The [sacrifice] moment with Holdo was something I was holding my breath to see how the audience reacted and I could not have been more thrilled with how the theater reacted to that big moment.
Johnson revealed that he was very excited for people to see that big lightsaber fight with Rey and Kylo Ren.
There were so many moments I was holding my breath to see how the audience was going to react to it.
It’s a very striking moment, and the first of its kind that had ever been in a Star Wars movie before.
…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Easter Eggs, Theories, and Review