The latest edition of Star Wars, The Last Jedi is one step above Mel Brooks’ Space Balls.  I stole that from an audience reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes but it’s a reasonably accurate characterization. The problem with that is Mel Brooks intentionally produced a successful comedic farce. The producers of Last Jedi on the other hand attempted to deliver something else and by most measures unintentionally delivered a product that looks remarkably closer to Mr. Brooks’ effort.

Simply put – Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, does nothing to honor or advance the legacy of the Star Wars saga or the richness of its original characters and it reduces Luke and Leia to little more than props for lazy dialogue such as  “use my personal code” and “there will be more Jedi after me.”   True enough, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill would never be mistaken for Bette Davis or Lawerence Olivier but they deserved more to work with than this sad excuse for a screenplay.

There are other aspects of the film that are broken as well including the indiscriminate placement of women in roles occupied by men in prior episodes.  It doesn’t work and it’s an insult to female actors who strive for role parity in Hollywood.  Laura Dern, through what appears to be no fault of her own, is particularly ineffective as second in command to Carrie Fisher.  She glides along in a strikingly attractive gown and purple tinted hair but there’s little substance or reason for her character beyond the temporary absence of Ms. Fisher. And then there’s Rey – what could have been a truly complex narrative with Daisy Ridley’s portrayal of the emerging first female Jedi – but alas, it’s wasted.  The character is poorly developed and leaves us wondering about the value of her role beyond a feeble attempt to encourage Luke Skywalker to “get back in the ring and fight.”

There’s plenty of blame to go around for the men as well.  Mark Hamill falls flat in his attempt to channel Alec Guinness as the elder Jedi.  He lacks the gravitas of Guinness and other fine actors who have the ability to take limited dialogue and deliver tour de force performances. There’s almost too much of Oscar Issac, crashing and thrashing as Poe Dameron the Rebel commander who thinks that direct orders from General Leia are merely a suggestion.  He bounces around the screen to his own special tune in what may be one of the most annoying performances of 2017.  The villain Kylo Ren is the sole bright spot in the film, not so much due to the richness of the character but because Adam Driver is simply a good actor.

I love the Disney business model but since they acquired Star Wars it appears they have re-engineered this ground-breaking franchise into a series of consumable thrill ride and theme park experiences. On more than one occasion I found myself thinking that much of this is bound to show up in Orlando real soon. I’m not sure I blame them given the amount of money they have invested and the success of their past cross marketing efforts but its still a shame.

Fear not… Star Wars, The Last Jedi is a capable thrill ride with production values worthy of the big studio that delivers it and it will most certainly go well with a large bucket of popcorn. But it lacks an essential element which is the soul of any movie – a story. Sadly, this vaunted franchise has lost the narrative thread that seemed to magically renew itself over and over again under George Lucas’ watchful eye and creative genius.  And with a Tomatometer of 93% one is left to wonder if Disney didn’t somehow spike the buttered popcorn with a secret potion to deliver a Jedi Mind Trick that convinced critics to believe- these are not the droids you are looking for.

But hold the butter please, I prefer my popcorn straight and I’m perfectly cozy right here with the remaining 7%.