I saw the movie last night. Liked it, but didn't love it. Probably middle of the pack for me.
One big question I have though is how did Benicio Del Toro's character know about the cloaked escape pods? Did I miss something there?
Pros:
-The opening action sequence was a fun way to start
-The Luke/Rey/Kylo Ren storyline was very enjoyable
-Kylo turning on Snoke and fighting alongside Rey was awesome
-The sequence on the final planets was full of awesome moments and visuals, like Luke facing off the imperials, the falcon being chased through the caves, and Rey lifting the rocks to save everyone
Cons:
-Rose. Hated her character. Seemed like they added her just to get the chinese audience to watch. I really really really hope she's not in episode 9.
-The whole casino planet sequence. Just felt like wasted time.
-Benicio Del Toro's character. Zero depth. Just a guy who randomly shows up for a while?
the above three items could basically be cut and the story could still be told with minor changes, but it would be a much tighter and compelling narrative
-Leia flying through space. Nobody even talked about it after. I didn't hate it, it just seemed like you could have cut that sequence and nobody would have missed it.
-In General, the characters all seemed off a bit from who they were in episode 7, which makes sense with the different writer. I just wish Rian had tried to stay more true to established tone.
-The mutiny subplot. Why wouldn't the purple-haired gal tell everyone her plan? There was zero reason to keep it secret, except to make the audience feel Finn's mission mattered. I mean, what if the purple haired gal trips and dies without telling anyone her plan? It just defies logic that she'd let everyone think they were going to die.
-Not a huge complaint by any stretch, but it was odd they made SUCH A BIG DEAL about who Rey's parents were, only to say they were nobodies. She didn't even seem to care who they were in episode 7, she just wanted to rejoin them. This desire to know who they were sure seemed random.
The crazy thing is all that bad stuff could have been cut and, with a few changes, you'd have a tighter, sharper story. You could have replaced rose, the casinos, and Del Toro with a Poe + Finn mission to board the Star Destroyer and play guerilla war on the inside, sabotaging things to slow it down. (The empire could have tractor-beamed a smaller cruiser for capture, for example, with Poe, Finn and a rebel strike team on board ready to blast its way out and into the ship's guts followings Finn's guidance. Phasma could have led the attempts to find and stop them.) This would still end with their eventual capture, but it would be Poe and Finn instead of Rose and Finn. Snoke could pull the cloaked ships plan from their minds.
Thanks and gig'em