I saw it Yesterday. Still unpacking. I feel like this was meant to be a movie that requires multiple viewings, which is ambitous, but being a Star Wars movie, completely in line with what the fan base will do.

Spoiler space.


I give it a B right now. I like it 4th or 5th in the series so far. But I think it will move up on repeat viewings.

My main critique/ disappointment is something that is out of the franchise control. It's clear to me episode 9 was to be the Leia centric movie of the 3. (Han in 7, Luke in 8) Probably using her death as the hook for the turn/redemption of Kylo Ren. With Carrie Fisher's death, that is no longer possible. And knowing Leia is dead, makes the death of Luke harder to process, as all of the main cast ( sorry Chewie) from the first films are gone.

That aside, I'm still working on how Luke's explanation of the Force resonates across the whole series. How it explains Vader (and the real way he Balanced the Force). How Rey and broom kid mirror Vader and Luke vs the Sith and Jedi. How the Universe will move forward. And maybe how a Knights of the Old Republic series will show how far the Jedi moved from the original intent...

And that's the real point of Del Toro's character, and the casino planet. To show how the rest of the Galaxy "lives" while all this fighting goes on.

As for Snoke, while I'd like to find out his backstory, he's a McGuffin. I love that scene. It's how I wish the Return of the Jedi scene had gone.

I loved Yoda in the movie.

Luke's arc was jarring, but I think filled out nicely. It could have moved faster, but I think that's the point. He's so afraid of the dark side, and becoming his father, he's retreated to save the universe from him.

I hated the slow speed chase. I wish they had cut that to be a siege on the Red salt planet. Remove the super laser, and keep the rest of the plotlines. You could even keep Dern's sacrifice. However, I guess you lose Poe's character development from Hot head Pilot to leader on screen...