Small disappointment with some answers/solutions, but entertainment value is great!

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2019)

I was born in 1971. I was 7 or 8 when I saw A New Hope in theaters, me and my older brother saw the original trilogy (ep. 4-6) with our dad. It was something that "formed" us... we grew up with this. Then 16 years later, as a young man, I saw the second trilogy (ep. 1-3) with my friends and I was much more developed as a film fan than as a young boy. I had strong opinions about it and generally I felt let down, even though I enjoyed it very much. Hayden appearing in the end of Return of the Jedi though in the new edition of the old trilogy was not a great choice. Cut to the new trilogy (ep. 7-9) ... I really enjoyed The Force Awakens. It felt strongly as a remake of A New Hope but I love J.J. Abrams works and he didn't disappoint. The Last Jedi was a let down and now ... at the conclusion of the Skywalker saga ... I feel ... strange.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Rise of Skywalker feels rushed and too packed, I believe this could have been avoided. Rey's parents ... that's an issue I was always annoyed with... I wanted to know who the parents were, I just wasn't happy with the solution that she was Palpatine's granddaughter. If I only look at the films' chronology I understand Palpatine is around 88-90 yrs old when his apprentice Darth Vader kills him. 30 yrs later we meet Rey who is 19 yrs old... so, let's say that Rey's father was around 20-30 yrs old when they had Rey... that means Palpatine is 70-80 yrs old when he has a son (did he have more children?) and that son is conceived between epidode III and IV. So, while Palpatine is mastering Darth Vader during that time ... he decides to have babies and ... that never comes up during ep. 4-6, then he "dies" and through ep. 7-8 he is a puppet master that comes up with this scheme...? Sorry .. I just don't buy this explanation of Rey's relation to him. I would have preferred a more direct Skywalker connection or Kenobi's even...
It was wonderful to see these old characters appearing again and I think J.J. Abrams and co. did Carrie Fisher really good - she had a respectful end in this saga. A minor thing bugging me is that lightsaber that she apparently gave to Luke at an early age (training with him...? why didn't we know her skills before, we knew about her relation to the force... but anyhoo...). Luke knew somebody (Rey?) would eventually turn up and get it? And also ... I thought her reaching to Ben through the Force and basically sacrificing herself and saving Rey... was both beautiful yet a bit annoying. How come she didn't reach him before with this?
As a stand alone film, the action delivers and everything is tip-top ... sets, visual effects, costumes, makeup etc. - The acting is good and Daisy is the best I think. John Williams is almost flawless but of course a lot of the music is recognizable themes from previous 8 episodes.
That end scene was also really bugging me... by adding only 1-2 minutes more I think they could have and should have brought more feeling and explanation into it... why did she announce her full name like that? Just because she saw Leia and Luke? And wouldn't it have been a really beautiful clichÃ© to see Han and Ben Solos there as well (even though I don't know how to explain why Han would appear... I just think since they made Kylo's redemption into Ben again at a pivotal moment... sacrificing his life to save Rey... just as with Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi ... I think Ben Solo should have appeared :-)
But I will without a doubt see the film again and maybe change the grade. But the film was really good and the action fantastic. It was overcrowded at times - we didn't need to have so many ships to appear at the end battle etc. - and too many explanations ... but overall... I was satisfied - with a strong "hint" of disappointment with certain things. To put the 9 episodes in preferred order (from best to worst:
A New Hope
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Force Awakens
Rise of Skywalker
Revenge of the Sith
Last Jedi
Attack of the Clones
Phantom Menace
George Lucas: thank you for creating this world and entertaining me for 42 years. I am also a strong fan of Willow :-) --- But J.J. Abrams is great director, did good in general, despite some flaws and not satisfactory ending. 7/10 I think will do for now...