The Circle of Mediocrity is Now Complete

Rating: 5/10 (21 December 2019)

Oh Disney, what have you done to Star Wars? It's crazy to think how I went from being incredibly excited to watch episode seven to completely indifferent going into episode nine. I've always thought that it would be nigh impossible to botch up Star Wars, but congrats Jar Jar Abrams and company, you did it with this movie!
Of course, I didn't think it was bad per say. Just painfully mediocre. The visual effects and soundtrack are top notch, and original characters like C-3PO actually had some really solid moments. I also like how an attempt seemed to have been made to actually care about Star Wars lore by including Sith holocrons and the like. And yes, adding Palpatine was a terrible decision, but I did enjoy seeing him again, even if his actions were...questionable.
Unfortunately, there was just too much that held this film back. It felt rushed, especially at the beginning, and the movie thought it would be a good idea to randomly include two new girls who contributed next to nothing. I mean, were we supposed to care about them or something? Speaking of not caring, I never really felt a connection with the main cast. They just remain stagnant and never develop. Watching characters grow throughout a movie can be what really draws audiences in, but this saga utterly fails in that regard. Rey is the best example of this, and her omnipotent Mary Sue powers really reduce the stakes and tension in the movie since you know she will kick everyone's butt. And I'm sure Kylo's behind has been sore for the past two movies now.
Unlike The Last Jedi, I don't think that this movie did anything egregious (like ruining Luke's character), but it didn't do anything great either. It still had it's moments, but sadly fails to live up to the Star Wars name.
And that's quite disappointing.