Jesus... where do I start...
I'll admit that my initial thoughts are quite conflicted, so much I could rip apart and so much that I think could've and should've been better, but so much I loved and that shocked and surprised me... made me smile, made me laugh and points where I had a tear in my eye.
I guess the first reminders to take on board are that it's a kids film franchise and the Mark Hamill has always been a truly terrible actor that can only deliver long stares and hammy lines. These two constants are still there and in many ways they are a blessing as they do at least remind you throughout that Star Wars is not a serious series of films, never has been and never should be.
As for the story and content... some things were too fast/quickly covered; Luke's training of Rey, Phasma's demise, Canto Bight as an entity (though given the Disneyland feel of its inhabitants and the sets themselves, it was possibly the right decision). Other parts were overplayed and should've been more swiftly handled too...
The story broadly held water though and some of the little shocks/surprises were just brilliant. I loved Luke's ability to appear across the galaxy in 'physical' form, a perfect metaphor for the power, magic and mystery of The Force. As for the comedy shoulder brush off, I think it might become one of my favourite SW moments ever!
I wasn't a massive fan of Leia's Marvel-esq space flight but as my comments above, the power, magic and mystery of The Force was back on the table, it's not just moving rocks and waving around a laser sword after all...
Yoda was a bit of marmite for me, really liked the idea and content, absolutely detested the CGI creating him… just looked really weak and possibly the worst effect in the entire film, which given the emotional importance of reimagining someone so dear to OT fans was a major flaw for me.
Snoke was so much better than I expected and in many ways got better as he developed... right the way to his end, which wasn't overly shocking or surprising in the moment, but I doubt anyone watching had sat down expecting him to not be there still at the end of the movie...
The suicide mission from Holdo was beautifully handled, for someone we met 30 minutes earlier it held emotion and was very poignant… the highlight though was the moment of impact where we were treated to utter silence, simply a genius piece of both direction and audio production.
So, lots to like and lots to feel less positive about, I think it'll take three or four watches to decide where it ranks and how I really feel about it all. I certainly don't dislike it, but I didn't fall in love with it straightaway.
Roll on the Pinewood screening tonight!