Star Wars: The Last Jedi is without a doubt one of the most polarizing movies of the entire franchise and Star Wars' colossal fan base has elevated it into being one of the most intensely debated movies of recent years, perhaps even ever.
The critical reception of the movie was overwhelmingly positive but a contingent of Star Wars fans successfully amplified dissatisfaction with the overall direction of The Last Jedi into somewhat of a cultural phenomenon within itself. This begs the question 'is Star Wars: The Last Jedi really as bad as people say it is or is it all just rhetoric?'
Is: Clunky Comedy
This isn't to say that the comedy in the movie doesn't work for anyone, but it is undeniably closer to anti-comedy in its timing. This isn't a style that everyone enjoys and it's one of the movie's antithetical qualities in relation to the tone of every other Star Wars movie.
The frequency of its use in undercutting anything too emotional also signaled a transformation of the brand into something more modern and less distinct, a trend that the sequel would also pick up on.
Isn't: John Williams' Score
As much of a given as it may seem, John Williams' music for every Star Wars movie that he's ever worked on is worth mentioning every time.
Even when he's repurposing old themes from the original movies, Williams is undeniably one of the biggest stars of the show and the movie would suffer immensely without him.
Is: Heavy-Handed Symbolism
Star Wars is obviously quite blatant and simple with its symbolism, it's one of the most widely-recognized examples of a good vs. evil story. But The Last Jedi really latches onto the 'symbol' part much more heavily than other Star Wars entries and it can come off as a little irritating.
There has always been a vague air of a Western view of Eastern mysticism in Star Wars but the attachment of an actual yin-yang BFF necklace to the movie's only named Asian characters feels like somewhat of a step in the wrong direction.
Isn't: A Fitting Theme
The Last Jedi expands the trend of failures from a previous generation being visited upon younger ones from The Force Awakens and makes it the most central theme of the movie.
Considering that it's a story that's unavoidably conscious of its place in the middle of a trilogy, The Last Jedi focusses on disharmony within the narrative to a fittingly devout degree; even if it doesn't always result in something satisfying.
Is: Plot Threads That Go Nowhere
One of the least satisfying parts of the movie, and the most commonly criticized, is the story's subplots. Specifically, their lack of resolution.
The section of the movie that takes place on Canto Bight is often cited as the story's worst part and a lack of resolution or consequences for the main character's actions makes, at the very least, the movie's long runtime seem pretty needless.
Isn't: It Subverts Lots of Star Wars Tropes
For better or worse, The Last Jedi often comes off as Star Wars anti-matter and it's quite intentional.
It either subverts or omits integral qualities and tropes shown in the series up to that point and delves deeper into some of the most interesting ideas from the prequel trilogy, such as the causal relationship between good and evil as well their cyclical nature.
Is: It Just Copies Lots of Other Popular Movies Instead
Any of the boldness of the removal of tropes and clichés from previous Star Wars movies by writer and director Rian Johnson is often lost when considering how many of them are replaced with tropes and clichés from other more recent science-fiction movies.
Some feel more like nods, like the recreation of a moment from The Matrix in particular as well as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A., which Johnson has claimed to have never seen.
Isn't: The Throne Room Scene
One thing that The Last Jedi handles very well, and certainly much better than its successor, is its major plot twist.
It may be very Game of Thrones but Kylo Ren's betrayal of the Supreme Leader Snoke, much like Luke's characterization, was, despite being one of the most controversial talking points of the movie's early reactions, the most logical outcome for the story and results in the movie's most satisfying, albeit a little imperfect, action sequence.
Is: Forgoing the Structure of a Star Wars Sequel
Some fans enjoy this aspect of the movie, and they have every right to, but it definitely isn't unreasonable to want to watch the ninth Star Wars movie in the franchise for the unique structural elements that make a Star Wars sequel. Most of which The Last Jedi abandons.
The lack of a time jump between the end of the last episode and the beginning of the new one adds a frenzied pace that the movie doesn't need and the addition of the battle of Crait after the throne room scene, as well as Finn's final confrontation with Captain Phasma too, can make the story feel overstuffed.
Isn't: Creating New Star Wars Traditions
Though many of The Last Jedi's creative choices ultimately feel dropped or erased by the final part of the trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker also cements a number of Johnson's additions to the Star Wars universe.
Its development of the romantic elements of Kylo Ren and Rey's relationship alone essentially opened up a new branch of Star Wars fan culture and, despite perfectly valid criticisms, time mostly looks to be on the movie's side.
