Somewhat entertaining but deeply convoluted sequel

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2019)

I enjoyed both "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi," love the original trilogy, and do not care for the prequels. I was excited to see how the Skywalker story would finally end in this finish to the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. The film isn't bad, and is better than many critics are saying, but it's still far from great and does not fully satisfy as an end to the Star Wars films for now.
The main story for this installment deals with our heroes having to save the galaxy from an imminent invasion from Emperor Palpatine (from the original trilogy,) who has somehow come back to the galaxy. I have always felt that the sequel trilogy has not crafted engaging characters on the level of the primary characters in the original trilogy (Luke, Leia, Han and Vader.) While Rey is better this time around--both in terms of range and character development--than in episodes VII and VIII, the other characters are not especially handled well again. The film is engaging and often fun to watch, but its pacing is extraordinarily fast even by the standards of action-packed blockbusters. While, for example, "Avengers: Endgame" had tons going on during its three-hour runtime, it was able to balance exposition and character with action and plot to make a truly impactful--but never overwhelming--film. Here, the film's narrative is a gaudy mix of "too fast in terms of things going on" and "too little in terms of things of consequential substance until the third act."
The score and production values are good, and the film's writing is often solid. It manages to play some nice homages to elements about the original trilogy that we love as well. Yet by the time this conclusion ends, we don't feel completely satisfied for something hyped as the definitive (for now) end of a nine-film epic series. 6/10
Note: I saw the film in Dolby Cinema. The picture quality, sound quality, and rumble effect were all excellent.