One Word: Anticlimactic

Rating: 5/10 (15 December 2017)

I rarely review movies on here, but I couldn't help myself after this one. And it's very possible I expected much more based upon the rave critic reviews - but I'm not sure they watched the same film I just saw.
There were numerous issues I had with the movie itself, but it ultimately came down to two main problems:
1.) Writing (lack thereof): WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! Granted, I've seen some movies with poor scripts before, but past Star Wars movies have shown incredible scripts. It's hard to find a point to begin with. For one thing, Finn's and (forget names) storyline is negligible. It literally adds nothing to the film. They could leave it out and only one (barely) "significant" scene would come out of it. Other reviews have pointed out writing issue as well so I won't barrage this point. But the storyline overall was poor.
2.) Character Development (also, lack thereof): Seriously, this is incredibly frustrating as a Star Wars fan. Smoke was initially pushed as a major player for the Dark Side, and his death could not have been more anticlimactic - not to mention WE NEVER ACTUALLY FIND OUT WHO HE IS. Or how he initially met Kylo. Literally nothing about him. At all. I won't even discussed the weak role Benicio played (though he acted the part well). My biggest gripe comes from Luke's role. I can understand why Mark was not a fan of the script. We know him to be this spectacular hero through the original Star Wars movies - that's all erased here. Not to mention his disappearance at the end. The guy (Luke) played the most significant role in any of the Star Wars films, and his ending is so bland. SO BLAND.
(Somewhat #3). STOP FORCING THE HUMOR. I don't mind some comedy, there are some great lines, but some are overly forced, and do not line up with prior characters personality in the original films.
I could elaborate more but I won't.
Positives:
Superb acting. Despite the non-existent script and plot, superb acting.
Excellent visuals. To say the least, this was the best part.
Giving this a 5 was a stretch to say the least, but thanks to the visuals & acting, it made it.
Go see it. But don't be hyped by the critics.