The Force Ghost of Star Wars Past

Rating: 3/10 (24 December 2019)

A big disappointment for me. "Let this be the final word in the story of Skywalker" Palpatine declares. If he knew the story of Skywalker would end so vacuously, he'd probably have stayed hidden away forever. The first act thrusts you headlong into the action, but then the plot jumps all over the place & descends to a level of ridiculousness that does the franchise no justice. By the third act the film is eclipsed by its grossly unbalanced, bloated plot & I just found myself glad that it had finally reached a conclusion.
On the flipside the film is visually stunning. The cinematography & visual effects are impressive, but they are the frosting on what is essentially a rather dry and tasteless cake. For me Rise of Skywalker is up there with Lucas' Attack of the Clones. Thoroughly unsatisfying.