I think I've decided to watch this movie for a second time and see if there's anything I missed - I can say with all sincerity that the movie did very little for me the first time. But I've heard by some that it apparently gets better the second time so who knows..
I've said before, I do appreciate that at least Johnson doesn't just rehash Empire verbatim (minus that end scene) but that doesn't make it any less shallow or flawed. Ep1 and 2 weren't rehashes either yet THEY too were very flawed.
In a way I do think the film had potential but I feel as if it just clashed with the themes/tones/plot points established in TFA, and feels completely disjointed as a result. Things feel rushed and little makes sense, especially when compared to TFA. I think J.J. Abrams should have just been left to finish up this whole trilogy and THEN hand it off to Johnson who could have completely run with his own complete story, where he could have had more creative freedom. It felt as it he wanted to do that but the TFA stuff was holding him back, which is why the film has this weird middle grown between being unique and also having some fan service/"safe" stuff within it.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident - All men and women created by the, go-you know - you know the thing!" - Joe Biden
