Let me begin with bit of sacrilege: "The Last Jedi" is so marvelous and fascinating that I would not be surprised if it becomes "The Empire Strikes Back" for the new generation of "Star Wars" fans — the film they will tell their grandchildren was the best of the bunch.
The movie fully deserves its rave reviews, and I'd urge you to go, except that there's a good chance you've already seen it. Although it clocks in at 2½ hours, the middle film of the new trilogy never feels long; writer and director Rian Johnson keeps things moving along, and even throws in some nice twists that this card-carrying "Star Wars" nerd didn't see coming.
But this isn't a review. I want to say a brief word not about what makes "The Last Jedi" so good but about what makes it so fascinating. Because the film actually puts forth some pertinent ideas worth discussing. From a long list scribbled in my notebook, let me cull four. One of them requires a minuscule spoiler that will — I promise! — give away not the smallest iota of plot. I'll save that one until the end. Here are the ideas: