12 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About Star Wars: The Last Jedi

6. The Porgs Are Unapologetic Merch-Bait

When The Last Jedi's Porgs were first revealed, there was a heavily mixed response from fans, some of whom embraced them as the cute little critters they are, while others felt the whiff of merchandising moolah a-knocking.

Despite what some overzealous fans might say, no, the Porgs were not as gratingly annoying as the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi, but at the same time, they're only in the movie to sell toys, and little attempt is done to mask that.

At least the Ewoks served a function in terms of fighting the Stormtroopers, but here the Porgs have no influence on the plot whatsoever, and are around solely to look cute and convince kids to beg their parents for a Porg toy this Christmas.

It's a ruse that's absolutely going to work, and it's probably the most cynical thing about the entire film. Yes, films exist to make money, and there's no problem with merchandising that's organic to the pre-existing plot and story, but the Porgs were clearly created by a marketing department to boost the movie's product line.