Begrudgingly Enjoyed It

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2019)

Honestly, my mind was made up before I got to the theater. I knew walking in that I was going to hate this travesty of film.
But then... I didn't!
Episode VIII (aka Rian Johnson's big middle finger to Star Wars) did everything possible to sabotage this installment of the Saga, but somehow it managed to keep it's head above the water.
There was some unnecessary cheese, but nothing too atypical of even the original trilogy. It's not nearly as overly PC or feminist as I hear some haters screaming, and I'm often right there screaming with them (a la Doctor Who, Supergirl, Captain Marvel). But here - I think it's unjustified.
The movie starts with some much needed damage control from episode XIII. Some of the premises of this universe (Jedi powers for example) are getting a bit too exaggerated, but maybe not nearly as bad as Leia surviving exposure in the last movie. Characters seemed a bit thinner in substance this round probably because there was just so much going on. But plenty of action that actually flowed nicely and contributed to the story.
Final verdict: it worked!