Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Movie Review

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2020)

It's tough to say for sure, but it seems like The Rise of Skywalker might be even more divisive amongst fans than The Last Jedi was. Whilst I love The Last Jedi and don't really understand why some people hate it, I really like The Rise of Skywalker but I can completely understand why it didn't work for a lot of people.
The main negative I have about this film is that the narrative for the entire first two acts feels extremely convoluted. I had several issues with what was happening on-screen, and a few things didn't seem to make sense. Thankfully, I love these characters and I was just happy to go on the adventure with them.
The action is exciting, and one of my favourite lightsaber fights of all time is the one between Rey and Kylo in this film. The choreography is phenomenal, and it was packed with such an emotional punch because I love these characters enough that I care about what happens to them.
I actually really like The Emperor's storyline in The Rise of Skywalker, and it made for an incredibly entertaining finalÃ© with some all-time great Star Wars moments. I have a slight issue with how Kylo's story ends because it doesn't fit with his character at all, but it didn't completely turn me off from the film.
Overall, whilst The Rise of Skywalker isn't one of my favourite Star Wars films, it still works incredibly well for me and it was a fitting end to both the new characters in the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker saga as a whole.
SCORE: 83%