It’s reasonable to assume that as the most controversial Star Wars movie ever to come out, The Last Jedi will forever live in infamy for sending Disney’s sequel trilogy to an early grave.
But the truth of how the fandom perceives Rian Johnson’s middle act is somewhat more complicated than that.
When the film initially came out in December 2017, the director’s bold narrative decisions involving the character of Luke Skywalker polarized audiences. Indeed, unlike The Rise of Skywalker, which the majority of diehard Star Wars enthusiasts deemed as underwhelming, the reaction to Johnson’s story was more of a mixed bag. Some people absolutely loved what The Last Jedi did with both legacy characters and newcomers. In contrast, others refused to admit that there was anything worthy of praise or so much as a nod in the eighth entry of the Skywalker Saga.
Now, much like its previous anniversaries, The Last Jedi fans have once again united on social media to praise the film and explain why it’s such an iconic moment in the history of the galaxy far, far away. #TheLastJedi is currently trending on Twitter, and below are some of the messages people have been sharing about the film. The fourth is with them.
Starting off with the most polarizing opinion, this one user thought that Luke had “the perfect send-off,” explaining:
Another fan admitted that he originally misunderstood the film but has come to appreciate the story for its most fundamental theme, that “failure is the greatest teacher.”
Someone took the time to thank Rian Johnson for the “brilliant filmmaker” that he is, and of course, we can’t help but agree as he’s more than proven that fact with acclaimed works like 2012’s Looper and 2019’s Knives Out.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Last Jedi moment without someone bringing up the iconic “hyperspace ramming” sequence:
Now, I know what you’re thinking; where are all the naysayers? Indeed, some folks are still angry at the Mouse House for the way they handled The Last Jedi and the sequel trilogy as a whole. For instance, this one user had a brief and candid response to the hype:
Still, considering the majority of the messages, this is a day of celebration for Rian Johnson and his Star Wars installment. Ultimately, though, I guess we’ll have to wait and see if The Last Jedi can truly stand the test of time like The Empire Strikes Back has done even four decades after its release.
