Saw it last night. So, so, so good! A major improvement on The Force Awakens! See it soon, because the minute I left the theater, I got an azcentral alert with "Five Spoilers from Star Wars". It will be impossible to escape them, I think, because there are several moments people will be talking about! My non-spoilery thoughts:
1. I think it has the best space battle in any Star Wars movie (maybe nothing as iconic as the Death Star trench run in the original, but certainly the best overall battle).
2. It has the best lightsaber fight since Darth Maul/Obi Wan/Qui Gon in Episode I. It combines the speed of that battle with the exhilaration of seeing Yoda become a whirling dervish for the first time in The Clone Wars.
3. I am now sold on the new heroes as the focal point of this series. You don't need Han/Luke/Leia to carry the load and make you care. Torch successfully passed.
4. I can't decide if I am convinced of Kylo Ren being a big galactic threat. He wants to be Vader, but when he takes off his mask, all I see is the guy from Girls. Even though he is a hell of an actor, the mere fact that he has facial expressions takes away some of his mystique. He is a good character, but the Vader comparisons from the outset may not have been fair. He could have been his own thing without that shadow hanging over him.
5. The holes in Episode VII are really obvious now that we have Episode VIII. By that, I mean, Rian Johnson is a better storyteller and director than JJ Abrams, and even though I can't wait to see Episode IX, I am more excited about Johnson's new trilogy, whatever it is.
6. Some of the reviews I read say the 2 hr, 30 minute run time drags in the middle. I never once felt this way until the very end. I thought the movie was winding down, to an Empire-like cliffhanger, but then when they start gearing up for the climax, I was like, "hell yeah! I don't have to wait two more years to see how this turns out!" In my opinion, it ends perfectly. Perfectly. Perfectly!!!
7. The Last Jedi and Rogue One does something very interesting. They stretch the boundaries of Star Wars films to show the horrors of war and the agonizing decisions that test characters' faith. I really like this trend in storytelling, because Lucas' Star Wars was very much about black-and-white, good-and-evil. Decisions were easy and obvious. Here? Not so much.
8. Theepio had a red arm in the last movie, with no explanation given. Now it is gold again. No explanation given.
9. It has a subversive sight gag, one of the funniest moments in the entire saga, IMO.