A mixed bag, but overall, a fitting end to the "Skywalker Saga"...

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2020)

To my tired eyes, I think "Star Wars" is showing its age (for a film series that began all the way back in 1977), even though "Star Wars" is essentially timeless and aside from superficial trappings (like the quality of the special effects, which still hold up in the face of today's overblown CGI), there is nothing that truly dates these films. But it does seem that all the best and most original and compelling storytelling for the "Star Wars" series went out with the original trilogy from 1977-1983. That's why the long-awaited sequel series seems like kind of a rehash, and a fan-boy tribute, to the grand legacy of films past. J.J. Abrams's 2019 "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker" is not immune to this dreaded weakness that has hounded the sequel series since it began in 2015 with "The Force Awakens." But the first hour or so, I was quite involved in the story here, despite a few hiccups and missed opportunities to make the story even more deeper and make it stand out from the past two entries, which to my tired eyes, were somewhat lackluster and didn't reach the high expectations that accompanied their releases. But overall, I felt that the film ended on a fitting note, right where it began. "The Rise of Skywalker," was the one film in the sequel trilogy that I was most impressed with, and that's why I felt it brought the series to a decent closure.
8/10