"Let the past die," preaches Kylo Ren, the galaxy’s worst son, in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." "Kill it, if you have to." Well, jeez, "The Force Awakens" wasn’t that bad.

In fact, even two years removed from the rush of seeing those yellow words disappear into the starry distance, brass blaring, on the big screen once again, "The Force Awakens" is still a solid blockbuster. It was an imperfect movie and yet the perfect movie for its moment, reminding audiences why they loved the original films in the first place – mainly by energetically remixing those original films. For a movie that murdered a beloved character, "The Force Awakens" worked almost like salve, painlessly healing those haunted memories of midichlorians and "Meesa Jar Jar Binks."

But 2015 was a different time. Two years later, "Star Wars" no longer needs reintroduction. Now, it’s routine – three years, three movies. Pay your taxes, go to the doctor, get your yearly shot of space battles. Merely curing the pain of the prequels with a heavy dose of nostalgia is no longer enough; the story must now stand on its own. The bumpers are off. The safety of the past will not suffice; now it’s on to the future of a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

That future looks bright after writer-director Rian Johnson’s "The Last Jedi," the first entry of this new era that exhilaratingly lives up to its predecessors without merely replicating them, playing with expectations and taking some gigantic Death Star-sized risks while still delivering epic adventure action deserving of a place in the franchise's iconic pantheon.

It took three tries, but we’ve finally got a truly new, fresh "Star Wars" worth celebrating.

Last we left off, Rey (Daisy Ridley) found a new Jedi teacher and an old savior for the Rebellion in Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill – now with lines!), hiding out on a remote island. Unfortunately, he’s given up on the Jedi path, only living to die alone after his last lesson ended with his star pupil and nephew turning into the menacing Darth Vader cosplayer Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

Speaking of which, Kylo’s trying to hunt down Rey and his former Jedi master for the sinister Supreme Leader Snoke (mo-cap maestro Andy Serkis) while also breathing down the back of what’s left of the Rebellion, which sadly isn’t much: General Leia (the late, great Carrie Fisher), brash flyboy Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), reformed stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), dwindling rebel fighters and even-faster dwindling fuel resources.

And everything else is probably a spoiler, but along the way, there’s a lot of space battles and lightsaber duels, and nowhere near enough porgs – big-eyed hamster penguins hovering all over Luke’s island and every child’s Christmas list.

If J.J. Abrams did one thing unarguably right, he stocked this new trilogy with an impressive roster of charismatic young talent, and Johnson gives them even more room to spread their wings and grow into their increasingly interesting characters.

Ridley is still a contagious delight in the lead role, while also getting to dig into more complexity now as she finds her goodhearted nature torn between Luke’s irascible attitude and Kylo Ren’s potentially shifting morality. And on that note, Driver’s Ren is even more fascinating, pulled in increasing directions and constantly sending the audience pondering where his allegiances will end up. He began this trilogy as an intriguing shadow of Darth Vader, but with Johnson’s writing and Driver’s pained, intensely boiling performance, he’s morphed into a terrific villain of his own.

Poe Dameron nets the award for the biggest screen time upgrade in "The Last Jedi." Thanks to Issac’s effortless charm, he managed to make an impact in "The Force Awakens" with a role that was clearly still a work-in-progress, disappearing for most of the film before reappearing out of air for the finale. Here, however, he’s given one of the movie’s biggest and most interesting arcs, challenging the supposed heroism behind his cocky self-appointed savior.

Meanwhile, Finn gets a touch downgraded, but Boyega still beams on screen – plus, he’s paired with newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, making a big-hearted and winning series debut as a lower deck mechanic turned co-captain on a potential rescue mission.

Add in the familiar faces from the past, from the commanding Fisher to the impressively tortured yet still playful Hamill, plus a few more new faces – most notably Laura Dern, who gives the franchise’s signature phrase her now signature gut-punch of delicate humanity – and "The Last Jedi" makes actual use of all of its cast this time. Even General Hux and Captain Phasma make something resembling an impact this time (the same can’t be said for poor Maz Kanata, whose brief impactless appearance shows how weakly established she was in the last chapter).

With all of these characters and performances firing at lightspeed, the result is one of the most thrillingly original, unpredictable and richly told "Star Wars" stories since the original trilogy. Instead of playing with echoes of the past, Johnson heads in unexpected and intriguing directions – especially prying into its tricky themes on heroism, asking what actually constitutes as bravery and what’s just selfishness, the constant work-in-progress that is a human hero, legacy and fate (it all oddly makes a fine pairing with Johnson’s previous spectacular sci-fi entry, the time-travel mindbender "Looper," another movie about losing sight of humanity in the name of selfish acts of supposed heroism, bravado and revenge).

Most "Star Wars" tales are considered light, standard good-versus-evil fare, but "The Last Jedi" finds some compelling gray in the battle between dark and light – all while trimming the tedious Mystery Box fat of its predecessor.

The writer-director pulls all that off, all while still delivering the kind of breathless space spectacle that inspires whooping and lightsaber sounds from the audience – no matter the age. And since all of its beats are invested with theme and character – even in minor roles with only a line or two, like an early bombing run – they’re remarkably suspenseful and filled with emotion. That opening battle sequence shows off Johnson’s crackerjack work with tension, while a third-act action beat involving lightspeed results in one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the year – a thrill to behold conceptually and even just visually.

The whole movie, thanks to Johnson and his regular cinematographer Steve Yedlin, looks gorgeous, not only with the epic battle shots and unique planet settings (the third act mix of a red planet coated in salt is a definite highlight) but with their use of color – namely scorching reds – and use of close-ups, capturing and penetrating the intense inner chess games being played planets apart. The two even get to go a little trippy with a second act sequence involving reflections in an endless line (probably inspired by a DMV visit).

Even if the story was standard, "The Last Jedi" would be one of the most visually inspired entries in the series – a long ways away from the joyless, emotionally flat blue-screened cathedrals of the Lucas prequels.

It’s a "Star Wars" that feels like it’s getting to try out new and freaky things – just like how the original "Star Wars" movies were often freaky. A herd of adorable porgs? Why not? A casino city? Let’s do it. Oversized fishbirds, lazily lounging on a rocky beach waiting to be milked? Still not sure what that’s about, but considering we’ve got a planets upon galaxies to play with, it could happen. At its best, "Star Wars" awoke its fandom's imaginations and creativity; "The Last Jedi" shows that fully in action, smartly trying new things and bending expectations with characters and storylines.

As one might expect for a movie this jam-packed with characters and ideas, the film’s two and a half hour runtime does start to weigh on the audience – taking a bit to get into a rhythm in the early going and especially in the final act, when an entire extra battle sequence erupts just when you think the story’s winding down. It’s a treat for the eyes and the pulse, with several unexpectedly thrilling beats, but also a bit of a test for one's patience – especially since the main overall narrative, for all of its character progress, thematic exploration and story freedom, doesn’t stray too far from where it started.

The main plotline – the remaining Rebels’ fleeing the Empire – in particularly feels like it's running in place, essentially a slow-motion chase stretching out for feature length only to end up back at the starting line (complete with a pitstop which fails to fill up on fuel, narratively and literally). The stakes are there – it's only the fate of the Rebellion – but the forward momentum and rhythm can feel sluggish as the stalemate trudges on.

But even if "The Last Jedi" arrives nowhere, it gets there in riveting, invigorating fashion, playing the world’s most exciting and inventive cat’s game as it moves its characters out of the shadows of their elders and into their own identities. "We are what they grow beyond," notes one very wise Jedi master. And now, thanks to Johnson, "Star Wars" is finally growing beyond its icons as well – and steering toward an even brighter future. 

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi": ***1/2 out of ****