Has anyone else had a near 180 switch on their opinions of this movie? For about the first 9 months after TLJ came out I hated everything about it and thought it was the worst Star Wars movie since AotC. But, after re-watching the it and coming to appreciate the themes more than the action, my opinions softened a good deal.
I still have issues with the pacing and comedy, but I really like the direction with Luke and how he wasn’t just a fanservicey power fantasy that overshadowed everyone and saved the day singlehandedly. I think it’s a pretty decent Star Wars film, and it greatly annoys me how every comments section of any video relating to the ST inevitability has a million dweebs repeating the same nitpicky shallow complaints and whining about how Disney ruined Star Wars.
I loved it coming from the theater though I didn’t think it was perfect. Interestingly, I’d say my main criticisms of the movie are the same as yours–mainly slightly too much (and too dumb) comedy and some pacing problems around the casino sequence. We just came to those conclusions at different times.