Streaks of real StarWars magic here and there

Rating: 5/10 (23 December 2019)

As a life long fan, I was left cold by the Force Awakens. The movie felt almost like an insult to the intelligences of anyone who grew up with and loved the original trilogy: a half-baked copy of a New Hope with a severely under-developed and incoherent plot and a protagonist who seemed like there wasn't much more for her to learn.
Then the Last Jedi came out, and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't love every creative choice made, but I loved that Rian Johnson and co. were brave enough to not care about what I or anyone like me thought. Unlike any Star Wars movie before, last Jedi encouraged its audience to really think about what they saw, and provided more nuanced character plot lines, giving its talented cast far more room to show what they could do.
Alas, between the massive basement-dwelling neard lashback and clear lack of planning or time to redirect, the Rise of Skywalker tries to do far too much with far too little run-time. The entire first act of the film has one of the worst pacings of any big budget picture of recent memory. The characters practically yell dialogue behind themselves as they sprint furiously past one another to the next set piece. There are maybe four references in total to anything that occurred in the Last Jedi, and some of them are non-verbal. Long-lasting series conventions are torn to shreds without any explanation, making it obvious to any non-child in the audience that rules are being broken for either coolness or convenience. This has been a major problem for the sequel trilogy in general- rather than creating stories that meld with the lush universe left behind by Lucas and hundreds of EU contributors, the Disney crew have opted to violently rend the Star Wars world whenever it serves the plots they have concocted.
By the second third, things calm down just a bit. Abrams deftly introduces an extremely lovable New Droid, and genuine, crowd-pleasing humor shines through. C-3PO gets his best turn of the sequel trilogy, a truly worthy and emotional, likely final performance for Anthony Daniels that any true fan will be unable to resist, other misgivings aside.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this final chapter is the (in my view) grotesque treatment of General Leia. Carrie Fisher's death broke our hearts, and created huge obstacles for this movie. It does not hurdle those obstacles. Abrams and Co. opted to force the plot around what remaining unused footage they had, and the result is some of the most awkward and incoherent sequences of dialogue ever put in a movie of this budget. I am unsure of what a better alternative would have been, but I am convinced one must have existed. It is ultimately an extremely disappointing send-off, one that constantly reminds the audience of Carrie Fisher's tragic death, rather than honoring her and the iconic character she gave life to.
The final act includes an incredibly bland and mostly silly CGI space battle. The final lightsaber fight between Kylo Ren and Rey on Death Star II wreckage is a highlight. It is choreographed with brutality and high-emotion, and is a worthy edition to StarWar's most memorable battles. The central conflict of this episode pretty much ignores or negates literally every Star Wars film that came before it, especially the Last Jedi. Palpatine, rather than being a welcome return, is made rather generic. Whereas prequel palpatine seemed cunning and diabolical, Rise of Skywalker palpatine seems to be mostly an obligatory shell of a villain.
The final 10-15 minutes of run time will be the most controversial, but especially the last 5. I found myself both happy and satisfied at some of the resolutions, and simultaneously disappointed and disgusted. By attempting to please everyone, I believe the rise of Skywalker will please very few people in reality. I do not regret the ticket price, but I just say that this is a disappointing and controversial end for a franchise that was such a huge part of my life. I'm frankly relieved it is over, but thankful for the flashes of old Star Wars magic that work in this film.