I have a much more positive opinion of this film now that I’ve had a few days to reflect.
In essence, this film tells a very dour story: the First Order have caught up with the Rebellion that is on the run and alone after the destruction of the Republic, and they are slowly picked off one by one. What started with a whole base at the beginning, is just a handful of people that can fit in the Millennium Falcon by the end.
Another downer: people are making decisions that they think are the right ones, but they turn out to be completely wrong:
- Poe and attacking the ship then sending Rose and Finn to find a hacker. His actions have immense negative consequences that end up killing a lot of people.
- Luke cutting himself from the Force and wishing for the end of the Jedi.
- Rose and Finn finding A hacker (not THE hacker) and hoping for the best, which it doesn’t.
However, despite all of these terrible decisions comes a spark of hope:
- Poe sending Rose and Finn has inadvertently allowed the cause of the rebellion to spread.
- Luke has now become one with the Force and fully allows himself to be part of it instead of rejecting it, thus allowing him to save his friends and save his soul.
- Rey will carry on the Jedi, but perhaps is all the wiser thanks to Luke teaching her that the Force is not something that only people with a specific bloodline have, but that everyone has. This is reinforced with the boy and the broomstick and Rey’s lineage. This is in contrast with Luke who was told that, as a Skywalker, he was special, and that the force was strong with him and his family, and that only he could destroy Vader.
TL;DR: it’s good.
You make a few good points here that i hadn’t considered before.