Episode 9 - The episode that likely struck me down, very poor effort

Rating: 5/10 (4 January 2020)

There's no denying it, this film is simply a major disappointment. I have been one of those who has generally enjoyed all the previous ten major budget Star Wars movies, but this one left me feeling flat, and it was a letdown.
It was always going to be an uphill struggle after the mauling the previous episode film took, which negatively impacted both this one and the Han Solo movie. There are some very good aspects to this Episode Nine, including the look and direction, and action. Yet despite reigning in various points, I was bored. The storyline was so so, and maybe jumped around a bit too much with little depth.
There were also a few peripheral characters who were worthless. I get the feeling that the return of Emperor Palpatine was an act of desperation, and it little worked. Some of the fan service was a waste of time, and the cameos just got in the way for what could have been time used for greater story detail.
Both the two leads (Driver & Daisy) were good with what they had, the problem is that they were lumped with some poor dialogue and story. The second half of the film was a let-off, and really quite unconvincing (even taking in that it's a sci-fi fantasy). I think the whole Kylo Ren storyline was ruined, and the character became a joke.
It's a poor way to end, but it has been a poorly received trilogy. There will be further trilogies, there's too much potential money at stake to risk ending it now for Disney et al, but really they will have to kick-start it all over again. Maybe that's for the best, but this one will be easily forgotten.