Oooh, a Star Wars movie that takes risk, oh no, we can't have that

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2017)

The only thing that made me want to see this film was Rian Johnson at the helm. His other films Looper, Brick, Brothers Bloom have all been excellent, and his episodes of Breaking Bad: "The Fly", "Fifty-One", and "Ozymandias", are examples of the best that show has to offer.
After seeing the Force Awakens, I had realized what I hate about JJ Abrams' style of directing: 1. Everything is a puzzle, 2. Recycle any material for nostalgia, and 3. Emphasize plot, not characters. TFA was not a good movie, it was a bad movie. That'll piss off fanboys but it's true. TFA did nothing that wasn't predictable, rehashing A New Hope for a new generation, and failing at it. Only a few scenes in that film stand out. What Rian Johnson did was take the ending of TFA, throw out any stupid, superfluous puzzle boxes that Abrams left in, and actually sculpted chacacters that were not only believable, but likable. TLJ was the Star Wars film I desperately needed to see, one that i enjoyed, took a plot that in-universe took place over twelve or so hours, and used a lot of runtime to fix problems left by Abrams, and follow a lot of points through to their natural conclusion. What we're left with is the modern equivalent of Empire Strikes Back, a film that so many recognize as the best in the series, but so few really appreciate.
Don't listen to any negative reviews until you've seen it for yourself. Go in with the expectation that it ISN'T the same as any previous SW movie, and you'll probably like it. If not, that is okay.