The Last Jedi, at long last, has the answer. Having stood stock still on an Ahch-To clifftop for the past 24 months, Luke takes the Lightsaber from Rey and, just like that, throws the thing over his shoulder like an empty beer can. Whether that scene made you laugh, gasp or simmer with outrage may partly define how you react to The Last Jedi as a whole. In his first entry in the Star Wars saga – and his first of four movies, if Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy has her way – writer-director Rian Johnson displays a confident, almost gleeful lack of reverence for the franchise’s most sacred characters and objects.

In the opening third, the Resistance’s entire squadron of X-Wings are, it seems, left torched and unusable. Admiral Ackbar, hero of the Battle of Endor in Return Of The Jedi, is killed off without fanfare. The otherwise dignified, serene Princess Leia is blasted out into space and quickly deep-frozen, only to float back to her ship with one arm outstretched, like a tiny Statue of Liberty. Even that precious old Lightsaber, rescued by Rey after Luke tossed it away, is later ripped in two during the heroine’s battle with Kylo Ren.

But as Kylo Ren says, “You have to break with the past. Kill it, if you have to,” which could be Rian Johnson’s manifesto for the future of Star Wars: in order to move forward, the franchise has to be willing to introduce new ideas and play around with old ones. The saga has to evolve – even if it means breaking a few things along the way.

In fairness, this is something quite a number of fans have been saying for a few years now, and when Luke Skywalker says that the Jedi religion should end, it’s easy to agree that maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit. And yes, that’s pretty much what Johnson does: The Last Jedi sees the Resistance – and by extension, the franchise – gradually stripped of so many time-honoured symbols, even as old faces like Yoda and Maz Kanata pop up to say hello. For the most part, the set-pieces Johnson puts in their place feel fresh and exciting.

The fight on the planet Crait, where Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the remaining rebels scud along the salt flats in ramshackle craft, is a captivating visual spin on the old Hoth battle from The Empire Strikes Back. The blazing red throne room inhabited by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) is a pleasing exercise in comic book minimalism. Kylo Ren is, once again, an arresting and intimidating character: conflicted, unpredictable, darkly funny.