I don't really NEED more detailed information regarding why..., it's just that Finn so far seemed almost useless.
Rey could very well get off that stupid planet by herself with BB8 and meet Han Solo and blah blah blah...
In this latest episode, whether if Finn sacrificed himself or not, it almost doesn't matter either.
Maybe that's Finn... he's just the catalyst that gets the reactions going, but not really the main star? Without such catalyst, the main character would just remain dormant?
He's a main and quite a likable character, but so far his existence seemed pretty unimportant... other than everybody suppose to just love him? Maybe even Poe?!?!? There must've been gazillion stormtroopers. It'd be nice to know what makes Finn so different and special.
It's just not compelling storytelling thus far or perhaps I missed something... Hope the final episode won't let Finn down.
Anyway, I can sort of understand why TLJ failed miserably in China. They never had the original trilogy... TLJ is just not a very 'compelling' stand alone movie. Very easy to leave the theater thinking what did I just watch?
Also as a non-stand-alone, it also adds little to the entire franchise. Never mind previous episode's build up of Finn and Rey or even Snoke end up falling flat in this movie... major disappointment would the Luke's involvement in all this. He could save a father he doesn't really know, but can't save a nephew that he actually raised? Even if Kylo Ren is just beyond saving, why can't Luke just have a real battle like OB1 did with Vader? What is the purpose of a holographic battle?
It's a long ass movie and they showed a lot of needless stuffs that led to no where. That's the main problem I have with it.
Otherwise, yeah, it's beautifully shot.