If not for the plot holes, this would have been pretty good

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2017)

The Bad:
Since I've already warned of spoilers, let me give a summary of the pointless sub-plot involving Finn (defector Stormtrooper), Poe (hotshot Rebel pilot), Rose (new Rebel character). So the Rebels are in trouble due to the First Order having somehow figured out how to track a ship through hyperspace. No explanation for this is given, but the heroes do mysteriously know how to turn off the tracker for a short while (hand-wavy explanation, but I can suspend my disbelief). Poe is frustrated that the leadership won't tell him what's happening, so basically mutinies in order to carry out his own plan. This aspect feels realistic (in that the Rebellion tries so hard not to be a military that you can see a lack of discipline among the 'troops' could bite them in the butt), but it also feels off-putting in that Poe's arrogance is so strong (why does he feel he should get special treatment in being told what his officers are doing? Why doesn't that leadership do more to curb Poe once it's obvious he's going to use force to get his way?). So Poe sends Finn and Rose off to get a 'Master Code Breaker' (because only one person in the galaxy can break through the enemy shields - why isn't this flaw exploited in order to destroy the enemy ships?). Finn and Rose go to a Las Vegas style city (and the message about rich people being bad people is a bit heavy handed). Finn and Rose get someone to be their code breaker (because apparently there's actually more than one person who can exploit this flaw in the shields). This person is more concerned with his wallet than anything else and betrays them resulting in most of the rebels dying. And that's it. Poe's grand plan actually results in a whole bunch of people dying and doesn't result in any noticable character growth, plot development, or anything useful - it feels like busy work for a set of characters that needed something to do. If you cut this entire sub-plot out and instead simply had the escape pods making a desperate run for it (without the mysterious cloaking system that hides the Rebel ships from the enemy which we've never heard of before), it would have resulted in exactly the same thing with less inexplicable contrivances. This whole segment of the movie wasn't exactly a plot hole, but it certainly should have been completely cut out and it would have made the movie better.
Other plot holes involve the way the purple-haired Rebel commander sacrifices herself for the remainder of her companions. She simply put her ship into hyperspace while pointed at the enemy. It was a suicidal act, but it destroyed a whole fleet of Imperials. If that kind of destructive weapon was available to both sides at any time, why hasn't it been used before? Shoot, it doesn't even need suicide pilots, if you could remote drive a ship or something. Are we supposed to believe that no one had ever, in the history of Galactic warfare thought to do this before? It just feels like a convenient plot device written without much thought to the implications.
Again, not exactly a plot hole, but I kept feeling like the dog fight space battles were frankly disappointing - especially coming off of the incredible scenes from 'Rogue One'. In this movie, I kept wondering where the swarms of Tie Fighters were that each Star Destroyer ought to carry and deploy. Instead if felt like there were... a dozen? It just felt like smaller battles than seemed reasonable.
The Supreme Leader Snoke was a disappointment. A one-dimensional bad-guy who doesn't seem that scary (his body guards put up more of a fight) and doesn't demonstrate leadership or even much Force presence (except for a short 'torture' scene with Rey which you can ascribe to experience rather than power).
The Good:
The humor interjected actually worked for me. At least I laughed at the appropriate moments. It might have undermined the drama a couple of times, but I didn't find it a serious problem and rather liked the moments of light-hearted comedy in the midst of the angst.
Rey and Luke Skywalker's interactions were the best part of this movie. Granted, I don't love that Luke turns into a grumpy, bitter old man who pushed everyone away and abandoned the Force, but if I accept that ending, it's well done. The interactions between Rey and Ren were also engaging and kept you guessing on who was going to end up on what side.
Luke's climactic fight was interesting, amusing, and confusing all at once. It made me question whether he had even been alive anywhere in the movie (shades of 'Sixth Sense') or what. I mean, what exactly happened to him in the end? The ending for him was... not exactly satisfying, but I put it in the 'good' section because I thought his final battle was well done, his interaction with his sister was great, and the swelling music as he faded away practically brought tears to my eyes. It left me with questions, certainly, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that they'll be answered somehow.
And speaking of questions being answered, I've seen that some people don't care for the answer given to Rey's parentage, but I have to say that I appreciated that she was a nobody, descended from nobodies. It would have felt too contrived to have had her coincidentally related to the Skywalker/Solo family and I think that the Star Wars universe shouldn't need to feel that cramped. The galaxy is too big not to have heroes rise from nowhere. In any case, I liked that answer.
The acting was all very well done. The actor who plays Luke did a fantastic job! Leia, who I felt was pretty wooden in the "Force Awakens" did a much better job in this movie. Rey and Ren were played with fervor and conviction.
The CGI was fantastic. The 'crystal critters' were unbelievably cute. The fight scenes were intense, the futuristic vehicles were incredibly realistic. The music was phenomenal!
The Mom view:
I admit that I am a Star Wars fan, but didn't care for "The Force Awakens". I thought that that movie was a disappointment. So I entered this movie with lower expectations and perhaps that's why I liked it. Despite the flaws, I enjoyed most of it and (unlike the prequels), look forward to sharing this with my kids when they are old enough. Probably around age 11 or so. There's nothing too objectionable in this movie (intense fight scenes and implied death), so I wouldn't expect this to frighten younger children, but I don't think a younger child would enjoy it as much as an older one who 'gets' everything that is happening. Having said that, if my kids enjoy the original series, I might introduce them to things like the Clone Wars animated series, video games, and novels of the EU before we get to watching this trilogy since, while I find this continuation interesting, I don't yet love it. The tone of this movie is perhaps closer to 'Empire Strikes Back' than 'A New Hope' - a bit darker, more pessimistic, and doesn't feel hopeful. I'll still go see the next movie in theaters, and I recommend that people go watch this one, but I'll also say that people ought to have lower expectations and perhaps view this series as an alternate ending to our favorite Star Wars heroes rather than the definitive end (since I'm of the opinion that I prefer them to have lived happily ever after rather than ending in isolation, bitterness, and loss). But that's just me.