Spoilers. I thought it was fine, but I can see where people are coming from with the negative points. (Edit. The more I think about the more I realize it's overrated.)

Rating: 5/10 (19 December 2017)

Spoilers........If you don't care about spoilers then please by all means.
I saw the film and I thought it was OK. It was definitely entertaining in some aspects, I even felt a little of the old movie magic coming in....perhaps a testament to Disney's obsession with making this trilogy as close to the originals as possible so as to appease "the fans" that were all stirred up over the RLM Plinkett Reviews. I also see this as possibly a negative aspect.
The film had points of excellent cinematography, wonderfully done scenes that could definitely engage the eye. The Plot however.....eh...meh...and sometimes OK.
However, despite some of the things I liked and some of the things I appreciated I definitely see where people are coming from with the group that didn't like it.
The story did seem to creep at times and upon hindsight, the casino plotline served no purpose other than to get Finn on the ship to kill Cap'n Phasma (One of the wasted characters that could have been absent from the film at this point and not missed at all. )
I suppose they were going for a "the Heroes aren't right all the time" subversion to the usual "the commanding officer is wrong" plot........(DISNEY SAYS OBEY YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!!!!)
There is definitely overt agenda in this film,some of which I didn't mind (I do now), some of which I felt was rather on the nose. The latter of which would be the whole "save the animals" message intertwined with a weapons dealing message that I can only imagine will have to wait until the next movie to see if the plot line goes anywhere. Turns out Star Wars is Iraq and Syria in Outer Space kiddos! ......Topical....so Topical.....weapons dealers are selling to both sides! (Sarcastic Gasp!)
Some logical inconsistencies. Finn only met Maz Kanata once, Poe and Rose never met her.....so how did they know how to contact her?
Perhaps one of the most contentious topics. The Princess Leah Marry Poppins scene. I have to admit when they first did this I thought they were killing her off. I actually began to well up with the hindsight of the death of Carrie Fisher. But per usual in this movie, they turned that cliche on its head. Leah uses the force and survives the vacuum of space. I will say that in a Fantasy Universe I am not averse to this kind of break from reality,(i.e. fire in space, tanks with legs.....the force for God's Sakes) in fact, I would prefer that the Niel Degrasse Tyson types leave most movies alone unless the films themselves claim scientific accuracy. But....I also expect the Fantasy Universe to follow it's own set up rules so long as it's not set in Wonderland. Leah was sucked into the vacuum of space along with our beloved Admiral Ackbar. Only to use the force to a door that opens for the main characters who then retrieve her. My question?.....why didn't Poe and Finn get sucked out the minute they opened that door to a breached bridge? I guess it's in a deleted scene? There was smoke in the door, but......how does a puff of smoke save you from the vacuum of space....oh well Metichlorians I guess.
Snoke has to be the biggest disappointment in the film. I can already hear the counter argument. I've heard him described as a red herring, a sort of tool to accentuate Kylo Ren. I expect the counterargument to be that in the original trilogy the Emperor was a mysterious figure that we knew nothing about. (Disney you wouldn't happen to be watching the Plinkett Reviews would you?)
That was true until the prequel trilogy, and making a mysterious Emperor is effective. However, this Disney trilogy is based off of and dependent on the afore-mentioned original trilogy. Snoke played a tremendous role in the period between the two trilogies. Luke and Leah know him by name, and he apparently had access to Kylo Ren. I suppose it could be argued that he could influence people from across the galaxy, but with the establishment in the other two Trilogies of balance to the force, the only other argument would now be that Luke and Darth Vader's plot is somewhat muted. I think in the next film we need to have a refresher course on just exactly who Snoke was, where he came from, and how he was so good at using the force.....and also how he was not able to pay attention to multiple things at once ;)
Luke's character I thought was very good, though I can understand the disappointment in many fans that his character would become so unlike the older Luke, and that he would nearly kill his nephew. Again the cinematic ending to Luke on the rock before a twin sun was emotional. But why he wouldn't have gone with Rey to right his wrongs I still don't understand. It is also somewhat of a betrayal that he would turn on the Jedi.
I thought Yoda was funny......I also think it was completely out of a wise sage Jedi character to burn books. Wise, Yoda is not. Puppet he is. Book burner he is......(Rey stole books I hear I missed that.) Yes everyone, Master Yoda (tried to) burned the original books of the Jedi. Apparently those books were completely worthless since you already have the force in you........so why even have them in the movie to begin with?
While I somewhat enjoyed the attempts at subverting common tropes and cliche's in the film, I feel that they may have stepped a little too far in attempting to deconstruct the mono myth. I think this is a window into the intention of Disney. I don't know if I want every pop corn flick deconstructed and subverted....before you know it the subverted elements themselves will become the new cliches.
One thing they completely failed at subverting was the overuse of coincidence and convenient plot elements. Finn just happened to know Maz Kanata's holo number. They just so happened to find a hacker in a jail cell. The force suddenly can do things that were never established before like...communicate clear across the Galaxy and force project while you are still alive. The last Snail bomber just so happened to drop the pay load right on the exact spot of the dreadnought that would completely blow up the ship. (Admittedly I can forgive this particular one for dramatic effect.) Rose suddenly "loves" Finn......Disney c'mon I know you're pushing the diversity stuff, but can you at least get Rey and Finn to make us some caramel Jedi young lings for Darth Vader to kill? Admiral Laura Dern for some reason just didn't think it was right to tell her subordinates the plan to save their Asssses from running out of fuel. The First Order just so happened to suddenly be able to track you through hyperspace. C'mon writers......a little convenience can be fun.....but this is ridiculous. --- BB8 and the gambler just so happened to find Finn and Rey on the cliff.
I did like the way they used some of the rehashed plot points from Empire Strikes Back and the Last Jedi. This is where subverting the expected, really helped in differentiating this one from J.J the Jet Plane's "The Forced Awakening" and it's uncanny similarities to A New Hope.
I'm luke warm (no pun intended) of the subplot of Rey wanting to convert Kylo Ren. It seemed forced and somewhat ripped off. It copied the Luke Skywalker attempt to convert Darth Vader plot line, it then subverted it for Kylo Ren to remain on the Dark Side and now become the main antagonist. I don't know, it may have worked.
One part that I thought changing expectations was sort of dumb was when they revealed that Rey's parents were underwhelming peasants. I don't believe Kylo Ren personally. I'm of the opinion that she is Luke and Leah's daughter..... I mean after all she is extremely proficient in the force.....and Luke and Leah would definitely not want people to know about her being "their daughter," if you catch my drift. XD
I agree that Disney is both agenda pushing (again it was rather annoyingly on the nose in some parts) and also using this as a bulwark to increase their profits (duh). I can't tell if Disney has lost it's first love, or if it has embraced another (actually with the Fox acquisition it looks like it has embraced several lovers--- and then buries them in the basement).
I can tell you that ....eh it was fine. Not terrible....only remarkable here and there. The Laura Dern Kamikaze scene was epic!!! That was one scene I thought was visually stunning. It also makes me wonder if both the Empire and the Rebels are now both crippled.
Nitpiks: How do you go from Y-wings and B-Wings......to slow Asss bombers that can barely maneuver? I mean I'm fine with fire in space and tanks with legs but.....I can't suspend my disbelief that you would downgrade to something so slow. I don't blame the 1st order for annihilating those snail bombers. Oh and Snoke.....more like Joke! (Wah waaaaaaaah!) And What! No Lando Calrissian? I was just expecting him to pop up on casino planet scene. I would have rather had him be the hacker than Benecio Del Toro. You could have made that plot line work so much more.
The CGI animals.....use them in short bursts. There is a reason the animals in the original trilogy were kept to a minimum screen time.
There are force sensitive peasant children in this movie because Disney Movie....we must wish upon a star, quite literally.....for the little green force conscience calls us from afar. (but literally Disney No more kiddos kapeesh?)
[Edit: About the Rey's parents element. What a terrible example of under whelming story. I mean what lazy writing and plot convenience to just have a character say "Oh I force sensed the truth about 'random important storyline' explained because reasons."......The more I think about this movie, the dumber it sounds.....maybe all Star Wars is that way.......maybe they should quit making these. Y'know instead of "redefining for a new generation" they should probably try to give the New generation something new....something that isn't their parents.]
At this point I'm just hoping Disney doesn't build a Death Star and explode the Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny, you're our only hope!