Solid 5.. I suppose I enjoyed it, but it left me feeling empty.

Rating: 5/10 (29 December 2019)

Dramatic headline I know, but it is the best way I can sum it up! I'll keep it somewhat simplified..
You can tell Disney is tweaking the blueprint for these movies (and this genre) moving forward - one thing I noticed in particular that stood out was instead of speeders just blowing up (for the most part) and the assumption that the pilot is dead, Disney made it VERY clear that the pilot bails just before impact thereby potentially surviving.. strange thing to focus on. I can't help but think of the resources that were diverted from the source material to make this a 'thing'.
For the main review of the movie itself honestly overall it was a decent film. The special effects are obviously amazing, albeit there is a bit of special affect fatigue that I found growing over the course of the ~2.5 hours. The story is very clearly meant to wrap things up in a neat bow and provide a bit of closure for the fans.. this of course was never going to end up being perfect.
As absolutely ridiculous as it is to even say this probably the biggest issue I had was plausability.. (spoilers ahead). I know, I know - plausability in a star wars film. So the 'big reveal' is that Emporer Palpatine has been in hiding all these years building a gigantic 'secret fleet' of Star Destroyers that he calls the 'Final Order'. Each of these star destroyers is equipped with retrofit death star technology so each ship can destroy a planet. This to me is a constant game of 'one-up' the previous threat. At this point it is just a tired mechanism.. a fleet of thousands of super death star destroyers rising out of the ice just seemed like it came from the mind of a 10 year old. "Not just ONE evil space ship, but a bajillion!!" Here is the plausability issue.. lets say 5,000 ships, each with 5,000 trooops/technicians/officers/etc. - that is 25 million people apparently just hanging out under the ice essentially until they get 'activated'? What did they do with their time? How were they fed? How did so many people get to this seemingly impossible to find planet? Brings me to another point.. apparently only 3 Sith Wayfinders exist (lol @ "Wayfinder" and "Light Speed Skipping") so did ALL of those people use one? Just seems to contradict its own storyline..
Now lets talk resources. I get Palpatine is the super uber bad due to the force - how does he organize all these resources and credits that would be required to create this SUPER fleet? Just think of the sheer volume of raw materials.. does the planet have massive shipping ports? Industrial construction facilities? Unlikely.. how is he paying for all of this?
I think my main issue with Palpatine is he was just recycled on his own. The other sith and guards were all nameless/faceless so it gives the impression that Palpatine is a one-man show, which is frankly just ridiculous. In the original trilogy you got the feeling that a huge network of people were working towards a goal with boards, committees, generals, sith lords, etc. and Palpatine was the essential CEO - this is plausable! A decrepit corpse strong in the force living off a robotic arm under the ice managing to coordinate probably the single largest logistical gathering and organization of resources in the known universe is just... annoying and lazy writing.
The last thing I'll touch on is the odd use of force powers. We have been taught for literally decades what it is and how it works, and how some can use it better than others. In these latest movies it seems to be all about convenience or inconvenience.. one scene you'll have Kylo and Rey stopping light sabers with their hands and doing crazy sky jumps, the next they are struggling with regular 'troopers' or unable to do very standard manuevers. Its almost like they forgot they could just use the force instead.. I can understand restraint, but Kylo doesn't have that, and in one scene he throws a general-guy up against the ceiling with an instant choke. So he HAS the power... yet he struggles with normal folks.. could he not just flick his fingers for the majority of them??
The rest of the review I'll just list out in bullet points.
Pros:

Great lightsaber battles
Lots of good dogfighting and general space shenanigans
Mix of practical and CGI was pretty seamless
Sound mixing excellent
Lando was GREAT
Kylo clearly had Rey beat until his mom distracted him causing him to get stabbed.. cheap move
Nice to see some different uses of force powers

Cons:

Lazy writing and wrap-up
Palpatine seemed more of a one-note villain here, why was his mission to have Rey just kill him... then what? Yes yes I know the rule of two, but it just seemed forced and with no real purpose.
Felt like it was more of a story about the 'Legend of Palpatine' whereas the original trilogy appeared to be the 'Legend of Skywalker'
Lightsabers seemed to be tossed and traded around like trinkets, takes out the reverence for the items
Not a single resistance person got even remotely scratched from what I can recall. I find this takes away the feeling of any danger.
Rose... just felt FORCED in
Why is Ben Solo wearing an outfit from the galactic Value Village at the end? Such a lame 'final' outfit for his redemption
'Force healing' seemed way too simple and convenient
See ya Hux? Again, felt just forced and shoehorned in
Too many McGuffins and red herrings 'get the thing, go to place!'
Whole C3PO memory wipe was a complete waste of time and pointless? R2 just booped him back up to speed...
Han Solo cameo, again FORCED, but more effective

All I can think of for now!