"This is not going to go the way you think"

That's what kept happening to me. I thought one thing was going to happen and then something entirely different happens. I find that very entertaining. I really liked the way this was shot, the editing was fantastic. It was a little long. I really liked what Rian Johnson was able to expand on this universe while still focusing on a Skywalker story. I think the new Star Wars trilogy he is in charge of is in good hands.

I need a little more time to digest the movie and I would like to see it again before I give all my thoughts on the story. This felt like its own story and not a rehash at all. I think this is going into a very interesting direction. I look forward to seeing what J.J. Abrams can do.

EDIT:

After a second viewing I still really like this. I think it moves the story and universe forward. Not much happens directly happens between the First Order and the Resistance. A lot of resistance die and their base is blown up but that’s nothing new for them and they did blow up the First Order’s base in TFA. The main point of the movie is character development. Like Kylo Ren said, "Let the past die." I think that is what this movie does. And not just because Luke dies or Snoke dies but they aren't going to rely on the original trilogy for everything.

I think part of the reason this movie having some fan backlash is because this movie does its own thing. It takes what The Force Awakens sets up and just kills certain plot points people have been theorizing about for 2 years. If you just sit back and go with what the movie is trying to accomplish then you will have a better time then trying to fight everything this movie does.

Rey's Parents: Nobodies. Unexpected but I can totally buy i . Especially with the last shot on the orphan kid with force powers. The Force was trying to balance itself matching Kylo Ren with Rey. I know people wanted her to be a Kenobi but I think this is more interesting.

Snoke's backstory: We got nothing. He is killed off without finding out anything about how he rose to power. Was he someone we would of known from before or are we just spoiled and expect him to be someone? Did Kylo Ren want his power or was he just trying to get away from him.

Luke training Rey: We all thought this was going to be like Yoda training Luke in Empire Strikes Back but it goes in an unexpected direction. There really wasn't any training. Rey has the Jedi books but will that help her? Maybe Luke will come back as a Force Ghost to coach her like Ben did for him.

Yoda coming back, as a puppet, was great to see. Luke and Leia's "reunion" was also nice to see. The Crait landscape was really cool with all the salt and red dirt. Crystal Critters and Porgs are specifically in here to sell toys. I totally thought they were going to be annoying but I was surprised and I actually really like Porgs.

There were some things I thought were a little stupid. Leia saving herself using the force to fly? I was genuinely shocked because I knew they weren't going kill her off after Carrie Fisher's unfortunate death but I thought maybe they would. Her having strong force powers I assumed but her never really using them and then all of a sudden flying to save her life was a little Deus Ex Machina.

Finn and Rose's story was my least favorite of the three main plot lines. It felt a little point less. Why did Finn call Maz too? He barley knows her. So they go find a code breaker, which happened to be played by Justin Theroux and I got super excited because I love The Leftovers TV show, but it just was a cameo. Benicio Del Toro's DJ was an interesting character. He is right, there are no good guys and bad guys, only people who are looking for personal gain whether it is ruling the Galaxy or more money. Is Phasma dead now? She fell into fire but I hope she can come back. She still really hasn't done much. It really is this plot line that expands the universe with weapon dealers and Force sensitive orphans and most of new creatures. I think this is what Rian Johnson's new trilogy could be the most like, more of a political drama with interesting new planets and creatures then a space epic. That might not be what people want from Star Wars but as a fan of Sci-fi I'm excited to see what he can do.

If The Force Awakens was about looking back and connecting it to the past, The Last Jedi was about looking forward and looking to the future.

This movie is right behind TFA for me. Here is a list of my personal rankings of all the Star Wars movies:

`https://letterboxd.com/nmahoney416/list/star-wars-ranked/`