If you can suspend reality early on, I think you'll enjoy this

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2019)

The sequel trilogy started off strong, but The Last Jedi sort of tripped things up. It would have been a cool standalone movie, but the only thing it accomplished was to make it nearly impossible for ANYONE to finish the story properly. That, and the loss of Carrie must have set up a nearly insurmountable job for this movie to achieve.
That being said, what JJ was able to do here was to make a movie that would appeal to our inner child. Yes, the plot requires you suspend reality a lot, as did the plot of The Last Jedi. What The Rise of Skywalker does differently is to make every other aspect of the film a feast. Visually it was stunning, the score is obviously everything you expect from John Williams, the effects were that perfected blend of special effects and practical effects, the acting was great, especially any scene with Daisy and Adam, and it was just enjoyable. I found myself smiling for most of the movie. If you just LET yourself get immersed, you will experience every emotion, and if you're like me, you'll find yourself smiling for most of this film. The times you're not smiling, you'll be crying, so bring some tissues.

I wish Episode VIII had actually set up for this story line, because my biggest issue with the sequels is just the lack of consistency in the storyline, and this film really just needed a better setup to get a perfect payoff.
The plot is a bit ambitious for viewers not familiar with Legends material, and it definitely needed to be an hour longer, but this movie has heart. I feel like a lot of love did go into this film, and a lot of where it feels a bit "meh" is just because it didn't have a good setup in the previous film, but I put that on Rian more than anything.