Bad Story

Rating: 2/10 (20 December 2019)

The story is bad. This movie's plot actively negates the story arcs of Anakin and Luke Skywalker from the prequel and original trilogy. By bringing back Palpatine - what did Darth Vader sacrifice himself for? He and Luke did not defeat the Emperor after all - so what was the point? The prequels explored the corruption and fall of Anakin Skywalker and the original trilogy examined Luke's quest to redeem his father, and this movie renders all those interesting and deep themes meaningless.
The Skywalkers did not bring balance to the Force - they were not even necessary. If what was needed to defeat Palpatine this whole time was just his granddaughter, the Skywalkers could have not existed. Their story is no longer important.
This movie also hastily and sloppily wrapped up a number of character arcs without giving them any sort of meaningful treatment. General Hux was gunned down without much ado, leaving a potentially interesting rivalry with Kylo-Ren on the table. Rose was more or less written off, with no resolution of her and Finn's relationship. Poe faces no consequences for his actions in the last movie, and instead of having to show growth as a character in order to succeed, he is promoted to general for no particular reason.
And finally, the Kylo-Ren and Rey relationship resolution is so disappointing. In the movie it is stated that the bond they have is unique and once in a generation. Once they defeat Palpatine they share a moment of genuine connection and acknowledge the tension that exists between them... just in time for Ben Solo to die. That is such a slap in the face for everyone who has been hoping for ReyLo to be a thing for the past few years. But then, to add insult to injury, Rey is not at all upset that he has died. She skips off to watch the twin sunsets and doesn't show any regret or sorrow for the loss of a "once in a generation" kind of bond with someone she has (theoretically) been working to redeem for a trilogy.