Just got back from my second viewing. All round definitely enjoyed it a lot more the second time through, was able to pick out as lot of cool stuff and the things that bothered me before just blended into the tapestry of it all. Which was cool.

Although there are still some serious things that are just outright wrong with it.

A) That fucking end sequence. it was even more cringy the second time. Long passionate look from Rey. Long confused intense look from Luke. Even longer passionate look from Rey. Long, even more confused and intense look from Luke. Giant nauseating helicopter shot. Just. No. Guys. Stop.

B) The Rathkar sequence just doesn't work. It's cartoony, and goofy in all the wrong ways. But I think I figured out why. The Rathkars are the only creature in this movie that distinctly COULDN'T be a practical effect. They're all flaily and fast and wild, everything about them screams DIGITAL CREATURE. Plus the concept of them, the whole rolly polly tentacle bowling ball with a mouth thing is just... too much. Way too much. (And yes I know, Maz probably couldn't be a practical effect either, but she's just sitting there talking and walking around. She's not bouncing off the walls or doing Yoda flips. She could conceivably be a very very high tech practical effect and it wouldn't change anything about her performance.)

C) This one's more to blame on the marketting and buzz so it's kinda a half complaint/ half compliment. Phasma was built up as this Badass Stormtrooper character that was gonna be a huge character. She was plastered all over the hype machine and the marketing, and ooo we've got this really awesome, strong female character that's super awesome and badass...AAAAANNNNDDDD she's in exactly 2 scenes, the second one she dies after...off screen. Great job guys. NOW that said, looking at just how the movie works, I think she's awesome. She's this one clearly badass commander chick, that's there being all badass and chromey and nothings made of it. And then she comes back later and is snarky and Finn gets to go all street on her (which...eehhh...still have some character issues with Finn.). And then she's gone. She's just this really weird, unique piece of texture to the First Order that we haven't gotten before.

D) Finn. God bless him man, but damn. His characterization just doesn't work. He's supposed to be a guy who was raised from childhood to be a soldier. That's LITERALLY the only thing he's known his entire life, is being a soldier in a military system. And now he's breaking out of that system, because he doesn't believe in it anymore. That's a keyword there btw, he USED TO believe in this system, he was raised and brainwashed from childhood to believe the First Order were the good guys. But throughout the entire movie, we get exactly TWO SHOTS of any of that. The first one he's in full armour, so it's only through brute force bulk body language we understand what's going on. And the second when he pulls off his helmet, which is like 3 seconds. But immediately after that he's just fine with everything. Suddenly he's straight back into Moses mode (I haven't seen Attack The Block, just clips...so if it's not an exact comparison...get over it. You know I mean.) He's the sarcastic, up in your face homeboy. Which just doesn't work.

If you showed me Finn without any of the First Order backstory, I'd be totally fine with him, he's awesome and funny, and makes a really good banter partner for Poe. But in no way, in NO WAY, does anything about him say ex-soldier currently recovering from a complete and utter shift in his worldview.  Honestly this is the biggest problem of the movie for me. The Starkiller base is fine, it's a bit of retread, whatever it works for this movie, but how they treat Finn just completely undermines a part of the First Order. Finn is just your run of the mill soldier, do they all get off shift and turn into homeboy down the block who's just there cause ehh, whatever, better than sitting at home I guess? This military must be shit.

Anyways... moving on.

What didn't bug me AT ALL, were the callbacks. And I think I figured out why... If this movie were the first ever Star Wars thing made, completely 100% new, none of the callbacks would stand out. They're just part of the universe. Finn leans on a table and whoah this weird game board pops up with funny looking creatures on it and he stumbles for a second being awkward and charming. That's a cool weird bit of world building. Finn picks up a weird orb with bumps all over it, Huh that's a funny looking thing, chucks it aside. If you weren't looking for it, it would just be part of the world. Same for the gas masks, hey they're about to leak poisonous gas into the ship, here's some gas masks, we should use those. The movie never stops to go "Did ya get it? Did ya- did ya see what we did there?" It's just there and if you catch it, good on you super fan, we're moving on with the story.

All in all the movie definitely flowed a lot better the second time, it all just sorta seemed to work. So two thumbs way up

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in

My main problem with phasma was that she personally enabled the destruction of the death star 3 along with the hopes and lives of the First Order because someone threatened to shoot her.
Completely undermined her and made her weak. She seemed like she should have been the sort of soldier who would be willing to die before caving in with no fuss. Badass female villain she is not.

Or maybe it's just that loyalty is relative? When there's no risk to her, she's loyal. When there is... fuck it.

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful