Same experience for me on my 2nd viewing. I went in having accepted that the story wasn't what I'd hoped for, and just re-watched it for the spectacle with my feelings of disappointment pushed aside. It did improve the viewing experience dramatically.
I usually avoid spoilers like the plague, but this is one film for which I think knowing about them beforehand would have been a good thing. The poor story choices ruined my first viewing, as they were so glaring that I noticed none of the spectacle, and I just found my mind constantly trying to wrap itself around one WTF moment after another story-wise. Not glaring as in "that was unexpected and a bold narrative choice"...more "Wha...that's just stupid/unnecessary/against character/lazy writing, etc..."
For me, at least, I found the opposite to be true.
I went in knowing literally NOTHING about the film except what had been barely revealed by the TLJ DLC for Battlefront 2 (which, really, was just a Crait map and a D'Qar space map). I had Rey's new outfit as a skin, and...that was it.
I didn't know anything about casting, so I didn't know Laura Dern was in it. I knew nothing of the new characters. I didn't know Benicio del Toro was in it. Hell, when I saw Justin Theroux in the film, I thought we'd actually be seeing more of him until -- whoops! -- not so much.
I knew nothing about the plot other than "Rey trains with Luke." I saw a couple of stills, including Rey holding a sabre, Luke looking grumpy, and Carrie Fisher in a high-collared dress. I knew they filmed all of her scenes before she died, too.
That was it. That's all I knew. And with that level of knowledge, I still loved the film. Mostly, though, that's because I didn't go in with a ton of expectations. For me, the spoiler stuff and pre-release hype train is what gets my creative juices flowing, and I start imagining this or that scenario or explanation for a plot point or whathaveyou. It's at that point that my expectations set in.
Instead, I keep myself in a total media blackout. I don't read articles about the film, I don't watch trailers, I didn't even think to check on casting this time. I just walked into the theater, sat down, and watched the movie. Still loved it.
I get why people don't. I've heard it described as an "Anti-Star Wars" Star Wars movie, in the sense that it upends a lot of traditions and "kills the past" in many respects. But I didn't mind that, because to me, it still retained the soul of the series.
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Don't forget about Swedish Meatballs. It's a strange thing but every sentient race has a version of these Swedish Meatballs. I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries that will never be explained, which will drive you mad if you ever learn the truth.
