Not what I was hoping for, but not terrible.

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2017)

I was a big fan of Force Awakens, and although I didn't like Rogue One as a Star Wars film, I thought it was a decent movie. This film feels kind of like a weird blend of those two, and that doesn't always work out.
The action scenes are pretty good, as were the effects, but don't we all take that for granted now? :-P.
The plot is surprisingly thin, and the pacing is cluttered with subplots that are very inconsistent in timing and scope.
The script is noticeably different from any other Star Wars movie, and for me this was a bad thing. Some pretty lazy scenes in this movie. Some humor too, which I actually enjoyed (except for those stupid little CGI-bird creatures that belong in Episode I). The writing showed a lack of awareness for the history of the star wars universe, despite lip-service to older films.
The tone of the film is a bit mixed too. Sometimes it's light and funny, and suddenly it's dark and somber. The tone jumps around about as much as it did in the prequels. (not a good thing). Overall, like Rogue One, this film feels more like a real "war" film.
My biggest problem with the film is the pacing. Scenes that should've been built up to over the entire movie happen suddenly, and other scenes feel so pointless it's a mystery why they're in the movie at all. We meet new characters here, which bogs down the film because they take away screen time from characters we already like.
There was a lot I liked about the movie too. Unfortunately, most of that would include spoilers, so I'll just say a few scenes felt "right," and inspired the good kind of star wars nostalgia. I also liked most of the new characters, despite my complaint that they diffused the focus of the film.
Ultimately, this feels like the first draft of a potentially great movie. If they trimmed out the unnecessary sub plots (and characters) and focused more on the main characters, this film would've been as good as the critics (inexplicably) say it is.