Totally Destroys The Sequel Trilogy

Rating: 4/10 (17 May 2020)

When I first watched this back in December, I thought it was much better than The Last Jedi. On the face of it, I still think it's a more entertaining film than its predecessor. But I've come to realise that The Last Jedi did actually do something that I didn't think Disney were brave enough to do - it took the story in an unexpected direction. Don't get me wrong, the Canto Bight story thread is appalling and Luke dying because he's used up his energy, force projecting himself, instead just going to Crate and dying for real, just sucks ass. But Rey discovering she is nobody and Kylo killing Snoke and becoming Supreme Leader was the right choice by Rian Johnson. And if Episode 9 had followed this story through, it would have been the epic conclusion we all wanted, and I strongly believe it would have made some of TLJ haters change their minds. Episode 9 should have been about Rey having to bring down Ben Solo, but being torn because of their love for eachother, but in the end he chooses the dark side and she has to kill him. You could still have the big space battle at the end, but you did not need a Snoke replacement.
And this is where Rise of Skywalker comes tumbling down. JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and Chris Terrio just went in the opposite direction. They decided, like with The Force Awakens, to play it safe and just remake Return of The Jedi. Of course the problem was Snoke was dead, so how would they remake the final stand off with Luke and The Emperor? - oh, I know, just bring The Emperor back and make out that he was pulling the strings all along. (A bit like Blofeld in Spectre - and hey, that also sucked). Oh and let's also throw in that Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter. She had to be related to someone, right? Well no, she didn't.
So, to sum up, because of Abrams total lack of imagination, Terrio's lazy 'no one will notice' style of writing and the strong, 'my way or the highway' Kathleen Kennedy, caving to unhappy fans, this film doesn't just suck, but it ruins the entire sequel trilogy. With a bit of imagination and some balls (you know, like George Lucas once had) this film could have made this trilogy amazing.