STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker marks the end of an era for Star Wars, an era that began in 1977 when George Lucas birthed a franchise that would change the landscape of cinema forever. Being the final chapter of the nine-film Skywalker saga, The Rise of Skywalker is a lot of film to digest, J. J. Abrams with the daunting task of closing the iconic saga in a fitting way.

Having escaped the clutches of the First Order at the end of The Last Jedi, the surviving members of the Resistance band together to face off with the enemy one final time.

Say what you want about any of the films, there's a certain magic in the air you can feel when watching a Star Wars film, a major reason as to why so many people have fallen in love with the franchise over the years. That same magic was in the air as The Rise of Skywalker began with the opening crawl in a packed IMAX screening, generations of families and scores of friend groups all bubbling with anticipation. 

J. J. Abrams delivers a final chapter that moves at a break-neck pace, particularly for the first half of the film, full of dazzling spectacle and a number of call-backs to other films in the saga, which should come as no surprise due to this closing it all off. The script features a fair amount of exposition that can get quite grating at times, as well as some comedic moments that don't land as intended. The pace of the first half leaves hardly any room for the narrative or character moments to breathe however, there is a lot to get through here so I quite enjoyed how quickly it moved along. 

It all leads to a pretty epic final act that had me right on the edge of my seat, including one of the great Star Wars moments that gave me goosebumps. The visual effects are, of course, of the highest quality, bringing the action to life with a stunning amount of detail. With this being the last film of the Skywalker saga, it means it is also the last time we will hear a new Star Wars score from the legendary John Williams, and he delivers another spectacular score to accompany the film.

Coming to the performances, the clear stand-out in The Rise of Skywalker, as with the other films of the sequel trilogy is Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. The confliction he faces on his journey is what makes him the most compelling character and Driver really does great to show the pain it brings Ren. Daisy Ridley has been a great find from this trilogy and she's good again as Rey, but not as good as she was in the previous two films, meaning her character arc doesn't end up being as powerful as it could have been. Anthony Daniels has been the only mainstay throughout the entire saga so I was glad to see him get a lot to do as C-3PO, getting a lot of laughs in the process.

The Skywalker saga is over and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker concludes it in a very satisfying manner, for me personally anyway. This conclusion had me enthralled from start to finish, damn near bringing me to tears in its final act, and for the joy it brought me along with the other films in the saga, I have to say a big thank you to Star Wars. It may be a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away but it will never be forgotten.

Verdict: ★★★★½