Fast, frenetic pacing does not cover up all those plot holes.

Rating: 2/10 (20 December 2019)

1 out of 5 stars.
Thumbs down.
Stream it.
Letter grade D.
It is a hot mess. It maybe the worst sequel I've seen since Kick Ass 2.
So many plot holes. And the more you think about the movie, the more plot holes you realize. Some big enough to fly a Star Destroyer through.
There was a good idea there. JJ Abrams made a fantastic thrill ride. The movie picks you up out of your seat the moment it starts and is relentless in its pacing. It's fast, frenetic, and epic in tone. Maybe they thought those elements would distract from the overall mess. They don't. After you catch your breath, you think about all the stops along the way and question what you've been through like a bad road trip.
If they could have figured out that's how they were going to end the trilogy (other than making it up as they went along) then they might have been able to make better movies before then that fit into how it ended up. When you see this, there was no need for the Starkiller Base in TFA. And the whole plot of The Last Jedi was just as pointless as the slow moving chase.
I hate to say it, but The Rise of Skywalker just doesn't work. And the more I think about how things went down in act three, the more confused and upset I am. A horrible end to a bad trilogy.
Episode 7 of the Mandalorian had far more of an emotional impact on me than this movie. There was a character arc in there that meant more to me than any of the new characters in the newquels.