I didn't mean that the boat was gonna sink, I meant that I figured out Jack and Rose's stories (as it were) from the trailers... That's a criticism of the trailers. I stopped watching them after a while but it was too late. It's also hard to miss them if you watch any TV. I could get specific about plot points, but people usually complain when you do that, even if the thread is marked spoilers.

They didn't cast nobodies this time. Felicity Jones IIRC was nominated or won for her portrayal of S. Hawking's wife in the biopic movie (which I saw and she was good), Mads Mikkelson is well known, Alan Tudyk, Forrest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed just did a fantastic turn on The Night Of. They even brought back JEJ. This is Disney running the show. They changed the casting formula. If the movie had bombed (and it wont) they may have motivated to chase some A list actors, though that's usually problematic in SW stories because the protagonists are usually very young and there are few A listers that are.

Chirrit had some innate abilities, but he did not espouse the jedi spirituality other than his mantra, which TBH, I found annoying. I was expecting him to die a noble death "because the force wills it", and for the others to follow suit under his guidance, and have that statement explained by the circumstances (SW has failed several times with the "bring balance to the force" theory - this would have been another opportunity to get it right).

I think it pales beside Empire for characterization alone. Even Lando was iconic and he was a supporting character. No one in this movie can touch him. Hell Empire gave us Boba Fett who barely had any lines and still generated decades of fascination from the fanbase.