As a standalone movie, it was fine. As part of a franchise it was pretty disappointing.
The good:
- Fight scenes after Snokes death and with Luke and Ben. Phasma fight scene too.
- Island caretakers - amusing and right in line with Star Wars supporting players.
- Rey - I like her story arc.
- R2D2 showing the "Help me ..." clip to Luke.
- Luke going out with 2 setting suns. Nice work
The bad ...
- Snoke, Phasma, and Holdo - death of characters with no impact. *meh* We hardly knew ya. Hopefully Holdo is dead. Hopefully Phasma is not.
- Good vs. Evil is a timeless theme - I don't care for the politics of the day so blatantly injected into the saga.
- Kamakazi hyperspace - really? Running out of fuel?
- Oh yeah, that Akbar guy died over there somewhere.
The ugly ...
- Leia uses the force, for the first time in any meaningful way, and it's to save herself. *ugh*. By flying through space 1/2 conscious. *sheesh*. One of the most kick-ass heroines in cinema history and they have relegated her to a furrowed brow, a worried look, and "patience". Criminal.
- R2D2 and C3PO are main characters- a common thread across Star Wars history - and they have been sidelined. Stupid.