I like it overall...
Of course totally cool to see old school hardware on screen again. Infusing of new designs was not over the top or distracting. Weird not having the opening scroll and fanfare. Sort of just "fell in" to the story, and took a while to begin to feel like a Star Wars story. But I liked the overall story structure of how the Mads character basically grew a heart and engineered the Achilles's Heel. (along with the additional detail as to how it would work to destroy the station). Lends more credence to Luke's ability to blow it up.
Mentioned above, I like the last 5-10 minutes and how well it connected with ANH.
Watched it at
Cinepolis here in Orange County. Poor experience...
Multiple white starbursts all over the screen for the duration of the film due to a defect in the digital playback. Theater refunded only 50% of the ticket price since we watched the full film. I spent 15 minutes out of the auditorium negotiating with the managers over this. Ordered a second round of drinks and desert; server totally forgot. The moment he came with the bill (and apologized for forgetting), he was blocking my view of the Death Star firing on Scarif.