Swing and a Miss

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2019)

Episode IX felt like a rushed chaotic patchwork of sorts. A course-correction made out of a desperate attempt to appease the critics and save the franchise. Unfortunately, I don't think it worked. The entire trilogy is a mess at this point, and it's been massively mishandled. There are (of course) many aesthetically pleasing things to enjoy about this movie, and the performances are fun and quite entertaining. And as always, the score is tremendous. But as a satisfying conclusion to the saga this falls very short. It never had a chance to truly reach it's potential after the crippling effect of TLJ and Rian Johnson's shenanigans. I don't envy the overwhelming task that JJ had on his hands. Star Wars is a machine like no other. But there was simply too much to resolve in a way that felt natural. It's a very commendable attempt, but TROS was always doomed with the disjointed and shambolic creative team behind this franchise. At best, it's a visually pleasing fun watch with a good score. And Palpatine rocks.