I Will Destroy Her. And You. And All Of It.

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2018)

Giving this movie a fair evaluation is quite difficult. It's Star Wars; I want to love it, but to ignore the flaws based on that nostalgia would be absurd. I wanted shock value and the unexpected; I got just that, but not in the feel-good way in which I had anticipated.
Upon my first viewing, I hated it. My main complaint was (and is), the poor attempts at humor. The Force Awakens was pretty funny, but the setting offered a lighthearted tone where it was appropriate. The Last Jedi offers little to no opportunity for that. The "your mom" joke in the beginning sequence raised my eyebrows, where they remained for the remainder of the show. When Luke threw the lightsaber, the packed theater of middle aged fanboys rejoiced in laughter. Chewbacca eats a porg, laughter. Finn naked, laughter.
At my second showing, I visited my local independent theater and enjoyed the film with a much more respectful audience. The jokes weren't in my face, but still made me uncomfortable. Some pretty great moments came to a halt just so a joke could be thrown in, Luke shaking the leaf under Rey's hand and saying it was the Force most notably.
I'd like to know if these tidbits came from Rian Johnson himself or were the product of Disney interference. I was pretty excited to see what he had to offer; "Looper" had grit and was one wild ride. It was exactly that that I wanted to see in a Star Wars film. However, this offsetting toilet humor is pretty reminiscent of every Marvel movie produced in recent years. The world may never know.
In addition to humor, there were a few extra scenes that were mind-blowingly ridiculous. Leia flying was beyond stupid. Giving the real-life events that happened with Carrie Fisher, you'd think they would have cut everything involving her floating lifelessly. It sure made me uncomfortable; I can't even imagine how her friends and family may have felt. Using the Force to fly to safety was pretty strange. I appreciate the gamble they took by doing that, but it just did not work.
Furthermore, I have to wonder how no one at Disney or Lucasfilm wasn't bold enough to say something about the Luke milking scene. It served no purpose. It really rivals Jar Jar stepping in the "icky goo" in my eyes.
Beyond that, I have to say the story was solid. The Resistance fleet trying to escape the First Order was pretty similar to Empire, but given the events of TFA, this kind of had to happen. Everything involving Luke and Rey was pretty great. I don't think Luke was out of character at all. In actuality, watching him fight or save the would have been pretty cliche and would have devalued our new heroes. "Letting the Jedi end" sets up some pretty exciting potential for what's to come after this film. Supreme Leader Ren offers further possibility. Episode IX should be wild.
I like that Rey is her own character, originating from nowhere. It gives a well deserved middle finger to every fan theory and clickbait article that swarmed the internet for the last two years. I'd say the same for Snoke, but truthfully not knowing his origins creates a big plot hole. The plot twist of this film is that there is none. It defied all of our wild expectations. It took me quite a while to accept this, but now that I have, I love it.
Luke projecting himself through the Force was magnificent. THAT is expanding the Force in a positive way and proved that our hero was still there. Not a lightsaber clashed, but that did not take away from this movie. The final shot of the twin suns setting will go down in cinematic history. There is no doubt in my mind.
As neat as that was, the real send off for Luke was when the children from Canto Bight as they played with their Luke figures. Not only did this reinforce Luke's statements on becoming a reluctant legend, but also showed another kid dreaming of something better. I, like him, like Luke were all kids with "delusions of grandeur". That scene summoned more sentiment than any Easter egg or callback ever could. I think most fans can relate.
This movie was great but was hindered by poor humor and offputting moments, like the Prequels before them. There's no use in fighting or being angry about it. Take your critic goggles off for a while and just enjoy.