The Future of the Franchise, But Uncomfortable for Fans.

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2017)

The Last Jedi feels alien, out of place in the Star Wars universe we have come to love for a number of reasons. This perception is what is driving Star Wars fans to come out against the film and as a dyed-in-the-wool Star Wars fan myself, I found myself initially in agreement. The movie- as a fan- made me feel... uncomfortable. As I walked out of the theater, I was annoyed by the films total lack of resolution for some of the questions its predecessor asked, but even more irritated by the fact that some of those questions that we fans were puzzling over- making dozens of theories over- were seemingly tossed carelessly out the window.
At first, I was convinced that these deliberate decisions for the movie were made to intentionally make The Last Jedi the anti-Empire Strikes Back. We had heard enough that The Force Awakens was nothing but a rehash of A New Hope that I could easily see the tastemakers at Disney saying, "They want different? We'll give 'em different!" But an odd thing happened. The more time passed, the more I began to understand what the director, Rian Johnson, was going for until I was convinced that the movie was actually genius, that it was my own expectations that nearly ruined a wonderful movie for myself.
I can virtually guarantee that every Star Wars fan- including myself!- wanted the following: an all-powerful Jedi Master Luke Skywalker battling his nephew with an epic lightsaber dual, a jaw-dropping reveal on Rey's parentage, a tearful goodbye to Princess Leia and for Finn and Poe to become full-on heroes of the rebellion.
Instead, Luke becomes a hermit who closes himself off from the Force, Rey's parents are nobody, Leia survives, Finn fails his first major test as a hero and Poe makes a near disastrous mistake that almost ends up destroying the Resistance. But all of these things are for a reason.
Luke closes himself off not just because he is a major reason Ben Solo goes to the Dark Side, he closes himself off because he knows the truth: the Jedi, the system that had been put in place to prevent something like the Empire had failed, not once, but twice in the span of a few decades. All of this was due to Jedi adhering to the old ways; old ways that even Master Yoda knows must go. Starting fresh is the only way to bear unspoiled fruit.
This is demonstrated with Rey. Rey is a new beginning, and exactly what the light side of the Force needs: someone who can touch the dark side, but is not afraid of it. As someone who is unburdened by the failures of the old system, Rey can create a whole new system, a whole new Jedi Order, unbound by the thousands of years of baggage that the old Order was saddled with. If she were trained by Luke properly, she'd be as much of a tool of the old Order as he had become.
The Last Jedi is filled with these moments and it begs the fans: let go. Stop with the expectations and just enjoy where the movie takes you.
It also contains a stark reminder: you can't go back home again.