My Favorite of Them All

Rating: 10/10 (10 September 2018)

My wife and I are Star Wars purists. We were little kids when "A New Hope" was released, and, like many others, it changed and became a part of our lives. Loved "Empire" and really liked "Return of the Jedi." Personally, I never bothered seeing the prequels - I was so turned off by the look of the films from the commercials, I knew they would hurt my heart. (Many purists have since confirmed that I made the right decision.) My wife and I both loved "The Force Awakens" but still, nothing would ever replace "A New Hope" as the best of them all in our hearts.
First of all, having talked to countless people about "The Last Jedi", we have come to use this movie as a barometer in our personal lives for who is light side and who is dark side. (If you didn't like it, you're pretty much dark side, meaning, at best, that you watched it selfishly.)
First of all, there is a litany of profound spiritual messages contained in "The Last Jedi" -- don't fight what you hate, save what you love; intelligence without love is evil; our plans often fail so something better can happen, and on and on. Too many to list. My (light side) friends and I have watched this film again and again and share an ongoing, incredible, uplifting, elevating, and hopeful experience from this beautiful movie.
I don't like how what I'm about to write will sound, but it comes from my heart: our world is so crazy these days, part of me feels like we don't deserve this movie. (The amount of "Last Jedi" haters actually makes sense; there is a lot of cynicism, selfishness and hate out there now.) In short, if everyone saw and appreciated all the love and heart and beauty contained in TLJ, it would be a different planet.
Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver give complex, nuanced performances that will be appropriately respected decades from now. I mean, their very souls are on their faces in this movie. Mark Hamill, however, gives the performance of his life. I think it's my favorite performance by anyone in any movie I've ever seen. Don't even know what else to say about it. Sigh.
"The Last Jedi" so clearly comes from, and is about, love. In fact, there are so many layers of selflessness, of spiritual soundness, of love itself, that I suspect you can only see as much of this kind and giving masterpiece as your heart will allow.
One last note: I usually saw this movie in the theater while I was surrounded by adults, but a couple times, there were a LOT of kids present. Those were my favorite screenings...because the kids laughed, clapped, and cheered throughout, giving me, well, a new hope.