A step in the right direction, but not quite there yet

Rating: 7/10 (13 December 2017)

"The Last Jedi" truly have some awesome scenes to behold, the opening sequence made me feel like a kid again, something "The Force Awakens" never managed, because it was just a remade "A New Hope" with lack of direction. There is big differences in these two films. And here i will talk about some things i think separates them.
The Acting:
In TFA it was almost like everyone on set had been running around yelling "WE ARE MAKING A NEW STAR WARS MOVIE WEEEEEE". And in the massive confusion and joy, someone forgot that they are making a movie. The Entire TFA felt odd, and it didn't help that it's basically a reboot which made the entire film predictable and boring.
But in TLJ someone stepped up and took charge. Because now the actors have suddenly upped the ante and are delivering powerful performances. Carrie Fisher for example, completely different here, more believable, more emotions. Same with Daisey Ridley, she is now showing she's an excellent actress, something that was not shown in TFA, which is a damn shame!. Because she was IMO the best thing about TFA. And Mark Hamill might be delivering the best performance of his life here. Adam Driver as well, he suddenly went from Darth Emo to a really scary and unpredictable villain, showing of a wide specter of emotions. And again, this is stuff that should have been shown already in TFA!
So when it comes to acting, TFA and TLJ are miles apart.
The story:
The story is better in TLJ, by far. But far from perfect, the story itself from where it starts to where it ends up is full of surprises and memorable moments, but it also has a lot of scenes i felt had no place in the film, scenes that either could have been filmed differently, or scrapped all together. Because the film starts off so well, but about 30 minutes in, the story starts to drift, and the suspense and the natural flow get interrupted, which the movie then will suffer for, all the way through.
There are times where the story manage to get back on it's feet, but it can't fully recover. Yet still, it has a strong story at it's core, and i must congratulate the staff for bringing the Star Wars universe in this direction, this is new territory and interesting. Or to say it like this, TLJ is something new, TFA was a remake.
There are lots of humor in the film, and done more clever than in any Star Wars film before it. This director has a fresh take on Star Wars, and i'm glad Disney trusted in him, Star Wars IMO was in real trouble after TFA, some of it was "fixed" with "Rogue One" but it was this film that had to really nail it, prove that Star Wars still can deliver, and it almost does, so close.
The music is also better than in TFA, John Williams seem to have been more inspired this time around, and has made a score that sounds like the old films, but it also feels new. The effects in the film isn't even worth talking about, it's absolutely amazing of course. And the cinematography is also really good.
What dragged the film down a bit for me, was the way the story was told. It became quite boring at times, but for the most part this movie is awesome to watch, with lots of variation in the scenes. It is worth a look. but don't expect a new "Empire Strikes Back", we might never see that again I'm afraid. But i do love watching them try.
7/10 - Good