I liked it. It was long. The final battle felt kind of gratuitous, especially since the whole point was that the rebels couldn't actually win. And there's only like, 25 of them left.
But I really loved it when Luke threw away the light-saber. I think that and the book-burning were really the key scenes -- the Jedi screwed up the universe by trying to codify and reify The Force. (Luke and Yoda are, not surprisingly, hella down with Zen Buddhism, i.e., direct understanding versus doctrinal memorization.)
It really was Leia's movie. I'm fine with that.
Phasma was wasted. (She's not really dead though, is she?)
Rose was likable enough, but her kiss with Finn was forced. But I did like her line about how fighting for what we love is better than fighting what we hate. This killed a lot of fan-boi-boners out there, and I'm fine with that.
The casino planet was kind of stupid and too long.
The whole Luke arc from hating The Force to burning up all memory of the Jedi but ultimately sacrificing himself for the good of the rebellion by way of using The Force? That worked for me and that, along with Leia, was really the heart of the film.
Dare I say it, but maybe this film really should have been "Episode Seven." I mean, it really should have taken place after the original trilogy as a sort of "Goodbye To All That" of the Jedi and The Force, and stupid-ass laser swords and space magic. Then you can introduce Rey and Finn and the “next generation” of heroes, because at the end of the day they really didn’t need to be in this one.
Again, it's Leia and Luke's movie, not Rey or Finn's. It feels out of place as film number eight because in terms of actors and arcs, it is, completely and absolutely.
Come to think of it, I can remember a lot of things I really didn't enjoy about the film. But then again, I remember walking out of it feeling really happy and uplifted and wanting to see number nine.
So my heart dug it, and my brain not so much in retrospect. Make of that what you will. Zen indeed.
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