From One Star Wars FAN to Another

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2019)

There are two ways to watch this film. You can read the negative reviews and go in the theater with preconceived notions. Or, what I would suggest, go into the theater with an open mind. The choice is yours.
Honestly, it took some time for me to get into the story of this film. I tried getting in the zone, but it didn't seem to click. But then, around 30ish minutes into the movie, it clicked. I'm not saying that the first half hour was bad, I'm simply saying it was hard to grasp at first. The cinematography was beautiful, the score by John Williams was beautiful, and the story was incredible. It might take time to get in the zone, but when you arrive, it feels like the first time you saw Episode 4. Star Wars.
The story is so complex it will take a while, and a few more viewings, for me to completely grasp everything that happened. And that's not a bad thing. The story ties the entire saga together. How you may ask? Simple. Emperor Palpatine. From The Phantom Menace to The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine is the embodiment of the dark side. Be it through his body or those of others. To see Ben Solo and Rey come together to finally defeat Palpatine is simply incredible.
"But Rey wasn't in the originals or the prequels. So why does she and Ben get to defeat the emperor?" Rey was created by Palpatine. She's his granddaughter. Ben was the son of Leia, who is the son of Anakin who was created by Palpatine. So in the end, Palpatine was defeated by his own corruption. Good always wins. Light Always removes the darkness.
Cameos. Boy there were some good ones. Seeing Harrison Ford Return as Han Solo was amazing. Watching Denis Lawson (Name spelled correctly) as Wedge was incredible. Mark Hamill, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Alec Guinness, Frank Oz, and Liam Neeson reprising their roles through voice acting tied it all together.
I liked the movie. There were certainly things I didn't like about it. But the thing that tied everything together was the score. John Williams is a musical master. His score in the movie was purely incredible. As George Lucas once said about the prequels, "It's like poetry... It rhymes," is a true statement. The music is incredible.
Go give the film a shot. If you don't like it, that's ok. If you do like it, that's ok too.