People are overseeing the details

Rating: 8/10 (9 December 2019)

I get it. You either hate this movie, or you love it. It's totally understandable why people tend to hate it, but we have to see beyond what we "expect" and what our first impressions are. There is more underneath what we apparently see...
Let's begin with Canto Bight. For many, the entire Canto Bight plot was useless, nonsense and even distracting from "the real thing" (being referred as the interaction between Luke and Rey). Certainly, the cut could have been done differently, to avoid going back and forth between the two stories; but Finn and Rose's quest showed two essential things that were little to not explored in the Star Wars universe: the financing of war and the awakening of the Force among different people.
The cruelty and avarice of those who had the money to finance the war is key to understand what the true objective of war is (even in real life). Palpatine's lust for power was the meaning behind the whole Galactic Civil War, and things may not seem so different in the new trilogy's era. This part of the story shows a side that cannot be taken for granted, especially on the modern days when there needs to be more awareness about this issue.
Regarding the children with the Force, this sets up an entire new generation of Force-sensitive users, who could one day represent the new defenders of the peace. I don't think there will be Jedi anymore - Luke was indeed the last Jedi, but maybe this new generation will become something wiser and more powerful; something not restrained by old traditions or the arrogance of the Jedi.
Luke's mistake is understandably hated by many people, but this was foreseen in The Force Awakens, when Han tells Rey and Finn about why Luke decided to hide, feeling *responsible* for the massacre that Kylo Ren drove over the new Jedi Order. Indeed Luke was the most optimistic Jedi of all, but he betrayed everyone (especially himself) when he let his impulse win and tried to kill Ben for what he was becoming. It was a huge mistake, a master dishonoring his student due to the fear of the Dark Side to rise again. He then became a broken man, a guy who thought that he was wise and worth of guiding people into the Force, only to find out that he could be wrong and that he betrayed everything he built, in a moment of weakness. That was all explained by Han in the Falcon, and that is the reason why Luke ended up in that island, away from everyone, and without any will to interfere anymore. Mark Hamill may have disagreed with Ryan Johnson, but the director was right on why Luke acted like that during the whole movie.
Moving on, there is no back story about Snoke. Do we need it? We all thought he was the biggest threat in The Force Awakens, but The Last Jedi clearly states that there is more, there is a bigger threat and, perhaps, it is the Dark Side itself. I personally liked Snoke being killed in this movie - it broke the expected and traditional argument of the big villain being defeated at the end of the last movie. But again, his death opens the door for something even bigger, a "phantom menace" if you would prefer to call it. Will it be Palpatine? Will it be the Dark Side itself? We will find out in The Rise Of Skywalker. (This review was published on December 8th, 2019, before the release of The Rise Of Skywalker.)
Leia flying in space? Many consider this to be ridiculous, but it actually made a lot of sense. We are used to see the Force "into action" only during fights, only when the good guys kick someone else's back. However, the Force goes beyond that - it binds us, penetrates us, and can manifest in many different ways. Leia never held a lightsaber, but she was powerful with the Force until a point where she could (literally) *defeat death*. Both Luke and Leia show us new ways in which the Force can be used, and this teaches us how powerful and diverse the Force is.
Now, was this movie perfect? No. I still cannot justify Vice Admiral Holdo hidding "the plan" from Poe. I understand he would not agree with it, but at least sharing the plan with him would have avoided his insurrection. I also did not like Rose kissing Finn when she rescued him from what it seemed an imminent death. Her motivation and her small speech made a lot of sense and actually shows what the Resistance stands for, but their interaction prior to that moment was not romantic at all to justify that kiss.
Anyways, the discussion could go on and on, but I think we need to forget about what many people say. Do not hate this movie just because things did not turn in the way you *expected*. Do not hate this movie just because someone else does. See beyond the surface, explore its details, and you will really enjoy this movie....