re: The Last Jedi is down to 48% Audience score on Rottentomatoes.com

I foolishly had high expectation from this film. Dark side Rey was never a possibility as Disney/LF would not tarnish their heroic female; the fact she had no real trials is laughable. Kylo had some minor growth but that was shite on shortly after by how foolish Luke made him look.

50%

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That would have built all of the new characters (other than Finn who is being ignored)

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Hell, the table was set for Finn to be more in this film.

He called himself a janitor...

But he was involved in the raid on the village in the beginning of TFA, a small, select group that was chasing down leads on Luke Skywalker...
But he knows the vital and strategic locations in both Starkiller Base and Snoke's flagship...
But Phasma knows who he is, more than just a random trooper...
But he was able to devise and implement the escape of a bigtime prisoner (Poe)...
But he was able to pick up a lightsaber and last a couple minutes vs Kylo Ren, even scoring a glancing hit...

Does that sound like a random grunt to anyone?

They should have tweaked his storyline just a bit; he could have been a key Spec Op guy. A "janitor" who cleans up the First Order's messes. Privy to classified intel, thus knows where to hit.
frick it, you could even have him say he learned to handle the lightsaber when he was in the Praetorian Guard, where he also learned a lot of the bigger picture and the key secrets. He was alongside Phasma on Ren's mission in TFA, unknown to Ren (who notices something about Finn, but can't quite nail it down). Possibly as an assassin ordered to kill Ren if he reverts to the Light (Ren is very conflicted about that, Snoke would be aware, and he sends Finn, one of his elite guard, along, "just in case").

He defects because he can't stomach it anymore, and just wants to get out (which was actually his plan). He feels torn because he brought Rey into this, and that's the reason he sticks around against his better judgement. He lies to the Resistance about his past to avoid being executed on the spot for being First Order Gestapo.

Let HIM be the one who understands how the First Order can track them through lightspeed (in fact, he kind of does), and have him be the reason they go looking for Del Toro's character (an old asset of his, risky and dangerous, but they have no better option than to go there now). Eliminate Rose entirely, or drag her along because he'd have to kill her to leave otherwise.
You could have had Finn process the situation they were in, reluctantly tell Poe his "real" identity, and the two decide this is the best/only way to get the Resistance out of this jam. This info is what helps push Poe to the mutiny, as he understands both that Finn can help, and that he can't come tell Leia and Holdo that there's a First Order intel operative in their midst; not until he actually helps bail them out.

That would have made Finn far more developed and interesting moving forward, would have made the Casino planet sequence more relevant (you could have Del Toro give Finn the chance to skip out with him, and get clear of the whole mess), and you then bring the drama forward to the next film between he and Poe.
Poe: So you came back. Wasn't sure you would, especially after we all got killed.
Finn (nods): yeah, I did, I figured if I was going to be shot as a spy, I would do it on the good side. Speaking of which, is that the plan now? (glances over to Leia across the room, talking to others)
Poe (pauses): I didn't tell her. It's not important now, anyway; or is it? You with us or not?
Finn looks at the room silently for a time, then says: Yes. I'm with you.

I want to believe Finn has done some terrible shite but cracked mentally on Jakku. He is trying to hide his past with the "janitor" story.

Of course that is wishful thinking and he will always just be a janitor.

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I absolutely loved the movie. So many badass scenes

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Which scene did it for you? The Sea Cow milking or Leia Poppins? Or how about Poe Damerons “Yo momma” jokes? So many greats it’s hard to pick just one.

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After perusing just a couple pages of this thread, I now have a definitive answer for the hate.

That answer?


Nerds.

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Right. It had nothing to do with the horrible side plots and lack of continuity, or the minuscule character development outside of maybe Kylo, or how the movie does nothing to further the saga. They were running from the first order in the beginning and it ended with them running. None of what happened sans Kylo killing Snoke mattered. No, it had nothing to do with that. We are the problem.


Go play in traffic polesmoker.

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Nothing about any of his interactions with Phasma in either movie indicates he was ever anything other than a janitor who may or may not have just made it to his first actual deployment on Jakku, where he cracked.

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His back story is that he actually is kind of a bad arse recruit. He is top of his class in almost everything if I recall, including combat. It was in a novel released around the time of TFA. The guy who calls him a traitor in TFA was actually part of his old squad.

He wasn't just a Janitor as the movie made it seem.
But it is pretty fricking stupid that they did not explain that.

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His back story is that he actually is kind of a bad arse recruit. He is top of his class in almost everything if I recall, including combat. It was in a novel released around the time of TFA. The guy who calls him a traitor in TFA was actually part of his old squad.

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Interesting. I'll have to try and find that. I haven't read all of the new canon yet.

Before the Awakening

This was the book. I may remember it wrong though.

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Yes sir. That why I said it is fricking stupid.

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Oh yeah. I was agreeing with you. I think I'd actually be ok if they fleshed out Snoke in this way. Only because what's done is done though.