Interesting, I thought that I was the only one with that view. I saw it yesterday for the third time, and strangely enough, although I had seen it before and knew what was going to happen, I actually found myself transfixed. It's been awhile since I could say that about any film.
I don’t like Ren as a villain. He seems to be acting out more due to resentment than anything else.
That being said, I just recently watched a documentary on a killer in Canada by the name of Dellen Millard. A real monster and a psychopath. He seemed to fancy himself as some kind of criminal mastermind and that’s much of the impetus for his activities. The kind of guy who thinks that heroes/good guys are weak people. I think that Ren is a bit like that guy, he’s pushing away from his parents (whether out of resentment or the fact that he doesn’t think he can live up to their reputation) and has turned to the First Order. Pretty much the same reason that guys join Isis and other terrorist groups or facisist groups. To feel powerful and strong. Snoke just fed on Ren’s need to feel powerful.
I don’t see why people are carping on needing a reason to know Snoke’s background. A cursory look at history and the news should tell you how such a man came to power. Just look at Vladimir Putin. He probably joined the organization and slowly began to work his way up by any means necessary. And it pretty much turns out I was right.