The Rise of Skywalker is very problematic but I still enjoyed some parts of it.

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2019)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is a film that has so many films in it, which makes it very hard to give a single rating for the whole film.
The first half of the film has serious problems with pacing and plot design. The plot was just a chain of MacGuffins, with one MacGuffin leading to another MacGuffin. And the main characters kept moving from one place to another with no time to breathe, just because the plot dictated them to do so, which made the whole thing feel empty and hollow.
Many of the jokes were only funny on paper and did not make me laugh since the humor was simply too basic and formulaic.
As the plot progressed, the film did get better.
And many of the cinematic spectacles were indeed breathtakingly beautiful, albeit a bit contrived. Many cinematic elements were clearly designed to look good but ultimately they did not serve the plot or the whole film. Also I have to point out, there was one particular set design that was shamelessly copycatted from a not very well-known Sci-Fi short film from about 5 years ago.
The whole film was filled with nostalgia plays and fan services. Some of them truly struck me emotionally, but others felt very cheap and gratuitous.
For me, the best parts in the film are Kylo and Rey and their interactions. But the plot twists and eventual endings about them were very predictable once their true backstories were revealed to the audience. Also, some ideas behind Rey's abilities were clearly stolen from the Nickelodeon animation series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
All the actors' and the actresses' performances were truly great. And the scenes with Leia were done respectfully but those scenes simply did not work in this film. And there was one particular scene involving Leia and another character that was very badly made.
Despite the many problems of this film, I would say The Rise of Skywalker (2019) captured the true spirits of the original Star Wars. This film respected the mythologies of the Star Wars Universe and at the same time this film managed to fill some of the plot holes that were created by The Last Jedi.
It is obvious that The Rise of Skywalker is a desperate attempt at course-correction after the divisiveness of The Last Jedi, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your perspective.
Overall, this film had many many many many many many many many problems.
But did I enjoy it while watching it in the theater ?
I have to say yes. Yes, I did enjoy it but not wholeheartedly.
After coming out of the theater, I felt empty.
I felt a bit sad.
I felt sad.
It's perhaps because it is the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, marking the end of an era, that makes me feel sad.
Or perhaps it's because the film was simply not as gratifying as I had hoped.
At the same time, I think we have to acknowledge the difficulty of what the last chapter of the Skywalker Saga has to achieve. This film is supposed to wrap up all the stories in a franchise that has spanned more than 40 years and at the same time it has to bring a very "intense" fandom together after the divisiveness of the Last Jedi.
So I can only imagine how impossible it is to try to satisfy everyone with Episode IX. But Disney brought this onto itself. Instead of a clean slate when the new trilogy was first started, Disney insisted on bringing the old characters on board while at the same time trying to introduce a new generations of characters. What ended up happening is less than ideal.
As I've said in the beginning of this review, it's hard to give a specific rating for this film. But if I have to, I would give The Rise of Skywalker a 7.5 out of 10.