I’m sure this will be controversial but I promise I have a point, but that to me is why Last Skywalker feels shorter than Rise of Skywalker and TFA even though it’s significantly longer.

It’s because TFA and TROS are really busy. There’s almost always something happening and they never stay still for long. If you’re just looking at “keeping things moving” then their pacing is perfect.

Except, I don’t think that’s what pacing is. Like EddieDean said, it’s the emotions, it’s keeping people engaged. I have to care about what is happening to the characters from scene to scene. A quiet scene where two characters slowly touch their fingers together can be as riveting as an enormous battle.

Personally, I think Phantom Menace is actually better at this than Attack of the Clones, but it’s also why Rise of Skywalker feels so significantly better than those two films. It isn’t, from a craft perspective, but I actually am invested in and care about what is going on.

So trimming the crappy stuff out of TPM and getting it down to 90 minutes might make it busier and move faster, but that’s not necessarily better than being 10 minutes too long.