LOS ANGELES • Stormtroopers, droids and celebrities from galaxies near and far hit the red carpet last Saturday at the world premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi - although one star almost did not make it.

John Boyega, who plays stormtrooper-turned-rebel Finn, had tweeted that he feared missing the big event because a snowstorm had gridlocked air travel out of Atlanta. "I actually NEED a pilot!!!" he lamented, before turning up in the nick of time for the screening.

He was joined by the rest of the cast, including Daisy Ridley, Lupita Nyong'o and Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker himself.

Lucasfilm has embargoed detailed reviews until Tuesday 9am Los Angeles time (Wednesday 1am Singapore time), but fans were quick to flood social media with rapturous initial reactions to the movie, the longest in the series at 153 minutes.

"I'm in geek heaven!" tweeted Jenna Busch, a writer for the fansite Legion Of Leia.

Jen Yamato, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, tweeted: "The Last Jedi is so beautifully human, populist, funny and surprising."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE