Not Perfect, But A Surprise that Solved (some of) The Last Jedi's Problems

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2019)

Walking into the theater to watch this film felt more like a chore than anything. The first 2 films in the new trilogy were incredible disappointments for me, especially The Last Jedi, so sitting down in my seat hurt inside. After all these years, I was positive that this film would only poor salt into the wound and would deal the final blow that would kill Star Wars as a franchise.
I can't believe I'm saying this... but I was wrong. This movie brought the franchise back. It actually felt like I was watching a Star Wars film.
They finally brought back what Star Wars was originally about: the importance of teamwork and family, good's rise over evil, and how your bloodline doesn't dictate your destiny. This film was filled to the brim in order to wrap up the story, and by the end it felt complete. It felt good. I was bawling, not out of anger, but out of satisfaction. They finally did it right and made it come full circle.
Of course this film didn't come without flaws. From the beginning of the new trilogy, there were problems sewn into the story. They downgraded the power of the lightsaber, made Rey a sort of a Mary Sue, changed the power of the Force, and ruined Luke as a character. The new trilogy's problems had to inevitably bleed into this movie too. The pacing is atrocious and super fast paced. The editing was quick and needed constant attention from the audience in order to follow the story. In the end, I think this is forgivable. The Last Jedi was- in my opinion- terrible, with almost no use to the trilogy. The time it wasted had to be made up for, so TROS had to be stuffed to finish the story.
I also think that this film solved some of the problems in the Last Jedi. Questions were answered, and some things were redeemed and fixed. It is such a relief. JJ built the foundation with TFA, Rian knocked it down with TLJ, and JJ picked up the pieces and filled in the blanks with TROS.
There were some odd moments and some weird dialogue. But we shouldn't act like the people whi make Star Wars films must be gods. Even the original trilogy had script issues.
So... to those who are overwhelmed with the negativity surrounding this film: don't listen to it. Go in blind, without expectations. Have an open mind and interpret it how you want to.
It might seem impossible, but you just might like this one. It happened to me, and I'm happy. Trust me, as someone that avoids The Last Jedi like the plague I am surprised I liked The Rise of Skywalker. I hope that despite the hate, you like it too.