Neither bad nor good

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2020)

I was hesitant before the release of the film due to the leaks. Even read some reviews by the people who got to see the movie earlier and they were unhappy to say the least. At first I said to myself that I won't go and see it but ultimately decided to watch it because until I see it with my own eyes I can't be sure what it is, now can I? Turns out if you have low expectations for the conclusion of the saga i.e. Episode IX, you will leave the theater with an okay feeling.
While it is slightly better than TLJ, it still wasn't up to standards. The actors are not at fault, they did their best. The problem stems from the lack of interest to tell a good SW story that will introduce us to new and exciting characters as well as honoring the old ones that we all love and adore, and finish off with a fitting end to the saga. Instead, we got this mess. TFA was good in my opinion (with some hiccups of course) and they could have made a decent continuation from there on but alas we got a second movie that left fans wondering what the hell happened there. Like I mentioned, this third and final one did a better job than the last one but still has a lot of problematic stuff going around.
I agree that it undermines Anakin. I mean cmon, the whole point of the series was him being the chosen one who would bring balance to the force. He did that in ROTJ, there was no need to bring Palpatine back! Or at least have Anakin play a vital part in helping Rey defeat the Emperor like it was originally planed until they decided to cut him off from the movie and reduce him as only a voice. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was the most interesting character in the trilogy but I wish he was handled differently. Like for example he could have been a fully committed dark side user, a more fearsome persona than his grandfather Vader and maybe even more brutal in some ways. Rey and co would have had a far greater test and probably a better story arc. I wonder what could've been if they didn't give George Lucas the middle finger and used his ideas.
I did not like the ending, I did not like the movie (the only reason I give it a 6 is because of the actors who, like I mentioned, did their best to deliver in a trilogy filled with bad writing). I don't have problem with people liking the movie, my little brother actually enjoyed it, but I do have a problem with these Reylo fans, not all of them are bad, yes, but most of them are psychotic!