Don't get me wrong... it's a fun flick! But....

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2020)

Although I don't consider myself to be a hardcore Star Wars fan - I haven't watched any of the TV series (yet) or read any of the books - I do enjoy the cinematic releases, and have watched them all. With that in mind, I must start off by saying that I consider all three films -- episodes 7, 8, and 9 -- to be a million times better than the prequels (which were just cringe-worthy in so many ways).
The new films are simply better made. The dialogue is leaps ahead of the dialogue in the prequels; the acting is far better; the "world" is much more real; and the effects are far more believable. (It is my understanding that The Phantom Menace was one of the first films to be shot completely digitally and made heavy use of green screens. That shows in the film's overly-glossy appearance.)
Part of what made the original trilogy (episodes 4, 5, and 6) work so well was that, despite their setting, they felt grounded in a sense of reality; the world felt real. The new trilogy's reliance upon real sets and improved effects (especially the fantastic lightsaber effects, which, from what I've read, used a combination of the more traditional "low-tech" techniques used in the original films and the fancier "high-tech" ones used in the prequels, resulting in far more realistic light reflections) makes the films a pleasure to experience and "live in."
However.
When I was watching The Rise of Skywalker in the theatre, I found myself of two minds. On the one hand, it was a fantastically fun film. And watching it with family made it all the more so. This is why I initially gave it a slightly higher rating (8/10). However, there were several occasions -- including one major, fundamental one -- when I found myself thinking, "Wait... what?"
The first such occasion -- which was also the "major, fundamental one" -- happened right off the bat, as soon as the crawl began! Yes, I'd seen the trailers that teased the return of Palpatine. But having the very first words of the film suddenly parachute him back into existence made for a rather... jarring experience. There was no buildup! There was no suspense! He was suddenly... back! So much lost opportunity....
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been in the film! I'm just saying that it wasn't handled well. And the same can be said for much of the film. It felt like it was trying to cram too much in. And it had some rather silly turns. For example, having the heroes literally *fall* into the solution to one of their problems (through that quicksand-like stuff) just undermined the journey that we're told Luke went on to try to achieve the same result.
Plus, why does Rey have to be a Skywalker at the end of the film? Her parents gave their lives for her; why wouldn't she want to honour them and restore the Palpatine name? Did the filmmakers start off by giving the film the title The Rise of Skywalker and then write themselves into a corner? It just felt forced. (No pun intended.)
And it felt, unfortunately, like the film was undermining the film that came before it. The Rise of Skywalker undoes a lot of what was fascinating about where The Last Jedi was going. I know that many, many fans would disagree with me, but, to me, The Last Jedi was a far better movie. It was an exciting movie. It was a movie that made me want to find out what happened next. Like, what does it mean that those young people have Force powers? Where could that take us? It was a movie with depth.
The Rise of Skywalker, on the other hand, despite being a fun blockbuster, just played things too safe. Sure, it brought closure to many aspects of the story... but it didn't bring closure to *all* aspects. In fact, it left a lot questions unanswered. And didn't answer all of the questions it *did* answer in as satisfying a way as it might have. Watching it made me wonder if a proper, well-thought-out story arc had been written in advance of the writing and filming of these new films.
Again, I enjoyed the movie. It was a heck of a lot of fun. J.J. Abrams is, indeed, a fun filmmaker! But to say that I was happy to find out he was coming back would be a lie. The Force Awakens, despite also being a heck of a lot of fun, was also incredibly derivative of A New Hope. The Last Jedi's plot wasn't perfect. (I also didn't think that the film's name was entirely appropriate... but, then again, that could be said for all three of the new ones. But that's a whole other story!) However, I still feel it was the most original and interesting of the new films. (Other than Rogue One, which isn't part of the main series.)
So.... The Rise of Skywalker.... A missed opportunity in some ways? Perhaps. On the other hand, would it have truly been possible to make a film that wrapped everything up according to every fan's desires? Of course not. Which is why I still give this film a 7 out of 10. 7 ain't bad, folks!