Disney and Lucasfilm screened Star Wars: The Last Jedi for members of the media ahead of the film's debut next week. The press were allowed to share their reactions on Twitter before official reviews go live, and based on the roundup of mightily enthusiastic initial impressions below, Rian Johnson's flick is taking us into new territory.

Every (Major) Character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi 24 IMAGES

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IGN's Terri Schwartz said that as much as The Force Awakens was about looking back, The Last Jedi was about looking forward. Terri also had some thoughts on how The Last Jedi feels unlike any Star Wars movie that had gone before it Erik Davis of Fandango called it the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back, saying the battles were a particular highlight: EW's Anthony Breznican said that The Last Jedi does not go in the direction you think it will: THR's Aaron Couch praised Mark Hamill's performance in particular, saying Luke has never been better: Eric Eisenberg from Cinemablend said The Last Jedi made some "surprising moves" that he didn't expect: Producer and writer Adam F Goldberg said he'd drafted a series of Twitter reactions after the film, and was pleased that he was able to pick the "holy balls" one: Gizmodo's Germain Lussier was effusive in his praise of the film, saying he was "still shaking" New York Magazine/Vulture's Kyle Buchanan highlighted Laura Dern's role as Admiral Holdo in the most perfect way possible: SlashFilm's Peter Sciretta said The Last Jedi was full of amazing moments, but warned against spoilers: Jenna Busch of LegionofLeia.com called The Last Jedi "mind-blowing":Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in theaters on December 15 and is tracking to outpace Beauty and the Beast to have the biggest debut of 2017 with a $200 million opening weekend.For more on what is now the longest Star Wars film to date, check out these nine new pop icon images inspired by The Last Jedi that showcase the Light Side of the Force, as well as our overview of every major character in the film and every major new alien since The Force Awakens

Lucy O'Brien is Games & Entertainment Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. Follow her on Twitter.