If into the film you go, only pain you would (probably) find

Rating: 5/10 (22 December 2019)

This film does not feel like a Star Wars film, and tries too hard to stand out from the rest of the films of the franchise. It is still a watchable film if you ignore the fact that it is based in the Star Wars universe.
Spoiler Alert!
This film is one of the most ridiculous Star Wars films to ever exist. The film starts off as a regular Star Wars film, but then gradually becomes more similar to a cross between a comedy and Disney film. A notable example, is when Poe Dameron teases Admiral Hux (he even mentions a letter of the alphabet, that probably doesn't even exist in the Star Wars universe!)
There are viewers and critics that seem to enjoy and appreciate the light-hearted ness of this film. However, in my opinion, I think that the efforts of the filmmakers to create a "new" and "original" Star Wars film does not match the final product of the film, and seems pretentious and "forced".
For most of the part, despite how "novel" the film seems, it still adheres to a rather strict Star Wars "formula" to achieve its goals. This is the "formula" used by its predecessors from the Original Trilogy. Notable parallels include;

battle in a throne room in which the main villain is killed by his apprentice (Return of the Jedi)
a large scale invasion of the good guys' base by the bad guys using walkers (The Empire Strikes Back)

On the other hand, the film also retcons or neglects storytelling elements established in the previous films, especially when it comes to Force powers. It is understandable that the filmmakers would like to expand the lore of the series. However, many of these new additions are unconvincing and questionable. For example;

Force users can survive in the vacuum of space
Jedi force ghosts can use force lighting and interact with the physical world
untrained force-sensitive children are able to control and use force powers

Apart from that, the film also contains unnecessary story arcs and scenes that have no significance to the overall storyline. These include:

a scene regarding finding a tech expert in a casino
a story arc revolving Poe Dameron and his distrust towards Reistance authority figures

The film also doesn't take its main characters very seriously. Characters usually have conflicting backstories, and their personalities can differ quite largely from previous films. For example:

Finn gains courage to fight for the Resistance in The Force Awakens. However, in this film, he is mostly depicted as a coward and slacker.

Maz Kanata and Captain Phasma were forgettable characters that had a few lines, and little impact on the story.

The main antagonist of the trilogy, Supreme Leader Snoke, isn't significant to the story and is basically in the film just because he has to. No clear development on Snoke's character.

I would also like to add that this film may be perceived as boring, due to its limited number of exciting action scenes, and its main plot. The entire plot of this film is basically a prolonged chase between an armada of First Order ships and a small band of Resistance ships.
Despite all the problems this film carries, the film also had several good elements. Firstly, the cinematic direction of its visuals and special effects were decent, such as the use of colors and contrast to create the film's environment and setting. Secondly, the overall theme of this film is clear and somewhat interesting, and is supplemented by the good acting from the cast.
To summarize this film:
Pros:
visuals and special effects, acting, intriguing themes introduced
Cons:
lack of continuity/coherence with previous films, unnecessary story arcs, formulaic plot devices, unbalanced use of characters, poor character development and characterisation, unexciting plot