My review: a film to get drunk to and passively watch without processing the many logic gaps and conveniences (rooted in a safe, inept, albeit boardroom-approved screenplay) which are occurring onscreen. But in a state of sobriety this film is equal to that of a slightly more coherent Transformer (live action) movie. A smudgey cgi thrill ride with an emphasis on “ride”. It’s fine as casual/disposable/forgettable entertainment but fails as a meaningful SW film, managing to implode the purpose of the entirety of Disney’s Sequel Trilogy rather than give it even a salt’s grain of weight. The biggest takeaway however is how, by bringing back an old villain and overused stakes rather than actually developing more interesting/novel ones, Rise of Skywalker manages to shrink rather than expand the SW universe considerably.
*I’m not a PT fan (because of its execution) but I do really like the story of the PT and many isolated scenes within. The Kenobi fanedit has become my go to for revisits. While I thought that TFA was too generic to enjoy as a movie, there was a glimmer of hope in it’s characters and actors. TLJ edited without subplots is my favorite of the ST because it dares and risks and deconstructs perhaps even more than Empire does. However I’m more of a despecialized OT/RO/Solo fan. RO and Empire being my faves.
**I’m not disappointed in Disney so much as myself for holding out hope that they’d pull this cookie cutter of a trilogy off with their nearly limitless resources.