‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ First Reactions: The Force Is With Rian Johnson

No spoilers don’t worry. We’d behead anyone that tried to spoil “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (and really, what kind of heel would you have to be to do that?). Lucasfilm’s latest installment in the ongoing “Star Wars” saga premiered last night—as if you couldn’t tell from the non-stop social media red carpet photos and video—and it appears that the Force is with its director Rian Johnson’s film.

READ MORE: Kathleen Kennedy Says Lucasfilm Planning The Next 10 Years Of ‘Star Wars’ Movies

What’s the movie like? Did reactions give any taste of the story? Well, by all accounts Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi’ is decidedly different from previous “Star Wars” films and reactions suggest it has carved out an identity outside of what we’ve seen so far on screen. On the other hand, it sounds like a lot of the heart and humor that is the soul of “Star Wars” is also very present.

READ MORE: Go Rogue: 5 Directions Lucasfilm Could Take Their ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Offs Next

What about those Porgs? Are they the Ewoks of ‘Last Jedi’? Surprisingly, reactions about these adorable/detestable little creatures are muted and or even non-existent which perhaps makes you breathe a sigh of relief. Reactions to ‘Last Jedi’ from critics, pooled below, are almost unanimously positive, but there’s two interesting outliers. One is Playlist Awards guru Gregory Ellwood who said he absolutely loved ‘Rogue One,’ but was very “disappointed” in ‘Last Jedi.’ Another curious reaction is from Scott Mantz, a movie personality for Access Hollywood, not necessarily the most discerning outlet. While his tweet is far from negative, he does say ‘Jedi’ tends to be too long and sags in the middle.

Again, these are just two small outliers in a chorus of overjoyed fans, but it’s sometimes interesting to hear dissenting voices and how they stand out. The rest of the film critic world, myself included, expereiences “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on Monday, December 11 and the embargo will be up the next day on Tuesday, December 12. Until then, reactions will have to tide you over, plus some of the new posters and featurettes which you can see below too.

https://twitter.com/jenyamato/status/939740353938186241

https://twitter.com/GermainLussier/status/939790585984008192

https://twitter.com/joshuahorowitz/status/939749171686338561

https://twitter.com/TheGregoryE/status/939736333144035328

https://twitter.com/RachelHeine/status/939736446822375424

https://twitter.com/elmayimbe/status/939735787867848709

https://twitter.com/kristapley/status/939735123926302727

https://twitter.com/EricVespe/status/939735259821703168

https://twitter.com/TheRyanParker/status/939735439027478528

https://twitter.com/ThatRebecca/status/939744526238859264

https://twitter.com/JennaBusch/status/939732798570557440

https://twitter.com/PNemiroff/status/939733599338635264

https://twitter.com/MovieMantz/status/939735616664694785

https://twitter.com/ErikDavis/status/939734635851931649

https://twitter.com/djkevlar/status/939735084868841472

https://twitter.com/GermainLussier/status/939733178381516800

https://twitter.com/clmazin/status/939735398372147200

https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/939741521435246592

https://twitter.com/robertliefeld/status/939732656610205696

https://twitter.com/edgarwright/status/939772808812363776

https://twitter.com/BrianLynch/status/939737002974384128

https://twitter.com/Breznican/status/939734975024209920