I'll give TLJ a "good stuff" rating. It didn't quite deliver on the early buzz I was getting that it was the next best thing after ESB and it had a point that stuck in my craw that unfortunately was a major driver to the movie.
Stuff I liked first:
Seeing the Crimson Guard in action. These folks are supposed to be the best of the best and all we've seen before is them standing by doors.
Luke's arc was satisfying. Unfortunately, his beard ruined the big reveal. I was wondering if he really took the time to douse his beard in "Just For Men" while en route and actually was obsessing over this enough to realize something wasn't quite right. Still, for someone who has been anxious to see Jedi Master Luke in action, it delivered.
Rey's lineage. It's a big galaxy, not everybody needs to be related to everybody else. I hope Ep 9 doesn't readdress this.
The state of the rebels is pretty dire now. That leaves you wondering what the hell they're going to be able to do between this movie and the next to even get remotely competitive. Maybe that fleet on the outer rim they referenced is substantial.
I liked how humor was interjected without being a distraction.
We got to see Leia do some Force work. I don't remember seeing that in the last movie.
Some not so great things.
Get better tactics. If destroying one bomber takes out the others nearby, put some damn space between the ships. Maybe a second viewing will show they happened to get worked over at exactly the same moment, but that's not what it appeared to be. I also was sort of annoyed at how bombers were basically like B-17s that needed to be over a target for the payload to "drop", but then I sang the verse "It's just a show I should really just relax" that one needs to keep in mind for this series. I think the First Order used a periscope at some point too.
This is the big one that I can't get over - Hux had two very simple solutions for dealing with the fleet. 1) Call up First Order dispatch and say "Hey could you send over about 6, eh make it 10 Star Destroyers to these coordinates I'm going to give you that are in the fleeing fleet's path? Super, thanks". Or just use the assets at his disposal and have a couple of the destroyers with him warp (or whatever SW calls it) to do the same.
I would have liked to have known a little bit about Snoke. Maybe next movie will give his background a passing mention.
Not an exhaustive list by any means of either good or bad, just first impressions for the time allocated to compose this.
