It's a tough gig, but someone had to do it!

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2020)

Well, what a lot of fuss about nothing much. I think Bambi just got shot all over again, folks, judging by the more extreme perspectives on RoS. I mean come on, it's entertainment, not an actual religion. A lot of people really need to go and get a life, because they've obviously got way too much time on their hands.
Okay, my tuppence happeny's worth (not that anyone probably cares for a balanced opinion nowadays)...... Rise of Skywalker is good light entertainment. It sometimes thinks it's weightier than it actually is (a pointless nod to the preciousness of the franchise), and the plotting/storyboarding is fairly weak. It does rather smack of the "How are we going to finish off the franchise, guys?" question having been posed at the end of Ep VIII, post-production. Having said that, the characterisation is consistent with the previous films, the effects and action sequences are of a very high standard, the acting is decent and, the story is finished off quite neatly within the framework of RoS itself. Some story ideas do feel like they were developed through the last three films (Rey's origins, the malign influence of the Emperor in the background), though I suspect that was an illusion created by the kind of open-ended planning which features heavily in TV shows these days; JJ Abrams has plenty of experience in that regard.
If there was no such thing as the Star Wars franchise, I'd have watched RoS and thought to myself "the story could've used some work, it was confusing at times, but fine entertainment and top sci-fi action all the same. I'd happily watch it again".