A few points. I'm going to get into detail but if you're on a Star Wars forum and haven't seen the film yet AND come into a conversation with a spoilers warning, then that's on you:
Yes, I can see the points about Snoke being the speed bump on the path of Ben's development, but I strongly believe he wasn't a big enough character to draw out Ben's development. OR he was exactly what he needed to be, but was given too much screen time to do it in.
I mean I get it that this trilogy is about the development of Ben and Rey, and I truly enjoy how this movie pretty much puts every character in shades of gray one way or the other, but I need my evil people - no, make that all characters - to be dramatic about it. My evil people in particular need to be Dooku and Sidious kind of evil, not the unexplained skull fracture and bathrobes kind of evil. The big bad guy not only talks forever but explains everything in a conversational tone. No dramatic gravitas whatsoever - in fact the least compelling and dramatic character in the entire film, although that's possibly a tie with the slicer.
I'm kind of surprised no Billy Dee Williams tbh; I had hoped that was who the master cracker would have been or associated with, or at least given a cameo.
I thought in the first movie that Ridley's portrayal of Rae was amazing; this time that honour goes Driver's portrayal of Ben - wow that guy has some acting chops. There were so many scenes that Ben had a choice, and I loved the indecision on Driver's face each time. I especially loved the scenes where he was going to kill his mother, whom he still loved, and couldn't. And then again with Rey, the person who was emotionally closest to him in a long, long time - and couldn't.
I could get into casting a lot more, but I liked how Rose is NOT the tradional-looking Hollywood actress.
Also, I actually have a feeling that Ren lied to Rey about her parentage; I may be wrong, and the little boy with the broomstick thing would be a tie in that anyone from any background could be special.
A couple of my favourite shots were Leia blown out into space AND the cruiser's suicide run. Both shots were flatly amazing. I enjoyed the initial space battle immensely for what it exactly was - a star wars space battle.
Lastly, I agree with many people here about the tight focus of the film.
Honestly, there were a couple of Disney moments in there that kind of got to me, like the extended chase scene on the casino world, or some of the nattering back and forth chirping that's a part of every live-action Disney movie I can think of.
Remember to Breathe - Dashboard Confessional
-Here I Am, and here I remain! - Leto Atreides, Dune
[This message has been edited by Scholomancer (edited 12-24-2017 @ 08:37 AM).]