Thoughts on The Last Jedi

I quite enjoyed it. Immediately after watching it, I rated it a solid four (to which my friend Allison commented "so it's only just better than the prequels?", which sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise. I'm not. For reference, here's my ranking of the Stars Wars movies:

1. The Empire Strikes Back. Of course.
2. A New Hope. Will always rate at least one point higher than it realistically should because it blew nine-year old me's mind.
3. Rogue One. A tale of hope and sacrifice among broken, but redeemable people. Without so many space wizards.
4. The Last Jedi.
5. Return of the Jedi. A solid space opera.
6. The Force Awakens. Would be higher if it wasn't quite so derivative of A New Hope.
7. The version of Revenge of the Sith that ended up on the cutting room floor, with more Padme Amidala, Mon Mothma, and Bail Organa laying the foundation of the rebellion.
8. Revenge of the Sith.
9. The "good bits" version of The Phantom Menace, with just the light sabre duels and pod racing.
10. Attack of the Clones. I can barely remember anything about this movie.
11. The Phantom Menace. I can remember this movie, and wish I didn't.

List is likely to change as I rewatch the movies, so don't hold me to it. I doubt anyone is going to go/not go to this based on my review, but what the hell, I clearly liked it and you'll have a good time. Go see it, in the theatres if you can. Now on to my thoughts on specific scenes/characters/aspects of the movies. ( Major spoilers ahead... )

...And damn, those were some fine props.