After a long Thursday, I saw Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

I went in with no expectations, but with high hopes. I walked out humbled by what I'd just seen. In the days since, conversations about it have dominated my life. Hell, it's dominated my thoughts. It's such a rich, interesting, fun movie that I can't stop talking about it. And I wanted to put some of those thoughts down on paper. So if you also fell deeply in love with the movie, here's a piece that might help put your feelings into words. And if you just don't get why tons of people are lavishing this film with praise, this might help explain it.

MAJOR FRIGGIN' SPOILERS IN THIS. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCUSS THE MOVIE IN DEPTH WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT EVERY DETAIL, SO THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO.

                Source: wired.com

Part 1: Looking Back

Rian Johnson is definitively a Star Wars fan, and it shows in the way this movie deals with the legacy of Star Wars.

Little moments between Luke and R2, or Leia and Chewie, or that powerful Luke/Leia scene, feel like logical extensions of the characters from the original trilogy. It’s a huge moment when Leia finally taps into her Force powers (although I'm not in love with the way it's actually visualized); the light saber battles are more intense and fun than anything we've seen previously; and, oh, my God, am I glad we got back to the Original Trilogy characterization of Yoda.

Prequel Yoda's "wise old master-badass" schtick was always incredibly boring, and way inferior to that weird old swamp hermit who taught you life lessons by being an a**hole. Seriously, go re-watch Empire; he's such a little jerk in that movie.

The TLJ version of Luke is a perfectly logical extension of the character from the original trilogy. He's older and more bitter, but still very clearly the same person. This is a movie that loves Star Wars most of all.