Thank-you for your reply, I think overall the biggest difference is the nostalgia worked for you, and not for me; and I assume that comes down to our level of fandom. You see Rey as a surrogate fan, and it would have never occurred to me to think of her as that; because I don't think beyond the film with this franchise. As I said, I do have a soft spot for Star Wars, but I'd never call myself a "fan" (I'm much more a Trekkie than a Jedi)
It doesn't matter about the force, Han Solo was tough, but against Darth Vadar he wouldn't have stood a chance. Neither would Leia (and she had the force). The force doesn't make you a great sword fighter, and her staff is still a very different weapon to a lightsaber. Hell even a great swordfighter with a rapier, hand him or her a two handed broadsword and they wouldn't be able to stand long against someone TRAINED to use a two-handed sword. It just... no. It was absurd, and robbed Kylo of any danger now. He's now (to me) a pathetic villain, because a novice can beat him.
True, he is a Stormtrooper at the end of the day. But it's the contrast of feats. Rey gets to go above and beyond anything that reasonably should be within her capability, but Finn doesn't? It just seems very disjointed and unfair.
To be clear, I don't necessarily think Poe's deep as written, more I think Isaac bring a lot to the character, and creates the illusion of layered subtext. And yes, hs chemistry with Finn was great. I finally understand all the shipping they got as a couple. But it'll never happen. Disney. Star Wars. JJ Abrams. These are not three things that push the boundaries of LGBT+ representation.
Again, due to the complete absence of LGBT+ characters, I'll have to wait till one of my friends owns it to watch it.