This is not the ending you're looking for....

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2019)

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
To sum up Rise of Skywalker is not a terrible film but nor is it the epic end to over 40 years that we wanted... this film is very average.
The Rise of Skywalker tries to honour the old lore and stories by again creating a proper Jedi and Sith or Good vs Evil story. I can fully respect the fact that Disney has tried to listen to proper die hard fans. You can see the JJ Abrams and co wanted to repair some of the damage and disrespect shown to characters like Luke Skywalker. They have clearly listened to the fans who disliked The Last Jedi. The problem is old Star Wars just doesn't mix with the new modern Star War ideas and we have a film that's alright repairs some damage but isn't the epic we fans wanted.
There is more screen time and respect shown for old characters such as Leia, Chewie and CP30. The relationship between these characters and what they stood for has been well respected. I just wish the film had more ghost Luke and that they had included some Yoda,,,... the Han Solo scene is a nice touch when he reaches out to Kyle/Ben. I feel the character of Kyle Ren is vastly improved and he plays a decent evil Skywalker. The conflict inside him is very reminiscent to Vader in Return of the Jedi. Adam Driver does well as the bad guy at the start he is more evil and direct less whiney and moany, you can feel that Kylo Ren has grown stronger.
The overall pace and speed of the film is just too quick this is what lets it down and this is the major downfall. There are too many elements of Jedi and Sith history that should have been explained across the previous two films but are crammed into this one, Disney have done this because of the outrage from fans for disrespecting the old trilogies. Those of us who grew up with Star Wars and know the official history, lore and George Lucas canon will have a better understanding of the Rise of Skywalker.
The film is average at best it's not bad nor is it the epic end we wanted because it lacks key emotion and relies heavily on cgi and makes our force users feel more like magic users than people who need to be guided, learn and respect their power. There is some good Chewie and droid base humour and a couple of great Star War moments (young Luke and Leia training or the fact that Palpatine used the dark side to live are good additions). The build up to the climax, the end scenes and pace of the movie are far too fast and it feels like a special effects action movie first and foremost. Star Wars was never about the special effects the mood, story and characters came before the graphics and cgi. It's a real shame that the writers and producers felt the need to go Marvel with the force powers and have a final battle that would be more at home in a normal sci fi film.
Star Wars always had big battles but having Emperor Palpatine zap a whole fleet with force lightening just doesn't work! Star Wars has always been about a couple of dudes slogging it out with lightsabers and we don't get this. The concept that Palpatine is now all the Sith could have been handled so much better instead of this Avengers power fist style fight we got.
In the previous films force powers were explained and introduced with logic in the Rise of Skywalker force powers are thrown in willy nilly. Healing, lightening and teleporting through space are just meh. Are we really supposed to believe the last two living force users are so power with minimal training from ghosts and books? COME ON DISNEY?
The film greatly lacks any top lightsaber battles which is one of my biggest complaints. We should have had Rey, Ben and Sidious fighting it out.
I would actually say that New Hope's much slower and very dated light saber scene is better than anything in this new trilogy because the film doesn't quite hit home with that heart and passion. You aren't going to get any Phantom Menace or Revenge of the Sith epic duels nor does this film has the emotional battle that Luke and Vader had. Even the final scene where Rey defeats Palpatine is a real anti climax. Actors like Mark Hamill and Ian McDiarmid actually do a great job with the limited and crappy arc they are given.
One of the biggest topics is the fact that they are the son and daughter of the chosen one. This theme is actually respected a bit more in this film because we find out Leia is actually a trained Jedi and Luke comes back as a Jedi Master ghost and displays the same power and wisdom of Yoda to guide Rey. The trouble is Rey is a weak character and Ben Solo is the the better of the two.
I could go on and on but essentially the film does remain true to a lot of the core values, it respects the old characters and old stories BUT is rushed and Disney's decision to have such an over the top ending battle and abuse force powers means it's not the film we're looking for.
I'm bored now so I'll stop - I may rewatch it again but in my mind Star Wars ended with Return of the Jedi