A terrific movie on it's own merits

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2019)

I sincerely enjoyed this film from start to finish. Entertaining, engaging, beautifully staged, film-craft at the cutting edge of what is possible. The story and character lines felt very satisfying and emotionally grounded within the fantastical world(s) and atmosphere we've come to expect and enjoy from the Star Wars movies.
Daisy Ridley's Rey and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren are, of course, the most remarkable characters to emerge from the latest films and their mutual story's arc shapes this final movie - it's the necessary heartfelt and grounded relationship needed in a film series which orbits so furiously around the mechanics and set-pieces which make the films so dazzling. What happens to them in this film is worth the wait.
(IMDb critique) I don't claim to be a fan at all but I've enjoyed every release in theaters since the very first film. This release and it's user reviews have been a tipping point for me. Reading user reviews has been interesting and engaging over the years as IMDb has found itself providing a great service to filmgoers and cinema fans alike. For whatever reason, this film's release (and perhaps "The Last Jedi") have made me recognize the destructive influence of the "Twitter-reflex" approach to social media. Instead of measure, there is an entitled, emotion-based gesture which is interpreted as thought or idea. It's a profound misunderstanding of why communication can be interesting at all. The Trump-Tweetfart doesn't bring insight To bear, but it rather assumes every emotional reaction to anything seems worthy of print. I wish users would try to actually be helpful with reviews rather than mistake their most subjective, undigested and unedited response as insight.