Star Wars: All 8 movies, ranked from worst to best

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 13: Gwendoline Christie, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar Isaac and Andy Serkis during the ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ photocall at Corinthia Hotel London on December 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

4. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Warning: Spoilers included.

I wanted to love this movie, I really did. When Disney announced that director Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick) was hired to write and direct Episode VIII, I was so excited and my expectations for the movie grew over those past four years.

Reviews are out and although the movie is dividing people, it certainly does a lot right than it does wrong. Let’s quickly address the negative aspects of this movie. The character Rose was not interesting, the look of force ghost puppet Yoda looked laughably bad, the casino planet (hyperlink) was absolutely meaningless, and Leia floating through space was honestly kind of dumb. Not that it wasn’t an interesting character moment, but anything having to do with human beings floating through space completely takes you out of a movie and I wish the troupe would end.

Now for the positives, and there are plenty! The cinematography in this movie, is gorgeous. Everyone in the cast does really great even though I didn’t like certain characters (Rose and DJ), especially the performance of Mark Hamill which is wonderful. The use of silence in the movie, from Rey and Kylo Ren’s force conversations, to when Laura Dern’s character crashes through all of the First Order ships via hyperspace was very satisfying. I really enjoyed how challenging this movie was with its themes or redemption, balance, and destiny. It felt so different and fresh from anything we saw in a Star Wars movie before.

Rian Johnson does an incredible directing job in this movie, and puts the saga in a very interesting direction. They do some unexpected storytelling twists, almost like a Game of Thrones style without the gore and incest. This movie has more depth than people may realize which is why it is polarizing to so many audiences that were expecting an entertaining adventure.  It is growing on me the more I think about it and probably could have been ranked higher on my list, but there were too many mishaps and poor decisions in the execution that hold it back. This is the beginning of a new direction, and I’m not sure everyone is ready for that.