Generally disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (26 December 2019)

Let's be honest: star wars films aren't really about surprising, original plots or profound drama. There's a lot of action, some quasi soul-searching to use the force for good by the protagonist, and against the odds, good prevails against evil.
But even grading this star wars films on it's own curve, you cannot help but feel that the filmmakers could've done a way better job to make a film that fits in the star wars formula.
One of the main issues is character archs and their motivations. Apart from Rey and the resistance, characters seem to act completely at random, basically serving the plot as they go along, even if it means changing opinions radically within minutes, without any underlying motivation to do so. It makes the whole film feel like a story that was made up by a 6-year old as he/she was going along telling it.
Second, the film is an amalgamation of terrible cliches. Given the genre, I could tolerate a few, but the script is so uninspired that it seems every single opportunity is compulsively seized to give over the top motivational speeches or one-liners.
Third, the lack of any drama is basically laughable. The plot allows for lives to be lost at several points in the movie, but somehow everyone miraculously survives. As such, the victory in the end is void of any dramatic weight, there is very little opportunity for even the slightest character development or genuine tragedy to balance the inevitable ex machina win at the end. As such, almost seems like game of thrones' battle of winterfell all over again: weird choices, good prevails, and no one important died to get there.
Compare this to the other big fantasy movie franchise of the past decades: Harry Potter. Some people may not like it, but the plot devices were carefully constructed, characters stayed true to their defining features and motivations, and the victory in the end was complicated, with many characters losing their lives in the battle, and Harry even having to sacrifice himself first before beating Voldemort in a logical way (using his 'trademark' expelliarmus spell).
Comparing this star wars trilogy, particularly this conclusion, to Harry Potter, it seems more like a parody of itself instead of a well thought out, logical and meaningful conclusion.