ozzfloyd
The Carp
Disagree with much of what everybody is saying here. Sounds like you all had heightened expectations, but the reality is that NONE of you would have been satisfied with anything he did because the original trilogy is so ingrained in your minds -- that explains the fan grades being significantly lower than critics.
The single biggest issue I had with the movie was a minor plot hole at the end, where Rey apparently escapes from Snoke's ship in some sort of stolen transport (not seen, but I believe Hux tells Kylo that) and then ends up on the Falcon. Gotta be a deleted scene somewhere that explains that.
I also thought the directing was quite good--not sure why all the Rian Johnson hate.
As far as Luke goes, it is painfully obvious that Luke is not happy, not even a little bit. He basically WANTS to die and feels he is beyond redemption. Except he isn't beyond redemption, as proven in the final showdown between he and Kylo, which was very well done, and in hindsight made sense. Did nobody notice that his force projection was basically the same Luke in appearance as he was several years earlier at the Jedi Temple? That decidedly major difference in appearance, even though the time hasn't been THAT long also shows just how used up Luke is. He almost certainly will appear as a force ghost in IX.
I loved it and even though I agree with a lot that is said about Snoke and the Emperor, I thought it was interesting that they killed him off so soon. And I thought the fact that Ren did it but did NOT turn back to the Light Side was a nice touch and made the story veer off in an unexpected way. I will say, the fight against Snoke's red guard was my favorite in the movie.
Also, did anyone else notice the music playing in the casino was a variation of the music played in the Mos Eisley Cantina? It was a nice touch.
Funny thing was my first thought when Rose and Finn looked at the horse races or whatever they were, I thought for sure it was going to be pod racers. My mistake. (Rose was great casting as well)
Nice to see at least a small part of Gwendolyn Christie. I hope she has a bigger role in IX, as it appears she is officially Finn's main rival.
Didn't Phasma die?