Star Wars: 12 Homages To Classic Cinema In The Last Jedi

12. Twelve O'Clock High

This classic WWII film tells the story of a select group of fighter pilots. Its style and cinematography played a huge role in inspiring the opening space battle above D'Qar. The film centers heavily around bombers and their use in the war.

Johnson has spoken publicly about this film and the impact it had on him when crafting the film but prior to release, few would have expected just how prevalent said impact is.

The Battle of D'qar features the use of the newly-incorporated Resistance Bombers and tells the tale of Poe Dameron's ragtag team of Resistance fighters taking on a gargantuan foe. The Resistance Bombers are slow-moving and unable to truly defend themselves, instead relying on the use of smaller crafts to help lead them to their goal, which is exactly how the pilots operated in Twelve O'clock High.

Even once the film focuses in on the individual struggle of Paige Tico as she attempts to drop the payload, the entire affair could not feel more like a WWII film. It chronicles the struggle of the pilots as a team in trying to deliver the payload, as well as playing up the impact of the choices and fears experienced by each individual.

It is a powerful opening sequence, made all the more affecting for just how harrowing and real it feels as a result.