Before the insane film that was Star Wars saga, with intricate storytelling, a great exploration of the mythos, solid character arcs, and gorgeous design and direction.
Helmed by director/writer Rian Johnson, the film broke away from the nostalgia baiting and safe route taken with The Force Awakens but still retained faith with the rest of Star Wars, including the goofiness, pensiveness, sense of adventure, and message. Here are 10 fantastic moments.
Badass: Holdo Wrecks The Supremacy
The pivotal scene where iral Holdo slams her ship into Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship was the beginning of the entire third act climax, and it started with a bang, to say the least. The decision to essentially do a kamikaze run into the enemy was a desperate, but effective move, and the brief silence that happened when between ships was made was breathtaking.
Heart-Breaking: Luke And Leia Reunite
The scene where Luke appeared on Crait to save the day had him reunite with his sister one more time, coming just as Leia, one of the most optimistic characters in the saga, was losing hope. He then gave her the dice to the Millenium Falcon (ing Han) and assured her "no one's ever really gone," as he prepared to meet his end. The scene is ever more bittersweet following the ing of Carrie Fischer, and the kiss that Luke gives her on the forehead really is a cinematic sendoff if ever there was one.
Badass: Luke vs. Rey
After witnessing Rey try to make with Kylo Ren, Luke gets into a tussle with his new apprentice. Rey knocks him over with a stick, and Luke responds with his own stick saber. The two briefly duel, with the scene showing off Luke's prowess, even in his old age, and he manages to disarm Rey before she draws a lightsaber to herself to fend him off. Startled, Luke falls back but breaks his fall using the Force, showing he is still instinctively able to use it after cutting himself off (to avoid his emotional side getting to him through his connection to others with the Force).
Heart-Breaking: Luke Screws Up
Following their fight, Rey confronts Luke as to what happened with Kylo Ren the night he turned against Luke. Luke recounts (after having previously misled her) that he, for just a solitary moment of impulse, lit up his lightsaber after seeing a vision of the destruction Kylo would reap, thinking of stopping him preemptively. Unfortunately, Kylo woke up and saw him at the worst possible moment.
Luke was always an impulsive character, and that small spark of impulsivity could at times harm him or help him, but in this case, it was a massive failure on his part that he would not forgive himself for. Going after his friends in Bespin cost Luke his hand, and trying to strike down Palpatine began a duel with Vader, but this decision cost Luke his relationship with his own nephew.
Badass: Rey and Kylo Team Up
This entry is a bit of a cheat because it technically includes two scenes. The first is when Kylo Ren decides to double-cross Supreme Leader Snoke and slices him in half with his lightsaber via the Force, one heck of a neat trick. Following that, he and Rey team up to fight off Snoke's intensely loyal and well-trained guards in a gorgeously filmed fight scene.
The entire idea of the scene was playing with the boundaries of the "Light" and "Dark" side of the Force and introducing a grey area. People are complicated, and asg them to one binary section of choice (good or bad) is not feasible.
Heart-Breaking: Rey and Kylo Try To Touch Hands
Hands are critically symbolic in the Star Wars mythos. There is a physical and emotional component to hands in Star Wars, which is why the Force involves "reaching out." Darth Vader's go-to move is strangling others, and likewise, his lack of humanity is emphasized with the loss of his body, particularly his hands. To their credit, even the Prequels would often focus on Anakin's hands in many shots.
A core component of the Sequel Trilogy was the relationship between Rey and Kylo, and what that relationship meant. While discovering the Force projection ability, Rey and Kylo lower their guard around each other for a moment and reach out to each other with the projection, trying to touch hands. It's an incredibly beautiful and tense scene, and before the confirmation that they could be touched is seen, Luke interrupts and starts the aforementioned fight. His interruption would keep the surprise of the Force projection's limits secret from Kylo for the climax of the film.
Badass: Luke Duels Kylo Ren
Luke's idea for buying the Resistance time went off without a hitch. First and foremost, he projected his appearance to resemble his more idealized self, as if he hadn't been a hermit the last few years. Likewise, he chose to project Anakin's blue lightsaber (which Kylo obsessed over) rather than his green one, to further anger Kylo.
He hilariously taunts Kylo by brushing the dust off himself after being fired upon by Kylo's men, and engages Kylo in a great duel, being so good that he apparently doesn't even leave footprints when he moves. But of course, it's revealed that he was a projection the entire time, and a furious Kylo realizes he's been duped.
Heart-Breaking: Yoda And Luke Reunite
While despairing over the failures of himself and the Jedi Order, Luke (impulsively) decides to burn down an old tree where he kept the ancient and sacred Jedi texts. On his way, Yoda appears, and Luke announces his intent but hesitates. To his shock, Yoda uses the Force to bring down lightning on the tree, igniting it. The two have a quiet reunion, with Yoda every bit as wise and hilarious as he ever was (and back to being a puppet). Yoda ruminates on one of the film's many themes, noting the growth and learning that there is from failure, as everyone on the "good" side essentially fails in the film.
It also is a contrast to the philosophy Kylo pushes; while Kylo wishes to abandon the past altogether, Yoda suggests to learn from it and not let it be controlling. Of course, the end of the film subtly reveals that Rey actually kept the books herself, swiping them before Luke burned the tree.
Badass: Broom Boy
Broom Boy is an unnamed kid who runs into Rose and Finn during their casino escapade. The entire point of that side plot was to set up the Broom Boy scene at the film's end, which is one of the best shots in Star Wars. As the boy is told to go do chores by his master, he effortlessly uses the Force to pull a broom to himself to get started. Inspired by his encounter with Rose and Finn, and hearing the tale of Luke Skywalker's legendary last stand, he looks up to the sky and grips his broom.
The message is perhaps the best one in Star Wars, and reminiscent of the one in Ratatouille. A hero doesn't have to come from some prestigious family lineage or be someone important, and not everyone will be or has to be a hero, especially a Jedi; a hero can come from anywhere.
Heart-Breaking: The Binary Sunset
Unfortunately for Luke, dueling Kylo via Force projection from across the galaxy took a lot out of him, and he was dying from the effort. As he prepares himself to become one with the Force, he gets to see one final twin sunset, reminiscent of the one back home on Tatooine. The fantastic score by John Williams swells, the one that signified the call to adventure and a new horizon, and this time around, it is a swan song to the most iconic Jedi in Star Wars.
