Not as bad as many make it out to be, it's a challenging film, a different, imperfect film.

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2018)

First off, I do understand this film has issues and I will get into those first. However, overall, I like the majority of what this film does.
My biggest flaw with this film is the Finn/Rose story-line. At first I liked Rose, she seemed to react and act like any normal person would if they met someone of repute and she was sweet... until they arrive at a certain planet. Then she becomes "A Social-Commentary Preacher" going through the same-old "save the animals" political BS you'd see in Fern Gully and she becomes a sappy some-what-romantic-interest for Finn. The setting of this world is also, mediocre as far as Star Wars is concerned, it's basically a Casino on Earth with a few weird creatures in it. There was one scene on this world and one line Rose gives that still makes me cringe and gets under my skin for how sappy and self-righteous it was.
That's really my biggest negative, and I think most of this story-line could have been cut, not removed entirely but I think it's just way too long and not needed. They only really needed to show a bit of this for it to work in the end, because there is one part of this that ties in later on in the story. However, about 70% of this line is useless. And as such, the pacing of this film suffers a bit and can feel a bit draggy and slow at times.
That and when Finn is going to commit self-sacrifice to help save the Resistance, and when Rose intervenes and saves him. I think it would have been so much better if she hadn't and let him die, it would've been so much more emotional and been a good end for a likable but mostly useless character.
That being said, (most of my other criticisms of the film are really minor and nitpicky) I actually like a lot of what this film does and the direction it takes. What astounds me, is that so many people cried about how The Force Awakens was "too similar to A New Hope". Yeah, it was similar and there's a reason for that, it was to renew trust in people. After the Prequels got torn apart (they deserved most of it, especially I and II) JJ Abrams needed to prove he could make a competent Star Wars movie, and as such, it needed to have some similarities to the Original Trilogy.Once that movie was established, then they could branch off and make something different, which is what they did here.
Here's what I like about it:
First off, Mark Hamill's performance and Luke Skywalker's evolution. He became like Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda did after the Jedi were defeated. He became embittered and disillusioned with the Jedi's traditions and the Force after his failure with Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and the destruction of his new Jedi Order. He had become a hero and as so often the world and life does, it kicked him down and onto his back. It was such a spectacular failure, after being such a renowned hero, who turned the legendary Darth Vader back from the Dark Side, to fail like this, with his own blood, would make him exactly as he was in the film. It is different, but logical and an intense performance.
Daisy Ridley, I liked her, a lot more in this film than in the first. I do think she was a bit too powerful in the Force Awakens. Here though, she does get beat and is learning, also remember, Luke was able to use the force pretty effectively in The Empire Strikes Back before meeting Yoda, after only receiving a short lesson from Obi Wan.
Carrie Fisher was really good, a great final performance to a legendary actress who is and will be sorely missed.
I've seen people gripping about the Force Projection ability Luke demonstrated in the end of the film. I don't think they realized that it was explained earlier by Kylo when he first started to see Rey, he at first thought she was Projecting but said that couldn't bit as he explicitly said that the ability would kill her. There was no way Luke could've been there in time, so the Projection was the only way and he projected himself, and made himself look like the hero the Galaxy needed to see. He humiliated Kylo, bought time for the Resistance to get away, and showed that it is possible to stand up to the First Order. I think it was great and everything about his character and portrayal makes sense.
The cinematography (not just the CGI stuff) was amazing and gave great visuals. I love how it hearkened back to Samurai movies and treats the Jedi like Samurai, which they are quite similar.
Is this film perfect? No, but neither were the original Star Wars movies and this to me, is far better acted, directed, and written than the Prequels. I can see how some people would take issue with this film and not like it, I also think many people just can't be pleased no matter what.
Check it out for yourself and see what you think.