Really great. Go see it with an open mind and don't worry about what people say.

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2019)

I've had half a day to digest this movie and it is still on my mind. I've rewatched the trailers and can't wait to see it again. I think that is what a good Star Wars movie should do.
In no means is the story perfect. I would have liked to have seen some different things in the sequel trilogy for sure; how the first order was formed from the ashes of the Empire and perhaps Starkiller base could have been a continuous threat throughout the trilogy rather than the simply New Hope retelling in 7. So disable the thing by the end of 7, it's getting repairs in 8, it's a threat again in 9 and then it's taken out for good. Something like that. And more training from Luke and a more heroic Luke should have been in here. Episode 8 dropped the ball and we got the likes of Holdo which is frustrating to (re)watch.
With the impossible task that Rian Johnson left behind I think JJ Abrams did a great job. I was incredibly worried with the leaks I had heard and the initial two trailers I saw didn't do a hell of a lot for me at the time. The music seemed the best part of the final trailer. Then I saw the last footage that dropped last week of Kylo going to meet the emperor at the start with the voices and my mood shifted to more hopeful but I still had low expectations.
So the movie itself:
The atmosphere surrounding the emperor is just great and very menacing. On par with Return of the Jedi that. Quite scary. Loved the mysterious audience touch.
The First half hour is relentless (maybe a bit much) but a lot happens and it is mostly a lot of fun and well done. The characters have grown and the actors really suit their parts now. A time jump was needed here and we got it. 8 should have had one as well at the start.
Leia's scenes work eerily well. I cannot complain. I thought it was going to be too obvious that it was pieced together afterwards but it's really quite good.
BB-8 is really good. C3PO is fine. DIO was a nice addition. Maybe not enough of R2D2 here but the droids were mostly handled ok.
Some new characters introduced. I admit it is very late but it wasn't too bad.
The Han Solo part really surprised me. I thought it was great but I admit there are quite a few Star Wars story telling conventions broken in the sequel trilogy (flashbacks & non force ghost memories that people see) But I think this movie needed that scene since Carrie Fischer was gone.
The ending credits rumbling orchestra music before the main theme returns is used to signify the resistance armada's arrival at the end and that part of the music has never been used during a Star Wars movie I believe but was perfect I thought. I wanted to jump out in joy in the cinema. The music was in fact stellar. Poe seemed desperate and it almost became heart breaking. It was well pieced together I thought.
I think it's the best of the Disney Star Wars movies - on par with Rogue One and better than Force Awakens - and I'd rather watch this again than the prequels which are overshadowed by dodgy/too much CGI and not very good acting and too much faffing about.
All in all, I REALLY enjoyed it. I want to watch it again and thus I have to be honest. I wanted to rate it an 8 but I have to go with my heart like I did with Infinity War (for me this is the best movie since that with Joker and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as notable mentions during the last 1 1/2 years too). It's just really, really great. So just scraping a 9 from me.