The Biggest Problem With Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is J.J. Abrams

2. Luke Skywalker Has Vanished

Luke Skywalker has vanished. After the title - and, of course, 'a long time ago...' - that is the first thing we see at the start of Episode VII. J.J. Abrams sets out his stall early with the disappearance of Luke, and - while Han gives us a clue - we don't get any sort of definitive answer of where he is until the very end of the movie.

And then the credits roll.

What we know going into The Last Jedi is that Luke has clearly exiled himself from the galaxy, including those closest to him, but why? And that leads to a further question: What could've happened to Luke that, when Han Solo is in such grave danger, he doesn't come to the rescue? It's exactly what the old Luke did, after all.

Since Luke DIDN'T return to save or avenge Han, nor to comfort his sister Leia, nor join the fight against the First Order, there had to have been something drastically different. Luke had to have changed into the weary, cynical version we meet in The Last Jedi, who has cut himself off from the Force, because if he were still similar to the hero of the galaxy then his absence from The Force Awakens would be much harder to swallow. It's precisely because of what we know of Old Luke that we needed this New Luke, which becomes one of the strongest arcs in the film and gives us Mark Hamill's finest performance in the saga. Hamill himself might've voiced concerns, but Abrams is the one who left him standing at the top of an island, cut off from the galaxy. Johnson gave us a genuine reason why.

Of course, there are other issues people have with this: the tossing of the saber, and even more so his non-return to face Kylo Ren. The saber is crucial in that it immediately let's the audience know that this isn't your dad's Luke Skywalker; he's a different person now, setting up his arc across the movie. As for the end, it means Luke Skywalker can once again save the day, having realised the importance of his legend to the galaxy, and makes it a victory: Luke dies as a result of the astral projection, rather than being killed by Kylo Ren, which likely would've happened had he physically gone to Crait. Abrams put the legend of Luke Skywalker into a box, and Johnson is the one who brought it back.