Enjoyable film but not perfect.

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2019)

Gonna start this by saying that I absolutely love Star Wars and have been a fan my whole life. Rise of Skywalker is in my opinion the best of the new trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed Force Awakens but Last Jedi is my least favorite of all the films. Given this I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the theater.
Rise of Skywalker finds a way to unite past with present while still having that Star Wars feel.
The film is not without its problems however. Maybe it's because I am a lover of the prequel fights but I felt that the lightsaber fights in this one felt way to artificial. (Yes I know how that sounds. The prequel fights were heavily choreographed to focus on spectacle.) My issue with the new fights was not in the technique but in the speed. There are times were it almost seems like they are moving in slow motion leaving themselves open.
I am very happy with how they handled Palpatine, though the Rey reveal was a little flat. I am glad that they did not nerf Palpatine and it took all the past generations of jedi to defeat him.
Overall, I felt the film was good and I look forward to seeing it again.