It's a beautifully shot film, probably the best Star Wars film from that perspective. There's a lot to like - in terms of story progression with certain characters. The growth of Rey and Kylo was done well, as well as furthering their connection. Luke's character arc was great, even connecting to the original trilogy that he was still learning how to be a Jedi himself.
Leia was serviceable, but THAT scene was a little much. Poe had a nice arc as well. The opening scene and the last hour or so were great.
My biggest issue with this movie is the middle parts of it - which is what really bogs it down; or basically all of Finn. He always felt like the forced character of the new "trio" during Ep 7. His role in the movie feels even more forced, as it screams "Hey, we need to give him something to do, too!". Basically, we could have done without Rose. The worst part of it all is ultimately - this quest, which does take quite a bit of time, leads to nowhere except an excuse to be on the ship for a showdown with Phasma; who is useless again.
Although Luke's story was good - I selfishly did want to see what he could do with a lightsaber one more time as a Master.... but I get why we didn't. It probably serves the story better overall, but :cry:
Now, the trilogy is not done so this kinda gets a pass but some more problems come from unanswered questions that could end up being ignored by trilogy's end.
Snoke. Really? We start getting a glimpse of what he can do and he's out. I feel the villains of this new trilogy have been pretty weak, save for Kylo - who even at times isn't an outright baddie until the very end. Anywho.. we still don't know who Snoke is, why he became Supreme guy, or much else except he's pretty good at the Force and lured Kylo.
Rey's lineage/importance. There was some setup in Ep 7 where some of the characters made a mention that Rey may be more important than she realizes besides being strong in the Force. In Ep 8, turns out she's just good at the Force and her parents sold her off because they were scumbags. Could be a swerve until the next one?
Finn. Again. For someone who was conditioned/brain washed to be a Storm Trooper, it would've been nice to explore what made the lightbulb switch for him specifically except a "just cuz it's wrong". It seemed like they started to go down that path a bit with DJ on the "who really is good?" scenes, but ends up no where.