A relatively satisfying conclusion with a few flaws

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2019)

Personally I believe that the hate this film is getting is very unjustified, I certainly don't believe this film is spectacular but I do prefer it to The Last Jedi and the prequels. I think that following the director change this trilogy had it was always going to be hard for JJ Abrams to close the saga using his own vision without completely discounting the events of The Last Jedi. Despite this I did enjoy the story overall despite a few elements feeling like forced fan service that either justified or poked fun at Rian Johnsons vision in The Last Jedi. Other elements particularly in the final 15 minutes did seem to heavily mirror the final battle of Avengers Endgame but still allowed for a satisfying conclusion overall.
My main problem with this trilogy as a whole however is the lack of connection I feel towards these new characters, I genuinely don't believe that I truly cared for any one of them and when compared to Luke, Leia and Han there relationships just don't seem as convincing. This may in part be due to the lack of planning Disney put into this trilogy, the emperor for example despite being a cool villain was never really teased in The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi making his inclusion in this film seem slightly random.
However i'm still going to give this film a high rating individually, as usual the visual effects and score by John Williams is amazing and the fast paced action and overall conclusion was satisfying but not as satisfying as it should have been for the end to a Star Wars trilogy.