I agree with your perspective, Amber. There were some amazing fight scenes and emotional moments in this film but the story seemed confusing to me and going in three or four different directions. If I judge it harshly too, it is from the expectations of a franchise that has been around for this long and turned out countless stories expanding this mysterious universe.

One of the challenges was showing the characters from the original series while promoting the new ones. And not just the humans but the droids and animals–too many characters attempting to get screentime. If they had left Luke and Leia alone and focused the saga directly on Rey and her friends as “the new generation” I think it could have been smoother while respecting the the original characters. And Luke’s reasons for retracting away as a skeptic and unhappy person are understandable considering his relationship with Ben Solo but he seemed to lack the fire and will to act until the last minute.

I would’ve liked to see him show Rey the different forms of lightsaber training: take 5 minutes out of the side stories and into another one to show that it’s more than waving around a stick of light. There are seven forms of lightsaber training, some defensive and others aggressive, and the crystal charging the lightsaber is affected by the person wielding it. That’s all in the new canon now and it could have helped Rey progress on her journey. Perhaps that’ll be her next challenge with what to do with the lightsaber in the final act of this new trilogy.