Aquaman), the daddy of them all is Infinity War.
This is the film that the MCU has been building too ever since Nick Fury told Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative back in the post-credit sting of Iron Man in 2008.
Also excited to see the Scarlet Witch/Vision storyline set in Edinburgh on the big screen having visited the city during filming and witnessed some of the action being shot on the Royal Mile and Waverley Railway Station.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (8/6/18)
Yes, the first trailer which features the team returning to the island to round up the dinosaurs to take them back to the mainland makes it seem very similar to The Lost World but the director has made assurances that everything in the trailer takes place in the first 50 minutes and it will go to places you won’t expect.
I for one really enjoyed Jurassic World and the real excitement for the film for me, is the director J.A. Bayona who has made the incredible The Orphanage and The Impossible. I will be running in high heels to the cinema to see this one.
Ocean's 8 (22/6/18)
This is going to be one of the most interesting film releases of 2018 without a doubt. With the current movement in Hollywood towards equality for women in terms of opportunity and pay, there will be a lot of focus on how this all-female sequel/reboot of Ocean’s Eleven will do at the box office.
For there is the spectre of the female Ghostbusters reboot hanging over the film (however I don’t think the male fanbase for Ocean’s Eleven is as vocal or as nasty and mysogynistic). On the flip side, Sandra Bullock is a proven box office draw and despite what Hollywood claims about what audiences want to watch, the Top 3 films at the US Box Office in 2017 had female leads (Star Wars, Beauty & The Beast and Wonder Woman).
Sicario 2: Soldado (29/6/18)
The original Sicario is a film that stands alone as a five star classic (I will continue to say that Denis Villeuneuve, from Prisoners to Blade Runner 2049, has never delivered anything less than a 5 star classic. With streak of 5 films and counting that no other director can currently match).
At the end of the film, I don’t think anyone came out of it saying “I need the sequel now”.
The real drugs war in America however is still continuing and may never be truly over and so the studio have decided to continue the Sicario universe. Emily Blunt was the main character and entry into this world in the original but the sequel focuses on the supporting characters of Josh Brolin’s CIA agent and Benicio Del Toro’s Oscar nominated assassin and with Taylor Sheridan (Hell And High Water, Wind River) returning to script detail, anticipation is as high as the people on the drugs they are trying to eliminate.
The Predator (3/8/18)
I am going to come out and say it. There has not been a good Alien or Predator film since 1992. In fact, there has not been a great Predator film since 1987. Even more specifically, the only great Predator film starred Shane Black. And the fact that Shane Black has written and directed The Predator does give me hope for this sequel because I absolutely loved Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. If he can generate the same level of camaraderie and dialogue from his films and put that into the Predator universe along with some terrific action sequences, we might have reason to shout “RUN, GO. GET TO THE CINEMA!”
Halloween (19/10/18)
I didn’t expect to have a reboot/remake on this list, especially a remake of one of the most greatest and most influential horror films of all time but this one has me rather intrigued.
When David Gordon Green and Danny McBride (the people behind Your Highness) announced they were making a sequel/reboot of Halloween was announced, there was much eye-rolling and snobbery on Twitter.
However when it was announced that this would be a sequel to Halloween II and would forget the other films, eyebrows were raised. Then they announced Jamie Lee Curtis was returning as Laurie Strode and John Carpenter himself would score the film, this suddenly peaked my interest and am genuinely looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
Holmes & Watson (9/11/18)
Full disclaimer: I am a HUGE fan of Step Brothers, so any opportunity to see Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play off each other on screen is an immediate date in my diary, even if the world isn't screaming out for another adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. But add in support from Ralph Fiennes and Hugh Laurie (who can both do comedy), then this could be one of the surprises of 2018… or it could be another Anchorman 2. The game is afoot!
In 1973, J. Paul Getty, the richest man in the world, was faced with a scandal - his grandson Paul was kidnapped by a gang of Italian criminals and held to ransom - and when asked what he would pay to solve the problem, he simply replied "nothing".
The film All The Money In The World, follows the trials and tribulations of Paul's mother Abigail (played with sympathy and strength by Michelle Williams) as she spent months battling an empire and the mob when all she wanted was her son back.
In November of last year, Sir Ridley Scott was put in a similar position when his film was rocked by the Kevin Spacey scandal. Threatened with having a film that would be tarnished by his reputation, that could be pulled from distribution and ruining the hard work of thousands of people on the production, Scott wasted no time in declaring his intent to save his film, whatever the cost. For Scott would attempt the impossible, with a release date of 18th December, he would reshoot all the scenes with original choice for Getty, Christopher Plummer, re-edit the film and release it on date - in just four weeks.
And he only went and delivered on his promise!
It is safe to say that for many people in the industry and those who follow the news, All The Money In The World is now less of a film and more of a statement. A cautionary tale to everyone in Hollywood during the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements, that there is a shift in attitudes now and that people will be held accountable for their actions and that even after filming, you can and will be replaced if necessary.
But what of the finished film? Is it any good? Or does that even matter any more? Is anyone going to see the movie for the story or are they now just going to see if they can spot the joins, for a chance to see if they can spot the man behind the curtain frantically trying to hold it all together?
Well, early reports of the figure of Getty playing a minor role were false, as he is an integral character to the plot and even when not on screen, his presence looms over everyone, driving their every move and motivation.
Even with only nine days to prepare, Christopher Plummer seems like he was always meant to play Getty. He has a charisma, charm and menace that make it, ironically, impossible to imagine anyone else in the role and for the most part, his inclusion in the film is seamless.
The only time the switch is really visible is some slightly sub-par CGI during the Saudi desert scenes where Plummer has clearly been placed over Spacey, but to be fair that would have been the most expensive to reshoot.
It is easy to see why he has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor awards recently. While he is unlikely to win given he is up against stronger performances in the category from the likes of Dafoe and Rockwell, to deliver what he did in nine days (at the age of 88) under the circumstances, it is a great story and Hollywood loves a drama and the ability to spin it to its own ends.
As you would come to expect from a Ridley Scott film, it looks like a million bucks (or should that be a billion dollars?), sadly however the film plods along rather undramatically. Like Getty and his negotiations, the film takes its time and it approaches the end of its 132 minutes, you can’t help but feel like Paul Getty and his mother Abigail would have done and wish that the whole ordeal was over and done with.
So ultimately an unremarkable film was provided with a truly remarkable behind-the-scenes story which will ultimately guarantee it a wider audience and a fair share of awards and nominations which ironically proves that All The Money In The World can buy you success!
The Golden Globes are this Sunday and it is time for my annual attempt at predicting the winners. This year more than any will be difficult to do as the majority of the films have not yet received a UK release, which means that I will have to rely on guess work rather than actual opinion in most cases... although public opinion and critics views often can amount to nothing when it comes to the Globes!
Expect the ceremony and speeches to be more important and talked about than the actual results.
Best Picture - Drama
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Post
The Shape Of Water - WINNER
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Post is the most topical film but The Shape Of The Water is the most nominated film on the night so my vote goes to Del Toro's unconventional love story. Best Picture - Comedy or Musical
The Disaster Artist
Get Out - WINNER
The Greatest Showman
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Globe will come down to two of the best reviewed films Lady Bird and Get Out. Get Out is "The Martian" of the category and this could tip the odds in its favour so expect it to win on the night. Best Actress - Drama
Jessica Chastain - Molly's Game
Sally Hawkins - The Shape Of Water
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - WINNER
Meryl Streep - The Post
Michelle Williams - All The Money In The World
Hawkins is the front runner on paper but expect McDormand's foulmouthed tour-de-force performance to scoop the gong. Best Actress - Comedy or Musical
Judi Dench - Victoria & Abdul
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya - WINNER
Saiorse Ronan - Lady Bird
Emma Stone - Battle Of The Sexes
Helen Mirren - The Leisure Seeker
Dames Mirren and Dench don't stand a chance but receive their obligatory nominations anyway. The odds are in favour of Saiorse Ronan but I have a feeling Margot Robbie will sweep in with a crowbar and take the victory from under Ronan's feet. Best Actor - Drama
Timothee Chalamet - Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
Tom Hanks - The Post
Gary Oldman - The Darkest Hour - WINNER
Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel, Esq
I could see the Globes giving the award to Day-Lewis as a glorious farewell, if the rumours of retirement are true, but the money seems to be on Oldman's cigar and scenery-chewing turn as Churchill which wins the bonus points of playing a real life person. Best Actor - Comedy or Musical
Steve Carell - Battle Of The Sexes
Ansel Elgort - Baby Driver
James Franco - The Disaster Artist - WINNER
Hugh Jackman - The Greatest Showman
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Can't see anyone but Franco taking this one due to his total commitment of transforming into Tommy Wiseau. Best Director
Guillermo Del Toro - The Shape Of Water - WINNER
Martin McDonagh - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
Ridley Scott - All The Money In The World
Steven Spielberg - The Post
Given the current political climate in Hollywood, it would be tempting for them to award Ridley Scott for managing to recast and reshoot Spacey's role in just a few weeks before release, but I think that Del Toro will take the prize. Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
Hong Chau - Downsizing
Alison Janney - I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird - WINNER
Octavia Spencer - The Shape Of Water
I haven't seen any of these films so going to have to go with the popular opinion on this one with Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird but Janney could run her close from what I have seen in the trailers for I, Tonya.
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
Armie Hammer - Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins - The Shape Of Water
Christopher Plummer - All The Money In The World - WINNER
Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
This is a year where Dafoe, Rockwell or Hammer could easily win and be worthy winners but I can't see anyone but Plummer winning due to the incredible story that goes with his late replacement taking over from Spacey. Best Original Score
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Shape Of Water
Phantom Thread
The Post
Dunkirk - WINNER
Fully expect Hans Zimmer's score that drives the entire movie forward and had audiences' knuckles turning white with tension to win.
Best Screenplay
The Shape Of Water
Lady Bird
The Post
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - WINNER
Molly's Game
Not surprised to see Sorkin nominated but McDonagh's scripts are always incredibly quotable so Three Billboards will win One Globe.
Best Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman
First They Killed My Father
In The Fade
Loveless
The Square - WINNER
Having not seen any of the nominated films, picking the winner of the Palme D'Or The Square.
Best Animated Film
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Ferdinand
Coco
Loving Vincent - WINNER
Going for a punt with Loving Vincent. Not your traditional nominee but would be a worthy winner.
It would be easy to write up a review of the year looking at the big stories of the year but it would make for depressing reading now and no amount of "Now Wolverine can team up with the Avengers" can make up for that.
Instead this will be a bit of a statistical analysis of my year of cinema going along with my picks for the best (and worst) films of the year along with movie moments and performances.
When compiling my list of what I had watched this year, it became apparent that I will need to move with the times in 2018 as I only had kept track of films that I had seen at the cinema and not at home via Netflix, such as Gerald's Game and The Circle.
From 1st January, that will change as there are more and more original films being released via online platforms, including Duncan Jones's upcoming Mute (which will hopefully also receive a small theatrical release).
Films watched at the cinema - 142
New releases watched in 2017 - 115
Repeat viewings of new releases - 9
Classic re-issues watched on the big screen - 18
Worst Films of 2017
Transformers 5: The Last Knight
Song To Song
The Snowman
Geostorm
The House
Movie Moments Of The Year
Luke & Leia (The Last Jedi) - Don't want to go into spoilers but safe to say that when Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are reunited on screen, it is a scene that would turn even the most hardened Sith back from the Dark Side.
Joi, K and Mariette (Blade Runner 2049) - The A.I. Joi melds with a replicant prostitute in order to become physical with Gosling's K and the CGI used in this scene is the most stunning that I have ever seen and blew my tiny human mind as it struggled to comprehend what it was seeing.
Epilogue (La La Land) - A beautiful "What If" recap of this stunning, joyous musical which simultaneously becomes the most bittersweet ending to a romance since Casablanca.
Spitfire vs the Bomber (Dunkirk) - The airborne dogfight cinematography is the highlight of Nolan's film but the acting and emotion cannot be overlooked during the scene where Hardy's pilot silently decides whether to fly home to safety or turn around to take on a German bomber to save more soldiers, knowing it will leave him out of fuel and probably sending him to his death.
The Knock On The Door (Wind River) - When Elizabeth Olsen knocks on the door of a cabin, what happened next completely threw me for a loop.
Post-credit Sting (Split) - One comes to expect a twist from an M. Night Shalamyan film and this was no different but when the film revealed where the story would go in the future I properly "marked out" and was astounded and delighted we would see more from the world of *redacted*
Bellbottoms (Baby Driver) - The opening bank robbery and resulting car chase is a tour de force of action directing and editing, with all the action set out meticulously to the soundtrack of Bellbottoms by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and sets the tone for Edgar Wright's bold, brash and brilliant Baby Driver.
Anything with Korg (Thor Ragnarok) - Taika Waititi's hilarious rock monster Korg was the breakout character of Thor Ragnarok. Always there to undercut the tension with a joke or two, I certainly hope to see more of Korg and Miek in the MCU.
Michael Stuhlbarg's monologue (Call Me By Your Name) - Stuhlbarg steals the film out from under the feet of Chalamet and Hammer right at the end with a tender, beautiful speech to his son that earns him the title of best movie parent since Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson in Easy A.
"Oh hai Mark" (The Disaster Artist) - Yes it was featured in the trailer but the filming of this scene in The Room is fantastic (as is the spot on recreations of scenes from the film played side by side during the end credits).
Best Performances Of The Year
Emily Beecham (Daphne)
Tom Hardy (Dunkirk)
James Franco (The Disaster Artist)
Harrison Ford (Blade Runner 2049)
Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane & Molly's Game)
Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name)
Rafe Spall (The Ritual)
Mark Hamill (The Last Jedi)
Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)
Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle)
Most Enjoyable Cinematic Viewing Experiences
The Room
Edinburgh International Film Festival Q&As - This year I was lucky enough to host a couple of Q&As at EIFF including Daphne with a breakout performance from Emily Beecham and a packed house in Filmhouse 1 for The Beautiful Fantastic with Jeremy Irvine.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark with live score at Usher Hall - One of the greatest films of all-time with one of the greatest film themes of all-time played live by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. What's not to love?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Midnight Screening
Dunkirk on 70mm & IMAX - Flawless projection from the team at Filmhouse for the gorgeous 70mm print. Sadly there were projection issues at Glasgow IMAX but I did notice the reactions of audience members around me with one girl utterly engrossed with the dogfight scenes so much that whenever Tom Hardy appeared on screen, she moved forward to the edge of her seat. At the end when he opens the cockpit to parachute to safety she started to cheer, only to look around at other people in shock when he closed it to safely land the plane on the beach and burn it so the Germans couldn't use it. It reminded me of the power that cinema can have over people.
Top 17 Films of 2017
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Wind River
Get Out
The Last Jedi
La La Land
A Ghost Story
Baby Driver
Mother!
The Disaster Artist
Logan
T2 Trainspotting
Call Me By Your Name
Paddington 2
Raw
Kaleidoscope
It Comes At Night
Honorable Mention: War Of The Planet Of The Apes - Who can honestly say that in 2011, when a prequel/reboot to a Sixties sci-fi film that spawned a number of terrible sequels and remakes would produce one of the greatest film trilogies of ALL-TIME, anchored by an incredible central performance from Andy Serkis as Caesar.
At the end of November, Cineworld Union Square Aberdeen opened their recently converted 4DX screen and today I went along to try it with a second viewing of Star Wars - The Last Jedi.
4DX for those not in the know, attempts to put you into the movie with various tricks such as chairs that move with the action, strobe lighting, wind machines, spraying water and mist plus smoke machines.
The biggest question, given the increased price tag of watching a movie this way, is: does it increase the film viewing experience.
The answer is... not really.
While the initial feeling of having your chair rock back and forth, side to side, as the spaceships fly around the screen and pufts of air blast round your head during explosions is mildly amusing, it feels like the Terminator 4D ride that was at Universal Studios drawn out over two and half hours.
Ultimately, instead of taking you further into the film, it consistently drew me out of the film as I was conscious of the mechanisms at work and it can become a little distracting. Plus having a screen dedicated to films compatible with 4DX technology, it can reduce the choice and availability at multiplexes even more than it currently does, especially at times when the majority of screens will already be playing Star Wars.
I certainly would not recommend it for a first viewing of a film so can focus completely on the story but if you were looking for a bit of fun with a repeat viewing of a big action blockbuster, it certainly can provide a little fun.
When the Force awakened two years ago, a new hope was born for Star Wars fans. Fans that had succumbed to the dark side following feelings of fear, anger and suffering after being disappointed by George Lucas's prequels.
The Force Awakens was a welcome return to the Star Wars universe we all knew and loved. From the effects, the characters and the story.
The story however was slightly too close to the originals for some, with many arguing that it was simply a beat-for-beat retread of A New Hope.
In terms of plot, there will be no discussion of where the story goes and certainly no spoilers but after the opening salvo where sceptical audiences may think "Here we go again", believing that this is simply a repeat of The Empire Strikes Back, it is fair to say, just as Luke says in the trailer "This is not going to go the way you think" and writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) successfully delivers a series of unexpected twists and turns as our heroes and villains journey through a galaxy far, far away.
This means that The Last Jedi will potentially divide audiences between the dark side and the light.
And there certainly is a lot of light. For The Last Jedi is easily the funniest Star Wars film in the saga by a Kessel Run parsec or two. It is a huge gamble as the jokes are not the kind that have featured previously in the franchise and the odds are higher than even Han Solo would like but they all landed perfectly with an eager midnight crowd.
Elsewhere, Johnson makes some incredibly bold choices in terms of story and character in an effort to shake off the shackles of 40 years of history and prove that the saga can look ahead to the future and not be tied to the fate of the old guard. Sometimes literally throwing away everything you think you know.
Speaking of the old guard, it is great to finally have Mark Hamill back in a speaking role as a grizzled, world-weary Luke Skywalker but one possessed with Hamill's now trademark playfulness that he has developed since the original trilogy.
Special mention to Carrie Fisher for a strong, steely final performance as General Leia Organa and it is with great sadness that one can only imagine what would have happened in Episode IX, given that VII was Han's story, this is Luke's and it feels as if it would have naturally been her turn in the limelight.
The new generation of Isaac, Boyega, Serkis, Ridley and Driver continue to grow effortlessly into their roles, with Driver particularly fast-becoming the most complex and fascinating character in the saga.
Of the episode's new additions, the stand-outs are veterans Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro, who finally answers the question of what would happen if Fenster from The Usual Suspects went to space.
It is Johnson's ability to elegantly fuse the old and the new which is one of the major successes. Not just fitting new characters into the story but new locations such as the planet of Crait which provides the backdrop of a major battle with striking imagery of white salt flying up off the ground to reveal a blood red surface. There is also a welcome return to practical effects with a focus on puppetry and make up which seamlessly fits with the space battles and stunning CGI of Andy Serkis's Snoke.
Finally, it is time to address the elephant in the room... Porgs! No complaints here as I am now a fully paid up member of Team Porg. They are funny, not overused, not annoying in the same way as the Ewoks were and impossible to resist as testified by the sight of 400 people simultaneously "Awwwing" at a Porg.
The Last Jedi is the strongest instalment of the saga since Empire but that is where the comparisons to Episode V should end as Johnson is now forging a new path for the rebellion and the franchise, one that is built on much more than just hope but skill, wit and passion and the Star Wars is once again a Force to be reckoned with.
