I feel like I'm surrounded by trolls...

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2017)

Okay, I don't normally write reviews on IMDb, but after reading through numerous ones on here I can't help but scratch my head and wonder if the other reviewers and I saw the same movie.
One of the most baffling complaints I saw was "too much CGI" and "bad CGI". First off, like TFA, there were loads of practical effects, but when CGI was used it was done extremely well. I'd like to know what these people consider to be "good CGI."
Another complaint by someone was that this has cheesy and wooden dialog. How quickly some forget the dialog of TMP, AOTC, and even ROTS.
I think a reason why some people were disappointed by this film is because it went in a completely different direction than most of us were expecting (I know I watched my fair share of YouTuber theories). Aside from ROTS, it's definitely the most gritty film of the franchise (not inherently a bad thing).
Somebody also stated that people walked out of their theatre and I think one said that their hopes and dreams were crushed or something... All I can say is, everyone at the theatre I was at seemed to enjoy it, and nobody walked out.
The acting was on point, the space and ground battles were done in pure Star Wars fashion, and the dialog was definitely improved from TFA (which was a bit cheesy at times).
** SPOILERS BELOW **
There were only a few things I had issues with in this film, namely the death of Snoke. He was so hyped up and as we saw in this movie, he was incredibly strong in the Force. Yet, he was so easily fooled and dispatched by Kylo. I was at least hoping we'd get some backstory on him before he bit the dust, but oh well. It'll be interesting to see how JJ will handle episode IX with Snoke's absense.
I'm okay with Leia not being killed off, but I was a bit surprised that Luke was. He did give Kylo the ultimate middle finger though, which was pretty great. May I also just say that Mark Hamill has still got it? He was wonderful in this film; I could see the conflict and guilt surrounding him and preventing him from acting until the end.
I really like Rose. She and Finn make a good team, and I'm interested to see their (potential) romance grow in the next movie. I think I prefer the two of them together over him and Rey anyway.
Rey and Kylo were some of the best parts of this film for sure. The whole time I was wondering whether one of them would turn to the other side, or if they would end up teaming up.
We got way more of Poe in this one, which is good; he's very charismatically played by Oscar Isaac. In some ways, he seems to be the new Han Solo of this trilogy.
Another minor gripe is with the killing off of Phasma. She was under utilized in the last one, and possibly even more so here. She served to bring Finn's betrayal of the First Order full circle, but that's about all she accomplished.
One final thing: YODA CAMEO!!! yay!
** END OF SPOILERS **
So, hopefully I didn't fanboy this review too much (although I am a pretty major SW fanboy). It's certainly not a flawless film, and it doesn't touch Empire or the first one. However, it is a step above TFA, for bringing better dialog, more plot twists, and an overall grittier and more original story.