Im going to do a spoiler post about The Last Jedi in a few days, but I just wanted to take a moment and get a couple thoughts out while they were fresh.

Like everyone else that has seen the movie, I’ve been thinking a lot about the story and the decisions that were made. Some of them resonated strongly, while others were a bit shocking.

However, one thing I’ve realized is that it’s been a long time since I’ve watched a movie and literally had no idea how it was going to end. It was such a great feeling. We also have no idea what will happen in episode 9. I love that about this movie; that it turns the status quo on its head and mixes things up. It was a brilliant choice on Rian Johnson’s part, and I hope JJ Abrams doesn’t waste the next movie “undoing” everything.

So many movies, especially in franchises, follow the same exact formula, and may be entertaining but are also predictable…not adding anything new or different to the overall story. The Last Jedi breaks that cycle; changing how we look at various themes in the Star Wars universe that have been set in stone…until now. There is so much discussion going on right now, both for and against the movie. I think that’s something that’s missing with a lot of movies today.

Star Wars has been around for decades and we love it so much; we feel entitled to have its stories told a certain way. However, there’s no way to do that and please every fan. If you were disappointed with the movie, ask yourself if that is why.

Let’s face it: I really enjoyed The Force Awakens, but it was set to tell the same type of story that has already been told countless times already.

The Last Jedi isn’t perfect, and there are some things I would change, but I’m excited to see where the franchise goes from here. For the first time in its history, I’m honestly not sure where that is…and that is a very exciting thought…