Just got back from my second viewing, and I actually think I liked it a lot more. The things that bothered me the first time bothered me less, and the overall rhythm felt a lot more natural now that I’m familiar with the entire thing. Bring on VIII, I’m fully on board.
Just saw it a 2nd time tonight too. I would say that it was easier to watch the 2nd time, not necessarily that I liked it more. For me, I knew to expect a movie with no plot and I wasn’t comparing it to the originals, so in that respect, it was more of a fun and relaxed viewing experience.
I will say though that I did notice even more flaws than I did at first glance. One is the cast is too young in this film. In the original, sure you had Luke and Leia in lead roles, but Harrison was in his 30s, most of the fighter pilots looked seasoned, you had Alec Guiness and Peter Cushing. But in TFA, the old people are either CGI or they die instantly. Everyone, and I mean every single one of the non-legacy characters looks like they are in their 20s. The film does suffer for it.
Another thing, did Poe say at the end of the film “my job is done?” Shouldn’t he be saying “our job is done”? I swear I heard him say “my” and what a terrible, terrible choice of words. Honestly can’t stand that dude’s character, just a paper cutout.
And who was saying Hux was well acted? I was even more convinced on 2nd viewing that he was one of the worst parts of the movie. This time I didn’t compare him to Tarkin, but I decided to compare him to Admiral Piett. This new guy was just a cartoon villain, whereas Piett had some nice depth despite his limited screen time. Hux and Phasma better have died off or I may not even see the next film.