Star Wars: 50 Greatest Moments - Ranked

20. Luke’s Last Stand (The Last Jedi)

Star Wars The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker
Lucasfilm

Mark Hamill gave his best ever performance as Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, playing a scarred, scared old man haunted by his past failures.

It’s great when he finally has to confront them on Crait, arriving just in time to save the day and face down the First Order, and more specifically Kylo Ren. It does not, however, go the way you think.

Luke uses Kylo’s emotions against him to make easy work of the ‘fight’, including some Matrix-esque dodging, before the rug is pulled from underneath both Kylo and the viewers: Luke’s not really there.

We cut back to him on Ahch-To, projecting himself across the galaxy in one last heroic display of power. Then he gets to watch the sunsets once last time, the idealistic farm boy who become the galaxy’s greatest saviour, the legend of Luke Skywalker alive, allowing his journey to beautifully come full circle.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.