I didn’t mind the movie ending with finding Luke, but I really hated the scene. I suddenly felt like I was watching a Nat Geo documentary. Skellig Michael and the cinematography just pulled me right out of the film.
It was good to see Luke though.
I felt the opposite. I really liked the scene but hated it ending with Luke like that. I’ll play devil’s advocate and take the unpopular opinion here. I agree that it should have ended when she flies away and the resistance is all standing there watching her go.
If they were just upfront with us from the get go and said “Luke skywalker is not in episode 7, but he will be in episode 8” I don’t think people would have minded his absence.
The end of the film perfectly sets up that you’re gonna see Luke in the next film. You didn’t need the tacked on cliffhanger ending. It did feel to me like the end of a tv show episode where they feel the need to tag on an unnecessary teaser at the end to get you to watch next week.
I don’t hate the ending, but I think it would have been better in the long run if it had ended there. Felt like the logical place to end it.
Plus then they aren’t obligated to start episode 8 directly where episode 7 ends. There could be some passage of time in between the films.
Not to mention every Star Wars film prior has ended on a wide shot of a group of heroes standing, usually staring into the distance.
While the Luke/Rey shot could still fall under this criteria, the spinning helicopter shot felt weird to me.
Once again though, I don’t wanna sound like I hated it. It worked fine for me and I liked the execution of the scene, I would have just personally preferred it be saved for 8.