Mixed reviews with the company I was with.
I liked it a lot. So did my brother. My wife thought it was just OK. Her gripes:
-Kylo Ren wasn't super powerful and a poor villain - My response: "Uh, hello? He was a sith in training, and probably didn't have the best natural talents which made him jealous and angry. He was an imperfect, temperamental brat trying to emulate the greatness of his grandfather. I thought the character was great. Further development to come."
-Rey was able to fight Ren and use Jedi powers with no training?- My reponse: "She might have had some training, we don't know that. If she's Luke's daughter, she inherited strong gifts. She also has more raw potential than Ren. And, as we saw on in her initial scenes, she knew how to fight, and was quite agile."
-Snoke was too large, and looked CGI. I didn't like his design, and I thought there was no CGI in this movie? - My response: "Who cares how big he is? IMO it's interesting. Also, that was a hologram, might not reflect his true size (see Kaos from Skylanders). As for CGI, of course there will be CGI, but it was done tastefully overall. A lot of attention was paid to real sets and costumes."
-Han's death wasn't very dramatic - My response: "IMO, I actually agree somewhat. I didn't feel a lot of sadness when this happened. It was predictable, but aside from a Leia's face and Chewy's rage mode, I would expect more ceremony and mourning for one of the most iconic characters in motion picture history. But time is limited in a fast paced movie such as this."
-It felt like rehash of the originals, with too many plot similarities and homages. - "Yes, but this was done purposely to draw the audience back with familiarity, considering the disaster of the prequels. The next 2 movies will have more originality I suspect. I had no issues with the formula."
My son stated he didn't like this movie as much either. I asked why. His response: "Because Han Solo died
"
They both loved Fin's character.
Sometimes I wonder if my wife just takes the opposite opinion of me for the sake of it.
