The Sequel Trilogy now has life

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2017)

When I first saw TFA, I knew that there were issues but was just happy that Star Wars was back and that it wasn't boring. On rewatches, I realized that the movie didn't make any goddamn sense and was filled with contrivances. JJ opened up a mystery box hoping that would provide intrigue, but it was really just poor storytelling.
Fast forward to TLJ, rather than waste his film revealing the contents of all the mystery boxes, Rian Johnson moves forward and tells the story he needs to tell, as if he said "it's not my job to make your movie better."
Before, the heroes were mildly annoying or uninteresting. Now, they are sympathetic and humanized. Before, we had a soft reboot of ANH. Now, we sprint through ESB and ROTJ while twisting and subverting their tropes and structures until we are left in unexplored territories. It's a shame RJ didn't write/direct the first film in this trilogy and that we are only now breaking away from the template. People can theorize where we will go with episode IX but the future is really murky, which means Star Wars gets to be exciting again. Knowing JJ though, moving forward will likely mean going back and IX can only be a letdown.