Star Wars: The Force Awakens was 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 of A New Hope. The release of Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi has only made matters worse for the first installment in the new trilogy and many hardcore fans look at the latest Star Wars movie as cleaning up the mess that Abrams made. The Last Jedi stands on its own and is a far superior movie when compared to The Force Awakens. There are major SPOILERS ahead for The Last Jedi, so read on at your own risk.

13 The Force Awakens is A New Hope all over again.

The Force Awakens is pretty much A New Hope as it shares many of the same plot points and 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 previous Star Wars movies. 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.

12 The Last Jedi takes risks.

There are certainly some nostalgia and callbacks in Rian Johnson's The 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 from The Force Awakens. Where you don't want the 150-minute Last Jedi to end, you're pretty much ready to wrap things up on the Starkiller Base.

11 The Last Jedi stands on its own.

There was a lot of concern that Rian Johnson was simply going to step in and recreate The Empire Strikes Back after J.J. Abrams made The Force Awakens. About the only real similarities between the Last Jedi and Empire are the darker tone and Luke training Rey in the ways of the Jedi. However, The Last Jedi stands 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 the direction of Episode IX.

10 A janitor was able to bring down Starkiller Base.

To destroy the immense Starkiller Base in The 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 Jedi has 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 common Star Wars plot 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.

9 Rey was able to master Jedi Mind Tricks in The Force Awakens.

One of the biggest points of contention with The Force Awakens is 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 Jedi attempts to show at least a little bit of training.

8 The Last Jedi has character development.

In The Force Awakens, we never really get emotional for any of the new characters because there is pretty much zero character development. However, The Last Jedi takes the time to get into the heads of all of the major characters in a way that has never been seen in a Star Wars movie 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.

7 The Force Awakens has inept villains.

Kylo Ren is only menacing during the very opening scenes of The Force Awakens and 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 Jedi is 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 in The Force Awakens, there are moments, like Ben Solo killing his father, but those moments are few and far between.

6 There's not much Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens.

Fans of Star Wars had 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 about The Force Awakens, but c'mon. The Last Jedi puts much of the focus on Luke Skywalker this time around while addressing why he was absent from the firs movie.

5 Rian Johnson wrote The Last Jedi by himself.

J.J. Abrams wrote The Force Awakens with a team whereas The Last Jedi benefits 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 the Star Wars box, which is something that The Force Awakens wasn'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 like The Empire Strikes Back, that The Last Jedi is an epic story and far superior movie to The Force Awakens.

4 The Last Jedi did not have to answer to the prequels.

The Force Awakens had to be set up as a way for many to forget about the prequel damage, so it had to be nostalgia heavy to reboot the Star Wars franchise. 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 Awakens was too nostalgia heavy while dealing with some of the canon from the prequels.

3 Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro are in The Last Jedi.

This is kind of petty, but The Last Jedi is elevated by the performances of veteran actors Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro. In del Toro's case, he brings a mystery to the movie as a character that you can never put your finger on. He's a man of no allegiance, but you can tell that there is a heart in there somewhere. Laura Dern brings a complex and mysterious role as well. You're never quite sure of her motivations until the end of the movie, but both actors bring in characters that supply plot twists that help The Last Jedi to stand out.

2 The Last Jedi has exotic new locations.

The Force Awakens had some pretty big disappointments and one of the major ones was the locations. None of the planets were really that interesting; they were just the stereotypical desert planet, forest planet, and ice planet. The Last Jedi isn't making the same mistake. We've got the weird and intriguing planet of Canto Bight, the salty plains of Crait, which looks like Mars with snow. Though it's really all just salt.

1 The Last Jedi answers questions left over from The Force Awakens.

While both movies are going to suffer from the hardcore Star Wars fans, The Last Jedi towers over The Force Awakens, ripping off the training wheels and stepping into some dark places with emotional depth and surprising plot twists. Kylo Ren is still young and immature, but the performance that Rian Johnson was able to pull from Adam Driver proves that there's a lot of room for the character to grow and take over the First Order. We learn about Rey's lineage and as it turns out, it's not a huge part of the story and it puts the fan theories to bed that The Force Awakens brought to the surface. The Last Jedi works on many different levels, but the most obvious way that it is better than The Force Awakens is that there's chances taken, there are gambles, and there are surprises around every corner, punctuated with silence and comedic relief. In other words, The Last Jedi is a story that lives and breathes instead of treading water. J.J. Abrams certainly has some catching up to do. You can read more about the glowing reviews of The Last Jedi courtesy of http://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/arts/star-wars-last-jedi.html%7CNew York Times.