Was that the first time you saw this?  Dang.

Yeah, definitely a lot to unpack with this movie.  Gorgeous movie, absolutely.  Different than before, certainly.  Polarizing for sure.  Lots of unexpected twists, some that are right for the characters but there are some changes that give you vertigo.

Honestly, I don't think we'll really be able to get a handle on this movie until Episode IX comes out and we can view it in context.  It's a h*ll of a downer of a movie, I mean, things get worse and worse for our characters, so many people die, the stakes get worse and worse and there's barely a victory to be seen.  The "fun" stuff is in a plotline that people don't seem to care for and feels a bit out of place, the whole Finn and Rose thing.  The kind of adventure they go on seems so strange considering the stakes of the chase they're leaving, there's time to go out and go around for a bit and then come back while this one dire countdown is going on?  There's something about that which doesn't instinctively gel.

There are a couple little "I wish" things I have in regards to the movie, mostly little stuff like I wish Phasma was the one chasing Finn and Rose the whole time, I wish the First Order guys were younger like last time (since they're supposed to be "new fascists," but it's been so long since I saw the movie, I don't remember the rest.