-- spoilers --

i almost outright don't like the first hour or so of the movie on an enjoyment level, although that's probably a major overstatement. (edit - LOVE the first hour now. this whole movie rocks). everything after though is complete cinematic brilliance, from "it passed like a fleeting shadow" to kylo and rey vs snoke guards to luke's death, it's very nearly perfect. the only sequel movie that makes me love rey's character, actually giving her something in the form of true development and it ends with her learning something, being different, in the way TROS didn't. luke is painted as someone other that perfect for once - a man who makes mistakes, like many ordinary people. he's not flawless, far from it, but he's human. he had emotions, and acted on them. nowhere near in the best way, but that parallels to so many people who've dealt with problems in the same kind of way, by overreacting or similar and for me at least, that was a relatable feeling. it doesn't coat him with medals and praise and gold or whatever, it only tries to show human error, failure, judgement, and fear through a man who many would believe to be invulnerable to such things and i love it. no one's perfect, but no one has to be.

the last jedi also contains the most perfect shot in the entire saga and i feel like if you've seen the movie i don't have to clarify which shot this is simply because it's so spectacular, but it's when holdo sends the capital ship through the first orders fleet. no words other than wow. literally none. performances are beautiful and could not have asked for a better death for luke. ends with such a spark for feeling original and fresh, treated with just a bit of care that goes to show how something can feel when the motivation for making it is a beautiful one, and the documentary only solidifies that rian johnson truly cared about making this film. unfortunately, that bit of hope and bang that the last jedi ends with is immediately snuffed out by the terribleness and, frankly, annoying and offensive genericness of the rise of skywalker.

i've almost definitely completely missed the mark on what this movie's actually about, but i just wanted to share how i interpreted it and what it meant to me, because this viewing is probably the closest i've gotten to truly seeing how and why so many people have this as their favorite star wars movie. honestly, one day, i'd like to be able to say the same. but i'm not quite there yet.