When Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi was screened for critics, some reviews declared it to be the best movie in the entire saga. But when it was actually released into theaters and fans got their hooks into it, the response became a lot more polarized.
Some fans agreed with the positive reviews, while others were so infuriated by it that they wanted Johnson’s head on a pike. The movie isn’t the near-perfect masterpiece that critics made it out to be, but it’s also not as bad as fans made it out to be, either.
Right: Introducing Rose Tico
Star Wars fans were introduced to Rose Tico in The Last Jedi. She was characterized as a relatable everywoman and Kelly Marie Tran brought a lovability to the role. It was exciting to see where Rose would go in the future.
It’s just a shame that, after claiming that the casting of Kelly Marie Tran was the best asset he got from Rian Johnson, J.J. Abrams basically made Rose a background character in The Rise of Skywalker.
Wrong: Luke’s Characterization
Even Mark Hamill was unhappy with how Rian Johnson characterized Luke in The Last Jedi, although Johnson himself insists that his Luke is consistent with the Luke in the original trilogy. To be fair to Johnson, he did have to come up with a way for The Force Awakens’ ending to make sense, and there wasn’t a way to do that without having him give up on the fight against evil.
But Luke saw the good in Darth Vader, and didn’t give up until he was redeemed. He wouldn’t try to murder his nephew at the slightest sign that he was turning to the dark side.
Right: Luke’s Death
As disappointing as Luke was throughout The Last Jedi, his death scene was suitably triumphant. He heroically stood down the entire First Order, playing on Kylo Ren’s weak emotions to give the Resistance’s last survivors enough time to escape Crait and continue the good fight.
The twist that he was just a Force projection was appropriately surprising, while the subsequent scene in which he becomes one with the Force is just as emotionally engaging as it needs to be.
Wrong: Disappointing Answers To Fans’ Questions
It was unfair for the Star Wars fan base to nickname the director of The Last Jedi “Ruin Johnson,” simply because they were unhappy with some of his creative decisions, but he didn’t help himself by making the movie as a deliberate middle finger to fans. After J.J. Abrams made fans question trivial issues like Snoke’s identity and Rey’s parentage, Johnson had no interest in indulging them with answers.
Instead, he gave them the most disappointing answers possible. Who is Snoke? Doesn’t matter! Who are Rey’s parents? Nobodies! Why is Luke on Ahch-To? He’s an old grump now!
Right: Original Story
After The Force Awakens blatantly ripped off A New Hope with another desert scavenger, another evil empire, and another Death Star, Rian Johnson wrote an original story for The Last Jedi.
It’s not quite as airtight or perfectly structured as the entries in the original trilogy, but it was still nice to see a story fans hadn’t already seen before.
Wrong: Detour To Canto Bight
At 152 minutes, The Last Jedi is the longest Star Wars movie ever made, and it certainly feels overstuffed. It would be one thing if everything in the movie was absolutely necessary, but that’s not the case. In the middle act, Finn and Rose take a detour to Canto Bight to hammer home the “hot takes” that slavery and animal cruelty are wrong.
It’s become a prerequisite for Star Wars movies to go to a weird alien bar, and it always stops the movie dead. The Canto Bight sequence is the worst such offender by far.
Right: Yoda’s Appearance
The Lucasfilm team went to painstaking efforts to hide the fact that Frank Oz was coming on and off the set of The Last Jedi to preserve the fact that Yoda’s Force ghost appears in the movie. And it did come as a delightful surprise.
Pretty much everything about Yoda’s appearance in The Last Jedi worked, from his back-and-forth with Luke about Jedi traditions to the use of puppetry over CGI.
Wrong: Leia’s Force Flight
Leia’s Force sensitivity was teased in the original trilogy, so it made sense for the sequel trilogy to explore it. But after The Force Awakens gave no sign of Leia’s Force abilities, Rian Johnson felt the need to go big in The Last Jedi.
This meant a crazy scene in which Leia is blown out the side of a ship and then flies through the vacuum of space like Mary Poppins.
Right: Ending On A Hopeful Note
A lot of The Last Jedi was a cynical rant about the Jedi teachings being outdated and the First Order being destined to win and the Resistance being destined to fail, but Star Wars has always been an optimistic story.
Rian Johnson maintained this optimism in the movie’s final moment, as a slave boy dubbed “Broom Boy” revels in the legend of Luke Skywalker and then reveals his own Force sensitivity and looks up at the stars, reinforcing the idea that anyone can be a hero; it’s not about being from a special bloodline. It’s just a shame that J.J. Abrams went nowhere with this plot point in The Rise of Skywalker.
Wrong: Dragging Out The Third Act
Rey and Kylo Ren fighting the Praetorian Guards in Snoke’s throne room while Finn and Rose escaped from the First Order had the weight of a final battle, but then they all went to Crait for another final battle.
The dragging of the third act is a huge part of what makes The Last Jedi feel bloated and overlong, and could’ve been streamlined.