When The Force Awakens was released the vast majority of fans liked it. They were practically watching a remake of A New Hope but it was enough for them. Although they never liked Rey. That damn feminist agenda right?
The Last Jedi took that from them, it got away from the formula and they went crazy. Who was that Rian Johnson and how he dare to change the characters that only they know how they should act?
They did not give them what they wanted and that annoyed them and it's ironic because many times they have complained about the saga and its direction and if something has become clear to me it's that the great majority only want the same, like in the original trilogy. And what does that mean? Fan service. And that's what Star Wars has become.
You don't believe me? Ask fans about the scene they liked the most about Rogue One. Vader's scene. A fan service scene.
And the fear of losing the ''fans'' forced Disney to undo what they were creating, they also threw Johnson and his film under the bus and they practically announced this new film like the one that came to fix the disaster. A shame and an insult to the director's work.
Rise of Skywalker in my opinion represents a setback and it doesn't matter that this is supposed to be the ending. It's a setback because they decided to play it safe and submit to the whims of the audience. While that does not translate into poor quality, it doesn't represent something worth mentioning either.
Star Wars represents pure and good entertainment but when it lacks surprises and feels so safe and predictable it means that you're sacrificing any emotional resonance and when it comes to the end of the 9 episodes, that emotion is simply not there. That shot of Rey looking at the two suns should have felt overwhelming and thrilling and I don't know about you but I didn't feel it and that was a huge letdown.
And that's what separates this ending from Return of The Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, even though it was known what would happen in Episode III, despite the mistakes there was emotion, here was like finishing the business.
I don't consider myself a die-hard fanatic of Star Wars but I do like the saga a lot, yet in order to survive, even of its toxic fandom, they have to dare to try new stuff and forget about the original trilogy because to live in the past is to die in the present and for the saga to have a future, looking forward is the only way.
It's a very well made and entertaining film and it was a decent ending for this trilogy but quite an underwhelming conclusion for the saga as a whole.
And the Knights of Ren? What a fucking disappointment.