Star Wars: The Last Jedi is undoubtedly the most controversial film in the franchise. Upon its release in 2017, fans found themselves divided, debating over the merits of the film and how it stacked up when compared to previously-established Star Wars mythology.
With the benefit of nearly five years of hindsight, some fans might be surprised at this film's enjoyability, as many of the complaints against it have proven to be overblown and unfair with the progression of time. As such, there are plenty of aspects of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi that prove its greatness.
The Hyperspace Ram
Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo may not be fans' favorite new character from The Last Jedi, but she certainly went out memorably. After the Resistance is cornered by the First Order, Holdo manually pilots her ship, aiming it at the First Order's flagship before launching into hyperspace, destroying both vessels in spectacular fashion.
Scenes such as this prove why The Last Jedi deserves more respect than it typically receives. A common criticism of The Force Awakens was that it did nothing new with the franchise, yet its sequel explores avenues never before seen in the franchise, introducing a whole new aspect to space battles that fans had never conceived of previously--which also happens to be one of the most beautiful and impressive shots of the entire saga.
The Throne Room Fight
After Ben Solo betrays and kills Supreme Leader Snoke, he and Rey must defend themselves against Snoke's highly-trained Praetorian Guards, each of whom possesses a different manner of weaponry. What follows is one of the greatest action sequences in all of Star Wars.
The battle in the Throne Room is far more than an ordinary lightsaber fight, as Rey and Kylo are forced to improvise new tactics against enemies they've never faced before. Much like the film itself, the sequence defies expectations, showing just how fresh a hearty battle sequence can feel when executed properly.
Poe's Arc
Poe Dameron is one Star Wars sequel trilogy character who just got better and better. Played by the incredibly talented Oscar Isaac, Poe has a particularly poignant character arc in his second appearance, where he learns how to become a better leader by refusing to unnecessarily sacrifice the lives of his soldiers.
Poe begins the film as a successful but overly arrogant commander over the Resistance's starfighters. While he produced good results, it often came at the expense of many lives. Over the course of the story, however, Poe learns that he must also be able to trust the judgment of others, sometimes finding it necessary to retreat if it means living to fight another day.
The Battle Of Crait
In the climax of The Last Jedi, what little remains of the Resistance fortifies an old Rebel base on Crait as they await the arrival of the First Order's forces. When their enemies finally arrive, the Resistance mounts an impressive defense against them in one of the greatest scenes in the franchise.
Every moment of the Battle of Crait is nuanced, exciting, and visually appealing. From the red streaks of upturned salt left in the wake of the rickety speeders to the miniaturized Death Star cannon used to bring down the base's blast door, this climactic battle brings an already exciting film to a proper conclusion, ending with a mind-blowing faceoff between Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker.
Cinematography
Many of those who attempt to discredit the eighth film of the Skywalker Saga claim that the movie is a cinematic failure, citing any number of random filmmaking tactics to prove their point. However, The Last Jedi consistently proves these fans wrong, especially when it comes to the film's utterly fantastic cinematography.
Any fan that claims The Last Jedi is a poorly-made film has clearly not paid attention to the incredibly detailed and meticulously fashioned beauty of nearly every shot therein. Every frame of the film is spectacular to look at, with bright and symbolic usage of colors, especially bright shades of red, which permeate the film, all foreshadowing the final battle on Crait.
Rey And Ben's Connection
One of the most intriguing aspects of The Last Jedi is the budding relationship between Rey and Ben Solo as they continue to reach out to one another through the Force. While The Rise of Skywalker would retcon this relationship as a romance, the bond between these two characters is a far more nuanced relationship than ever depicted in Star Wars before.
Rey and Ben, though on opposite sides of the galaxy's latest conflict, find common ground through their similar trauma. In this relationship, they both learn that things are often far more complicated than "Light Side vs. Dark Side." This recognition furthers both characters in their development, as well as sets Rey up with the potential to become one of the best Jedi of all time.
Subverting Expectations
After The Force Awakens, fans have plenty of theories regarding how the rest of the sequel trilogy would pan out. However, The Last Jedi flipped the script on them, demolishing most of their theories.
Though the way in which The Last Jedi subverted expectations would prove to be polarizing to the fanbase, it was ultimately a necessary and refreshing way to approach the infamous "Mystery Box" left behind by JJ Abrams. Fans may have been disappointed in being proven wrong about Snoke, Rey's lineage, or any other prominent speculations, but the fact remains that audiences were genuinely surprised by The Last Jedi, a feat that has become increasingly rare from modern blockbusters.
The Truth Of The Jedi
The Jedi Order is a prominent force in the Star Wars saga, but it is also fundamentally flawed, as depicted in the prequel trilogy. While other films in the sequel trilogy attempt to set the Jedi up as a group worth emulating, The Last Jedi instead acknowledges the Jedi Order's mistakes.
Many fans had expected post-Return of the Jedi Luke to restore the fallen Jedi Order and were disappointed to find that he had done no such thing. However, the film argues that such an occurrence would have only prolonged the misunderstanding of the Force that the Jedi fostered for millennia. Even Yoda, as a Force ghost, seems to recognize the shortcomings of the Jedi, dismissing their ancient texts with a wave of his hand.
Depiction Of The Force
After reluctantly agreeing to train Rey in the ways of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker gives his new Padawan a brief overview of the Force as he sees it. He causes Rey to feel at one with the nature around her, the sea, the plant life, the breeze, all while passionately speaking from the heart regarding the Force's true nature as fans are treated to a visually stunning montage of each aspect of Luke's monologue.
Many viewers who found themselves opposing The Last Jedi argued that the film simply didn't understand the nature of Star Wars. This argument, however, ignores Luke's passionate and surprisingly logical explanation of the Force to Rey. Never before has the spirituality of Star Wars been so eloquently put, nor so beautifully rendered as in this brief but memorable montage.
Luke's Character Arc
After years of waiting for Luke Skywalker's return to the franchise, fans finally got to revisit one of their favorite characters from the original trilogy, who had changed tremendously in the decades since his last appearance. However, Luke would quickly prove to have one of the sequel trilogy's best character arcs.
Luke Skywalker's character development in the sequels has been subject to plenty of hatred from fans, many of whom argue that the youthful optimism that once defined the character is completely absent in the film. However, those who make this argument fail to see the entire point of Luke's arc in The Last Jedi. While he is indeed a broken and pessimistic old man at the time that Rey finds him, his time with her causes him to rekindle the hope that once drove him, leading the Jedi to save the day one last time.