Star Wars: The Force Awakenswas critically acclaimed when it hit theaters in 2015 and ended up breaking box office records, becoming the highest grossing movie of all time. But time has not been very kind to J.J. Abrams' vision and critics as well as fans see the movie as nothing more than an updated version ofA New Hope. The release of Rian Johnson’sStar Wars: The Last Jedihas only made matters worse for the first installment in the new trilogy and many hardcore fans look at the latestStar Warsmovie as cleaning up the mess that Abrams made.The Last Jedistands on its own and is a far superior movie when compared toThe Force Awakens. There are major SPOILERS ahead forThe Last Jedi, so read on at your own risk.
13The Force Awakens is A New Hope all over again.
The Force Awakensis pretty muchA New Hopeas itshares many of the same plot pointsand J.J. Abrams was not scared to tap into George Lucas' line of thinking while making the movie. The sequel also pulls many storylines from all of the previousStar Warsmovies. Luke destroys a Death Star; Lando destroys a bigger Death Star; Poe destroys the biggest Death Star. Anakin kills (the Jedi’s) Younglings; Kylo Ren kills (Luke’s) Younglings. Leia, Luke, Han, and Chewie end up in a trash compactor; Captain Phasma ends up in a trash compacter. Poe and Finn steal a ship they’re not supposed to steal from a hangar; a young Anakin steals a ship he’s not supposed to steal from a hangar. Luke watches Obi-Wan die; Rey watches Han Solo die. The Emperor and Snoke both appear (at first) exclusively via holograms. There’s a den of iniquity on Tatooine, and a visually identical one on Takodana. Rey climbs dangerously on the interior of a Death Star (or planet), as did Luke. Han gets shown up (as to military and technical smarts) first by Leia, then many years later by Rey. Obi-Wan disappears where no one can find him but Luke, then Luke disappears where no one can find him but Rey. BB-8 is the new R2D2. Kylo Ren is related to Han, just as Darth Vader was related to Luke. One can go on forever.
12The Last Jedi takes risks.
There are certainly somenostalgia and callbacksin Rian Johnson’sThe Last Jedi, but it is pulled off in a unique and fresh way. In addition, Johnson pushes the story further and steps out of the safety zone multiple times in the movie, whereas J.J. Abrams spent the whole time in the safety zone, virtually taking zero risks. There’s one device Johnson uses to great effect. He masterfully juxtaposes big, loud space sequences and fight scenes with unexpected moments of silence, highlighting emotional, tender moments, which is something that was missing fromThe Force Awakens. Where you don’t want the 150-minuteLast Jedito end, you’re pretty much ready to wrap things up on the Starkiller Base.
11The Last Jedi stands on its own.
There was a lot of concern that Rian Johnson was simply going to step in and recreateThe Empire Strikes Backafter J.J. Abrams madeThe Force Awakens. About the only realsimilarities between the Last Jedi and Empireare the darker tone and Luke training Rey in the ways of the Jedi. However,The Last Jedistands on its own and actually seems like the end of the trilogy as opposed to the second installment. Abrams is going to have some big shoes to fill for thedirection of Episode IX.
10A janitor was able to bring down Starkiller Base.
To destroy the immenseStarkiller BaseinThe Force Awakens, all that was needed was a janitor (Finn) with no real special skills to speak of, a few handheld explosives, a couple X-Wing blaster strikes, and some luck. It seems tossed off and almost like it was written on the spot.The Last Jedihas a similar problem, but instead of incompetence, we are treated to Benicio del Toro’s DJ character, who is a master hacker and who also has no allegiances to anybody, which throws in a twist on a commonStar Warsplot point as well as pushing the story further. Plus, we have the mystery of a brand new character that has sparked interest and a lot of speculation as to if we’ll get to see him again.
9Rey was able to master Jedi Mind Tricks in The Force Awakens.
One of the biggest points of contention withThe Force Awakensis that Rey was able to harness her powers of the Force with zero training. It was like she woke up one day and said to herself that she was going to control the mind of a Stormtrooper. How did she know how to do that, or that she even could do that? How was Rey or even Finn, for that matter, able to battle Kylo Ren, who had been trained in the ways of the Force? It just seems strange.The Last Jediattempts to show at least a little bit of training.
8The Last Jedi has character development.
InThe Force Awakens, we never really get emotional for any of the new characters because there is pretty much zero character development. However,The Last Jeditakes the time to get into the heads of all of the major characters in a way that has never been seen in aStar Warsmovie before, giving us some real emotional attachment to the characters, which makes us more invested in the story. The characters come off as human and unpredictable, which is refreshing.
7The Force Awakens has inept villains.
Kylo Ren is only menacing during the very opening scenes ofThe Force Awakensand is kind of a joke for the rest of the movie. As for Snoke, he’s rarely seen and when he is, it’s through a hologram.The Last Jediis able to pick up those pieces and show the conflict within Kylo Ren and the motivation as well as the quest for power. Snoke is even more scary in person and his use of the Force really makes him something to fear. J.J. Abrams never really set up the bad guys inThe Force Awakens, there are moments, like Ben Solo killing his father, but those moments are few and far between.
6There’s not much Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens.
Fans ofStar Warshad been waiting over 30 years to see Mark Hamill back as the iconic Luke Skywalker and to see him reunite with the original gang, but that was not to be. We see Luke’s robotic hand for a brief second and then at the very end of the movie we see Rey on Ahch-To ready to deliver Luke’s Lightsaber to him. It was a surprise, and probably the only real surprise aboutThe Force Awakens, but c’mon.The Last Jediputs much of the focus on Luke Skywalker this time around while addressing why he was absent from the firs movie.
5Rian Johnson wrote The Last Jedi by himself.
J.J. Abrams wroteThe Force Awakenswith a team whereasThe Last Jedibenefits from the single vision of Rian Johnson. Abrams brings moments together while Johnson is a true storyteller and has made a dense and intriguing story that steps outside of theStar Warsbox, which is something thatThe Force Awakenswasn’t able to do. While some hardcore fans are angry that Rian Johnson took so many risks and made something that stands on its own, time will prove, much likeThe Empire Strikes Back, thatThe Last Jediis an epic story and far superior movie toThe Force Awakens.
4The Last Jedi did not have to answer to the prequels.
The Force Awakenshad to be set up as a way for many to forget about the prequel damage, so it had to be nostalgia heavy to reboot theStar Warsfranchise. But, Rian Johnson did not have to worry about that as much and set out to make his own thing.The Last Jedi, as mentioned previously, does not feel like a movie in the middle of a trilogy, it stands alone with little callbacks to the past movies and especially the prequels.The Force Awakenswas too nostalgia heavy while dealing with some of the canon from the prequels.
