Since its release last December, The Last Jedi has been become the most polarizing movie in the history of the Star Wars franchise.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the cumulative score of movie critics give Episode VIII a 91% rating, compared to only a 46% rating from moviegoers, 10 points lower than Attack of the Clones and 13 points lower than The Phantom Menace.
I think the 46% rating is ridiculous as the movie was not as bad as some fans made it out to be.
While the movie did have its problems(Check out my article: 3 Ways That Could Have Made The Last Jedi Better)to me, it is certainly better than Menace and Clones, but it still a far cry from the Original Trilogy and step down from its predecessor The Force Awakens.
However, there were a few moments and storylines that I liked in The Last Jedi, that I have decided to detail in this article.
BTW, if you have not seen the movie, stop reading now.
With that out of the way, here are five things that I think The Last Jedi got right.
Rey-Kylo Ren Connection
Throughout the movie, Rey and Kylo Ren are having conversations though the use of the Force even though they are in different places of the galaxy.
This leads to some fiery back-and-forth between the two as Rey scolds Kylo for murdering his father, Han Solo, and Ren trying to convince Rey he is the victim as Luke tried to kill him when he feared the darkness growing in Kylo, who was still Ben Solo at the time.
Eventually, Rey believes she can bring Kylo bring to the light side leading to a confrontation on Supreme Leader Snoke's ship, while Rey confronts Kylo's new master, only to have Kylo betray him and kill him, leading to the best moment of the film when Rey and Kylo kill the rest of Snoke's guards.
For a moment, I actually thought Kylo was going to return to being Ben Solo, but ultimately he decides to remain on the dark side and tries to persuade Rey to join him, only for her to refuse.
What I like about all the stuff with Rey and Kylo Ren(minus Rey getting to see Kylo Ren with his shirt off)is that it sets up that Rey and Kylo are the same and the opposite.
What I mean is they feel they that both grew up alone, with Rey's parents abandoning her while Kylo was sent away by Han and Leia to train with Luke, which gives them a connection, yet there are at opposites end of the spectrum, as Rey clearly is a follower of the light side while Kylo follows the dark side.
All this should set up a dramatic final showdown between the two in Episode IX.
Poe's Story Arc
I loved the opening scene when he tries to distract General Hux and the First Order in order for the Resistance to escape from their base with a prank call to Hux, and then leading a counterattack to blow up a First Order battleship.
However, Dameron's attack leads to a scolding from Princess Leia as his mission led to several deaths on those of the side of the Resistance.
This begins the best storyline out of the movie as Poe learns what means to be a leader during the course of the film as he tries an insurrection when Admiral Holdo(Laura Dean) takes over after Leia goes into a coma.
Then after seeing Holdo's sacrifice to allow the Resistance to evacuate the planet Crait, Poe realizes that sometimes it is important to fight another day when he tells his comrades to abort their attempt to destroy the cannon the First Order was trying to use to destroy what's left of the Resistance.
Finally, when Luke shows up to his sacrifice in order for the Resistance to escape, Poe essentially tells his friends that wars are not with how much destruction you cause to the other side, but with the spirit of the people who believe in what they are fighting for.
C-3PO being C-3PO
During the opening evacuation scene, Leia tells him "Wipe that nervous expression of your face" then interacts with Poe during his attempted coup by telling Dameron "Sir, I'm almost afraid to ask" to which Poe replies "Good instinct, 3PO, go with that."
Then in the climatic moments where the Resistance tries to escape from the cave in Crait, Poe yells at 3PO to shut up when 3PO tries to the odds of finding an exit(They were 15, 428 to 1 by the way).
It seems C-3PO was used a symbol for the old generation(Luke, Han, Leia) passing the baton to the new generation(Rey, Finn, Poe) and still seems to annoy his friends after all these years.
Hopefully in Episode IX, we'll get to some more banter between 3PO and Poe, and maybe some with Rey and Finn.
The Yoda Cameo
One of the best scenes out of The Last Jedi, was the surprise appearance of Yoda, Luke's former teacher.
While many(including myself)were confused when he was able to destroy the Jedi Temple as a ghost, we were still happy to see him because showed up at the right time to give the kick in the ass that Luke needed after whining all film about his screw-up that made his nephew, Ben, turn to the dark side and decided not to teach Rey, the ways of the Force like Yoda to him.
After one of the funnier moments in the film when he hits Luke with his walking stick, Yoda tells Skywalker "The greatest teacher, failure is" and that he must learn from his mistake and save what's left of the Resistance which leads to the final thing I liked about the film...
Luke's Last Stand
When it appears the Resistance is about to surrender, Luke finally shows up to save the day.
At first, I wonder did he get a haircut and dye job from his trip from Ahch-To(the planet where he was staying in exile)to Crait, until we find out that Luke is just projected himself using the Force.
Still, we get a emotional but brief reunion between brother and sister, as Luke comfrots Leia before going out in front of the First Order's ships where he appears he is going to be oblierated as Kylo Ren orders every ship to fire everything they got on Luke, only to none of it hit him, to which Luke just brushes off his shoulders.
This leads to Kylo coming down to taunt Skywalker, saying he and the First Order now rule the galaxy to which Skywalker replies that the war is only beginning and that he will not be the Last Jedi.
The confrontation ends with Luke saying "See you around, kid" as his projection disappears and Luke becomes one of the Force on Ahch-To.
While maybe we wanted to see of the greatest lightsaber duels in Star Wars history, what we got instead was a scene reminiscent of the lightsaber duel in the original Star Wars in which Darth Vader talks trash to Obi-Wan Kenobi saying he is the most powerful being in the galaxy only to have Obi-Wan respond that he would be "more powerful than you can possibly imagine" if Vader killed him.
Essentially, Kylo was acting like Vader and Luke acting like Obi-Wan in this confrontation.
Plus, the "See you around, kid" is a great quote because Luke was telling Kylo "I'll be haunting you even though I'm dead".
So those are the five things that I liked about The Last Jedi.
If have any thoughts, please comment and let me know.
