Forced Fan-Service

Rating: 3/10 (19 December 2019)

When I saw the movie I went from annoyed to outright angry. I would not consider me as a large Star Wars fan, but saw the first one in 1977 in the cinema as a small child and loved it, so I belong to the generation that was massively influenced by the saga.
What angers me most is that the movie has very little substance. While the plot must not be logical it should engage me emotionally and tell a real story of real human beings. The original trilogy was great and Episode I-III is still my favorite as it is has an engaging emotional story arc, a complex political backdrop, interesting characters and elegant plot twists. The original was for the heart, the first reboot for the brain and with the last 3 movies they just pander to the retro-generation.
In Rise of Skywalker all characters are dragged through their storylines and I do not feel they decide anything or think. They are pushed from location to location for arbitrary reasons mostly by a deus-ex-machina. Most dialogue is simply explanatory.
What bugged me most is the obvious checklist the writers had in mind to show off everything you have seen already. Without spoilers I can guarantee you that you will think at least 30 times "Oh, ok, I've seen that before."
I am disappointed at the lack of creativity, annoyed by the thin plot and downright insulted by the endless list of unnecessary locations, starships, situations and people they dragged in from of the camera to make us go "Ahhh" because we have seen it all before a million times.
Anyway, you can like the movie of course, the actors tried their best, but without chemistry or heart they have little to work with.