As a lifelong fan, I hated it.

Rating: 4/10 (22 December 2019)

I really wish Rian Johnson would've done the newest Star Wars movie. He is way more creative and I'm sure he could've followed up the last Jedi in a satisfying way. The problem with Abrams is that he's not good at telling stories so when you present him a challenge, like many ideas he set up being discarded in the second movie, he didn't know what to do. So he attempted to cater to nagging fans and back pedal on the choices made in the second movie which left a movie with no clear goal in mind and it's clear Palpatine was a desperate last minute decision which is a shame because given the right story, his return could've been cool.
I still don't understand the hate the last Jedi gets. Luke has a great arc in that movie. He starts out grumpy and ends up realizing he was wrong to hide away. This movie goes out of its way to hammer that point home again. Why? Luke already acknowledged his error in the previous movie. Saying it again just feels like a stupid apology to the overly entitled fans that cried havoc on the last movie.
What really happened with the Last Jedi is that fan theories were thrown out the window and really hurt the sensitive fans feelings. Snoke didn't matter, Rey came from nothing. These were 2 things that had people's imagination running rampant after the force awakens and turns out their theories were dismissed. Dismissed for good reason. You don't have to be a famous bloodline to use the force. Rian Johnson understood that. Snoke wasn't important because it was always kylo rens story. I honestly could go on and on about why the choices made in that movie were great but I'd be met with resistance from entitled fans who want their Star Wars to play out the same way it always has.
Anyways back to my point. The Rise of Skywalker is a pathetic attempt at catering to vocal fans and it resulted in the worst movie in the entire franchise. Terrible pacing, erratic editing, and forced inclusion of Palpatine with no explanation for his survival provided. It hurts my view on the entire trilogy now. Like I honestly don't appreciate the first 2 as much now cuz I know it all ends in disaster. At this point the Mandalorian is our last glimmer of hope. If you haven't seen it, check it out.