Like so many other people, I saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi over the weekend. If you follow GW1 you already know I’m not what you’d call a Star Wars fan (not like some people I know), but I enjoy the movies well enough. And this one was no different – it told a good story, had a couple interesting twists, looked great. Yet many Star Wars fans seem to be torn over the movie. 

I’ll warn you that there might be a few mild spoilers discussed here, but only because I can’t avoid them. I won’t ruin major plot points though. (Plus, if you’re a big enough fan to be concerned about spoilers, you will have already seen the movie!)

One big dividing line for Last Jedi is how the Force is defined. To me, this wasn’t a big change, but more of a clarification. Even not knowing the intricacies of the SW universe, I never thought there were two parts of the Force, the good and the bad. So having Luke describe it as the essence of everything (essentially like chi), didn’t seem like a stretch. But many people consider this a redefinition of the standard they’ve believed since New Hope.

Another sticking point is the way this movie encourages the death of the past. I’m not talking the literal death of characters (there are some, but that’s too spoilery for this post). It’s the death of the order of things, the ideals, the reasons for the fight. The prime drivers of the story since Episode 1 are being left behind and that bothers a lot of hardcore fans. Others are open to it because, unless the franchise evolves, it will run itself out.

“Being human” is also being considered an issue with Last Jedi and I sort of agree with this one. There are some really stupid decisions made by previously commendable characters (ok, I’m calling out Poe Dameron on this one!) and it’s difficult to see them in the same light. But, as noted, they were being human, acting on impulse, wanting to be the heroes… and sometimes it just didn’t work, nor did it make complete sense for the plot.

But the one argument from hard core fans that really bugs me: there’s too much new stuff. Really? Does the SW universe need to be completely static? Is nothing new ever allowed to be discovered or shown? Do you really think everything you’ve seen of the Force over the course of a few decades (in movie time) is all that exists of it? And are there no new planets and species and people to meet? Did early films in the franchise not introduce anything new? Give it a rest and let the rest of us enjoy creativity that goes beyond George Lucas endlessly fiddling with his effects.