In a word, disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (21 December 2017)

Disappointing, takes the fairly compelling questions of The Force Awakens and either squanders them or gives unsatisfying answers to them. Considering what JJ Abrams did with Lost, he probably had no answers in mind for the questions that The Force Awakens posed to pass onto Rian Johnson. And then rather than trying to address those answers himself Johnson decided go a different direction from Abrams, and also distance himself from classic Star Wars.
What's left is poorly timed jokes, a mediocre OJ Simpson chase main plot, poor treatment of Luke Skywalker, and a missed opportunity to give Leia a noble and creative death instead of introducing Laura Dern to do it.
So to anyone who hasn't seen it, I'd just say it's not a terrible movie, but temper your expectations. It's certainly entertaining at times, it's certainly surprising at times, and a few scenes are very good. But it doesn't hold together as a coherent Star Wars movie, at all. And it almost actively disrespects original trilogy Star Wars.