I saw it recently and without getting into spoilers I felt it had some major issues regarding pacing and poor character development.
I found myself not caring about the outcome during some plotlines, which left me feeling bored. So when they came back around to plotlines which I did care about, I had lost interest in the movie. There was about an hour or hour and a half of good movie hidden in a two and a half hour movie.
I honestly had a more enjoyable time earlier in the day having an MRI than watching this movie.
Edit: sorry to sound so negative I just like Star Wars a lot and I'm feeling let down by this sequel.
Edited: Kingowlbear on 22nd Dec, 2017 - 12:01am
I just brought the boys back from seeing this. The whole family enjoyed it. There were no dull moments and it made more 'sense' than the last Star Wars movie. Of course there are silly moments where there is a lack of logic to doing things but we can brush that off to the survival mind of the character, mixing old tech with new and that is just how Star Wars was made.
Notice the enrichment of female roles and of women taking front stage - good, who says all the laser fighters have to be male.
With regards to Mark Hamill's gripe I tend to agree. The way that Luke Skywalker was behaving did not seem characteristic of him but then again he was old.
My best part in the movie: rebel cruiser turns around and does light speed into First Order vessels.
Saw it last week. Plot was recycled, characters were decently played, roles were nicely thought out, tech and situation made little to no sense. The First Order is always able to come with funds and technology to build massive projects, while the rebels (Who won against the Empire, remember?) can't even rub two credits together or have technology that actually puts them where they should be. Hyperspace jump through a ship, destroying EVERYTHING in a cone shape behind it? That's a thing? New weapon for the Rebels that beats everything they've ever invented - hyperdrive equipped torpedos. They enter Hyperspace 1 km away from the lead enemy ship and all ships behind that ship are wiped out with one missile. Even Xwings had such engines, so the tech isn't that large. Deus Ex machina, vetoing all their efforts prior to that. Taking out the Death Star (X3) would have been child's play, and not Whomp-Rat targeting.
Favourite part:
* SPOILER *
Skywalker's illusion across the Galaxy to fool Kylo Ren.
Edited: Gknightbc on 6th Jan, 2018 - 12:36am
*Spoiler*
How did Luke really die? Was it the exhaustion of all the fire power aimed at him, Ren's saber through him or did he purposely give himself up so he could be with Ren in the afterlife?