Ambivalent Reaction to One of My Favorite Director's Foray Into the Star Wars Universe

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2018)

I waited until after my second viewing and I had some time to fully digest the movie before penning my thoughts. These are not all of my opinions on the film, just the highlights.
This film is dense and as much as I appreciate its depth, it is also its weakness. There was so much to address that often it seemed to skim the surface of what was presented and give the impression there was a lack of focus. The themes of "when darkness rises, the light rises to meet it" and "that things don't turn out the way you think they will" were very present in this film. I found it fresh and disappointing in the same measure. Where JJ was careful not to stomp on the additional lore that Lucas presented in the prequels, Rian had no issues blowing it all up. Cinematically introducing something the TV show has been perpetuating for a while and that Rogue One alluded to, that of the "Grey Jedi". The ancient Jedi philosophy that embraced the Force as a whole, light and dark, not just either side. The belief that the Force is a mystically power that belongs to no one. I can understand why this would be important from a dramatic perspective. Heroes and villains that are internally conflicted are much more three dimensional and interesting than cut out ones.
This is fresh and welcome and in keeping with the meaning of the words "balance in the Force" that Lucas used like confetti throughout the prequels to confusing affect. How is only one side of the Force, balanced? Rian articulated that it was vanity and arrogance that brought down the Jedi order and it was Luke's own vanity that brought down the new Jedi order that he was trying to create.
I am not sure who decided that female Generals would be wearing gowns during a battle, but that was very odd to me. Then add the space walk in said gown, which made for a very campy and bizarre scene in the film.
The producers still have an issue with Rey being seen as a Mary Sue. Someone with Dues Ex Machina abilities that have not really been explained. I kept hoping to see a scene where she does something Mary Sue and another character questions her on it. Then she would reveal that it was her intuition that lead her to do what she did. She doesn't think, she acts on it and it is usually the right thing to do. This would establish that the Force is guiding her to do things she doesn't understand, but invariably work out. I have yet to see that moment in this trilogy.
An ambivalent moment for me came when Rey's parentage was revealed. I hoped for a pedigree lineage, but came to appreciate the everyman heritage. The reinforced idea that anyone can be a powerful Force user. A friend pointed out that the most powerful Jedi seem to come from nothing; Anakin and now Rey.
The slap stick humor was a bit over the top to the opposite effect. The principle of diminishing returns comes to mind. This became very evident when Luke milks the sea creatures. That for me was a" jump the shark" moment for the humor. This was a bit surprising considering Mr. Johnson's humor is typically often witty and suitable to the scene. Whereas most of the comedy worked, some scenes fell completely flat.
I don't believe Poe's transformation from a hot shot pilot to an actual forward thinking commander was handled very well. There were no real consequences to him directly from his forced attack on the dreadnaught. He didn't seem to lose anyone close to him or really see the full extent of his actions. Had there been a moment were one of the Resistance allies had signaled back that they weren't coming because they heard of the attack on the dreadnaught and felt that they couldn't trust the Resistance leadership to be good stewards of the reinforcements, with Poe hearing that response. Then he would see the consequences of his hasty actions with total clarity. The believable catalyst for a transformation was missing.
The Finn and Rose adventure struck me as a bit long for its purpose. Some of that time could have been better spent fleshing out other parts of this dense story.
How Luke's story was handled has been my biggest disagreement with this film. I can see Luke losing his confidence as a teacher and even a Jedi after the destruction of his academy, but for him to lose his religion was a step too far. He had seen and done too much to lose his faith in the Force. All of what transpired between he and Rey could have been accomplished without him losing his religion. He could have cut himself off from the Force or stopped reaching out into the galaxy to ensure his location remained hidden from the Knights of Ren. So he could live out his days in his own little pity party island resort.
Some may disagree, but I really enjoyed the final confrontation between Luke and Ren. Just like Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader, the teacher faces the student. Rian established that Force powers can be projected across the galaxy, first by Snoke, then by Luke in dramatic fashion and as he predicted to Rey, it killed him. I saw the final scene, when Ren realized what his former teacher actually was, as a nod back to the moment when Ben Kenobi told Vader that "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine". All the visual clues were right in front of us. Luke looked as young as he was when everyone last saw him and he had his father's sabre. Ren never struck him once until Luke wanted him too and the reveal was made. This series is all about Rey and Ren, not the old guard. This film passed the baton to the next generation as it should have. Though I no doubt we'll see Luke again as a Force ghost mentor to Rey in the next film.
Overall, this film was enjoyable. Not what I expected, however that was by design. The Luke story was my biggest disappointment in terms of him losing his religion. It was far out of character for this to happen regardless of whatever plot device it was intended to be, it rang out as false. I didn't expect any of the original cast to survive to the end of Ep 9 and believed like many that Leia was toast when her bridge was destroyed. However, Rian gave us many surprises in this episode and I'm sure it left JJ working hard to find ways to tie up the loose ends Mr. Johnson has now created.
I look forward to seeing how they are tied up in a couple of years.