A cinematic masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2020)

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker is the conclusion to the Skywalker saga and the ninth film overall. I went into the cinema with low expectations and little faith. Fortunately, my expectations were quickly subverted. This epic conclusion to the Skywalker saga exceeded my expectations and is a fitting ending to Rey's story. It is fast paced, action packed and incredibly visually pleasing and refreshing. The cinematography and visual effects are without a doubt amazing and the best it has ever been. The producers, writers, actors and everyone involved in the making of this movie went all in one last time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the moments between Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo and Rey. Both of the characters transformed tremendously over the course of the three movies. I loved how Ben Solo turned against the dark side after feeling his mother's death gnawing inside him. This was one of the most profound and heartfelt moments of the movie. What made this moment even better was Rey using her powers of the Force to heal Ben Solo's wound, thus resurrecting him.
This movie put a lot more emphasis on the camaraderie between Rey, Poe and Finn than the Last Jedi did. The relationship between these characters is quite reminiscent to the relationship between Luke, Han and Leia in the original trilogy.
It was incredibly surprising how much screen time Princess Leia got considering the actress Carrie Fischer who portrayed this character tragically passed away before production even started. It amazes me how the visual effects crew pulled this off and gave Carrie Fischer one last sizable role in this movie.
One of my favorite scenes of the movie is when Kylo Ren and Rey face off in the desert. Rey and Kylo Ren are both trying to use the power of the force to pull the ship away. This was such a awesome sequence to watch in the cinema. Likewise, the entire third act of the movie was incredible and amazingly shot and put together.
The final scene where Rey is on the planet Tatooine and buries the lightsaber of Luke is fitting and a gut wrenching moment. Rey seeing the spirits of both Luke and Leia and calling herself a Skywalker is a fitting way to end the trilogy.
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker delivers on all levels and is incredibly entertaining from start to finish. It is just a rollercoaster ride that keeps the momentum going until the credits roll. Hearing the score from John Williams one last time was amazing. This movie does a terrific job at capping off the Skywalker saga. It was such a delightful experience to watch this movie in the cinema.