In defence of "The Last Jedi"..

OK, with the new Star Wars movie opening this week, the predictable bashing of The Last Jedi is in full swing, so I step forward again to defend it as the most profound of the Star Wars movies.

I rewatched it last weekend, so it's fresh to me again. Yes, it's bad storytelling in some ways, irritatingly so. The rescuing of the racing critters while ignoring the enslaved kids is, to me, not just bad but morally offensive. And Rose's self-sacrificing rescue of Finn, who was sacrificing himself to save many others, was neither romantic nor heroic, but selfish - she did it because of her desire for him, without regard for everyone Finn was trying to save.

But those "go nowhere" sideline stories, where Poe, Rose, and Finn concoct their own secret schemes, had an important point that was reiterated by Luke Skywalker. Don't try to be the hero who goes off and tries to do it all on your own - that's an egotistical and selfish strategy that rarely does good. Finn, by contrast, was working with others when he attacked the cannon, and was willing to continue on and sacrifice himself against the odds, as Vice Admiral Holdo did when she stayed behind on a suicide mission that allowed the others to safely reach the planet with the abandoned base.

Luke has sickened of the eternal conflict, and has recognized that fighting breeds further fighting. Not only does he ultimately sacrifice himself also to save the others, but he does so without fighting, without attacking Kylo Ren (which would have been a reprise of his greatest mistake). The salt covering the red earth was a brilliant choice to demonstrate this. Not only did it make for visually beautiful scenes, but for the close observer it revealed that Luke was not physically there, and his not being physically there was also part of his commitment to not fighting.

So, there. If you hate The Last Jedi, you're a bad person and should feel bad.