I walked out of the movie last night confused. On the one hand, it was arguably better than the now slightly forgettable movie from last year...but on the other hand, I didn't feel quite as excited after seeing it. Last year's movie was a bit copied from Episode IV, yet I walked out hoping to instantly be able to see the next one. This film, while far better in its second and third act than anything Force Awakens put together, wrapped itself up so tightly that there was nowhere to go once the film had ended. If that sounds cryptic, you're probably just as much as Star Wars fan as you think.
My other complaint with the movie, and perhaps it's through no fault of the film's own, but I knew almost exactly what was going to happen just from seeing the trailer and knowing Star Wars. Everyone already knew the ending going into the movie, and everyone could piece together the beginning. The only question was...how many cameos were going to made. Thankfully, the film did not disappoint in that aspect.
As I watched the final act of the movie last night, I got excited for Star Wars again. My only regret is that there's no more room for this film to go, and there's no guarantee that Episode VIII will go in the right direction. I'm starting to wish now the "Han Solo" story for 2018 would be wiped for more rebel adventures. There's much more potential here than may ever be realized.