10 only due to massive fan hate. Really I'd say 8/10

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2017)

The new trilogy is a departure from Star Wars in many ways.
But to say it is bad...?
No, it is not bad. I have seen all movies and have appreciated them all.
There are bad things in TLJ, sure, but there are also good things.
I have read several die hard fans review, and I will say a few things about the most disliked issues:
1. Too little character development. Partly true, there is no classic development, with defining moments for all characters - all action paused for the audience to understand the moment. But the characters grow in real time. There are many new characters, which is normal if you think of it, and the movie cannot be paused for all of them.
2. Bad subplot with the codebreaker. Well, shockingly as a fan of SW, I enjoyed it. Always knowing what happens, it kills the suspense.
3. Too many build ups not used. Yes, they were many. But I fell for all of them. So in my opinion, they were well used. Not being sure what comes next, I would say it was refreshing for the SW franchise. It is what was missing in parts 1-3, where we knew how they end.
4. Snoke died too soon. Arguable I would say. This levels the field and allows a range of endings. And it is in the spirit of the entire series. Both Jedi and Sith were defeated by their arrogance. In a way, it made a lot of sense. As we did not think it was possible, because Kylo Ren was young, and inexperienced, probably the sith thought that as well.
5. Lack of real romance between characters. Sort of. And is love always shared? Finn has 2 ongoing possible relations. I would say both are not for him. He cares about Rey, but their relationship is kinda platonic. Same with the other girl (don't remember the name). My bet is he did not meet his partner yet. Rey fits well with Kylo Ren. Not sure that they don't end up together in the end. But the movie was very fast, so it is true, you can't build romance @ that pace.
6. The First Order not making a small jump to catch the rebels. Yes, you have that right. I agree. Did not think of it myself, so I enjoyed the movie.
7. Luke's development. How is his withdrawal ruining the series? Why do you expect a man with all the answers? You assume that wisdom implies action? Sometimes, wisdom implies inaction. And his emotional scar was indeed deep. To train his sister's kid and be so close to killing him? That was a difficult decision to take and such a thing can break a man. In a way he ran from the consequences of his actions. He knows he is to blame, and that fixing things can lead to making them worse. In a way, he does fix them, as the force comes to visit him, and reactivates him. He was once again needed.
I could go on, but I will stop by saying this:
A departure from known paths is a risk, but so is staying in the same mindset. For me, the most difficult thing to accept was the new setup with a First Order so strong. It really did set a dark tone to the new trilogy, and I disliked that it made the efforts of all characters in the original trilogy to be for nothing.
But as I rewatched episode 7 now, without watching episode 6 before, I think that judging it on its own, it was not bad. So episode 8 was also not bad. A bigger departure from Star Wars than all other episodes, but in my opinion, something the series really needed.