I did not enjoy the movie but I will see it a second time this week to see if my opinion changes. I consider myself a pretty big Star Wars fan but I only stick to movies - don't read the books or EU stuff. I generally don't care about plot holes, I know what I'm getting into with Star Wars. I liked TFA but was frustrated that it was too much of a ANH remake. I really liked Rogue One.
First, at its core I think this was a mediocre movie. Stripping away everything Star Wars related and focusing on the plotting, writing, pacing, editing, new characters, etc. It was meh, it felt like most mediocre action movies of the last decade. It felt like I could get this movie in other franchises.
As for other stuff...
1) I didn't mind the new direction but thought it was poorly done. It could have been done more subtly and artistically, instead we were beaten over the head for 2.5 hours that "this isn't your old Star Wars". A lot of people think it's some deep, symbolic movie but to me it was in-your-face meta overkill. I got the point about 30 minutes in but the meta train wasn't stopping. Stick, meet dead horse. I did like a few pieces of it, namely killing Snoke and Kylo ditching the helmet (thank God).
2) I hated the timing of this new direction. Do it at the start of the current trilogy (Ep 7). Do it at the start of Rian Johnson's upcoming trilogy. For the love of God, don't do it in Ep 8, with one movie left in the Skywalker Saga, after the table has been set in TFA. Especially since Rian isn't involved with Ep 9. It's clear that LucasFilms did not have an outline for the entire trilogy and that's not a good look IMO.
3) I did not come up with this but it summarizes my feelings - it felt like too much of a mix between a movie about Star Wars and a Star Wars movie. It was a bold move but it didn't work in my view.
4) The comedy was really bad, to the point where I think it's my biggest issue with the movie. I know it isn't a big deal to most but it really took away any sense of immersion for me. I feel like every time there was tension building they ruined it with some stupid joke. The original trilogy, TFA and Rogue One had a strong comedic sense in terms of context. While it was cheesy, the humor was well-timed and fit into the scene or character. The prequels were terrible at this as was TLJ, it had too many moments where there was a joke for the sake of making a joke and many times it didn't fit the scene, character or was completely pointless. I felt like I was watching a Marvel movie. Every character had the same sense of humor too. It particularly bothered me with Luke, who's a broken old man ready to give up but still has time for a 2017-ish joke here and there. The opening scene was so stupid and the worst way to set the tone for what's supposed to be a pretty serious movie - a "can you hear me now?" joke that made the First Order seem like non-threatening buffoons. The best scene in the movie to me was Finn's near kamakazee stunt, probably because it was one of the few tense moments that wasn't ruined with an out of place joke. I see a lot of people calling this movie dark but I didn't get that vibe at all, mainly because of the humor and lack of a clear antagonist.
5) They need to trim the characters down. This could have been a great movie if nearly all of it focused on Luke, Rey and Kylo. Nearly everything with the First Order and Resistance was forgettable. Finn and Rose's subplot was the worst thing about Star Wars since the prequels.
6) Luke. I'm going back and forth with how they handled his ending but I simply can't believe that after what he went through with Darth Vader and the Emperor that he would have the thought, though fleeting, to murder his 14-year-old nephew in his sleep. Sorry, I'm just not buying that one.
7) I didn't particularly care about Snoke to begin with and I'm glad that he's gone. Another run of the mill villain...we don't need him. Rey's parents don't interest me much either, though I do think Kylo was lying to her. The only thing I really wanted more information on was Luke's original lightsaber - how did Maz get it and why did Rey have a connection to it.
8) For some reason I don't care about Rey yet. She's a boring character to me, I have no idea what her conflict or goal is.
9) Kylo Ren is the best part of this trilogy and what Anakin should have been in the prequels.
10) Episode 9 will play a big role in how I view TLJ in 5-10 years. You burned it all to the ground and didn't leave much left, and now we only have approximately two hours to wrap everything up in the Skywalker Saga. I'm not sold that this massive change will work in the context of this trilogy.
Ultimately, when you burn all of Star Wars lore to the ground and disregard much of what TFA set up and don't replace it with anything...well, there isn't much left to care about. The movie felt very empty. I don't care about any of the characters. The first thought in my head afterward was, "what was the point of that?". Anyone can take a classic franchise (Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, whatever) and deconstruct it. The question is, why would you want to? It felt like a little kid knocking over someone's sand castle and sticking out their chest. You can take things in a direction without nuking the past. I'm not seeing the point of it here and now, nor taking up an entire movie to do it. I don't think it's a smart move or a ground-breaking one or any of that. I think it's a bizarre shot at trying to do something different for the sake of being different and it fell very flat on its face.
