enjoyable and a fun time, but a bumpy landing

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2019)

This movie has so much going on that it's difficult to really judge it without having seen it more than once.
Spoilers Ahead.

The text crawl is extremely exciting to read, but it provides context that should've been shown, not told. The first sequence of the movie instantly cues you into what kind of movie this will be; a rushed story that pushes what should be deeper storylines into much less. The search for Palpatine should've been explored. Kylo Ren seems so quick to accept Palpatine's scheme it's breakneck where it should lead up to such a major character moment. But it is swept under the rug to pave the way for the rest of the movie.
The following scenes are breakneck as well, but they don't really sacrifice depth in order to gain this pacing. Rey's training and struggle to connect with the Jedi of the past may seem silly at first, but you get used to it quickly and enjoy it. Finn and Poe's adventure is cool and just keeps their wonderful on-screen chemistry as the vanguard.
The middle gets a bit fuzzy for me, but I really enjoyed the quest to find Palpatine. The character chemistry between our main sequel characters really is off the wall. The handling of the force bond between Kylo and Rey is done beautifully, it transfers from an intimate connection to a unique tool for them both to try to bring each other to heel. Rey being a Palpatine furthers the conflict and connection between them, and the whole family being junk traders thing seemed explained, though it was hard to follow.
Ben's turn to the light was pretty good, it perfectly captured his and Rey's relationship. The downfalls I think it faces is being rushed and the strange appearance of Han Solo in broad daylight. I'm not sure how this could've been done better, but it just weird and like he was really there. I'm also not sure how the Leia thing worked.
Rey's arrival on Ahch-To as self exile was a good moment. However, the lightsaber respect bit seemed too on the nose for me. Luke's exile and near-termination of the Jedi Order was never about disrespecting the Jedi and his father for their shortcomings. It was about reflecting on the effectiveness of the Jedi Order, and sacrificing everything if necessary to bring balance to the Force. It was never about respect.
The first confrontation with Rey and Palpatine is also a bit cheesy and maybe a bit over the top. However, it isn't too ridiculous for me.
The high altitude battles were pretty good, and actually had objectives other than just win, circumventing what made the Avenger's Endgame final battle boring. I liked Lando's late arrival, and it didn't feel like it was copying Endgame's style (though it kind of was). It felt like this scene contained another jab at TLJ though, with Rose and Finn's new possible self sacrifice. But perhaps it was trying to show that she knew he wasn't sacrificing himself out of hate this time.
But the final, final battle is what this entire movie was pushing towards, and it shows. Ben coming to save Rey is so perfect and brilliantly shows off again how to use force bonds in battle. I also love the idea of Rey fighting against the impossible, lifted by her own and the spirits of the Jedi and Kylo using his life to rescue Rey's.
The celebration after the victory is carried so much by the chemistry the main cast have with each other, but not to worry.
The final scenes are pretty brilliant. Burying the lightsabers at the Skywalker home and taking the Skywalker name is such a perfect ending for Rey, and her finding the yellow lightsaber makes me wish we got two sequel trilogies for her story instead of one.
Overall, I would say this movie is similar to Endgame. It rides fan-service and a few satisfying story wrap-ups to the ending instead of truly good storytelling. But I was mostly disappointed with Endgame because it glossed over it's prequels best aspect (Thanos), I wasn't really that disappointed with The Rise of Skywalker. It delivered a solid end and a fun journey, with many good moments to make up for the extraordinarily rushed storytelling.
The description of 3/5 stars being "meh, it passed the time." isn't exactly how I feel those stars represent. I see this movie as "enjoyable and a fun time, but a bumpy landing."