Sequel Trilogy was already going nowhere. Given that, this is a spectacular film.

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2019)

Rise of Skywalker is a good, spectacular film that looks and sounds gorgeous. JJ Abrams films are traditionally held together by lensflares and contrivances delivered such rapidly that you don't have time to think too hard about the story. He improved in that area and it's now far better arranged than in The Force Awakens, which makes for an entertaining ride. There's still a couple of handwaving and happenstance which need some measure of suspension of disbelief, though.
The film is otherwise packed with a lot of good Star Wars stuff done well, like different locations, vehicles, creatures and so on. The chemistry between the main characters was already pretty good and Abrams is not so foolish to rip them apart again. Some awkward problems remain around Leia, but overall, it's handled okay.
The main flaws of this film are inherited from the entire sequel trilogy that early on discarded continuity and didn't bother building a new foundation. The Force Awakens didn't care about the previous films. The Last Jedi didn't care about The Force Awakens. And Rise of Skywalker continues that tradition so that nothing from The Last Jedi matters. I assume that informed viewers already chalked that off. The trilogy also cannot transcend its own limitations, and it cannot conclude an arc wide enough that it would cover the entire saga when it never set out to build one. This is a major caveat for this 7.5 or 8 rating. It can only achieve the more modest goal of completing this particular trilogy and soft reboot cycle.