An enthralling yet cluttered ending!

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2019)

Film Title: Star Wars - The Rise Of Skywalker
Year Of Release: 2019
Director: J.J. Abrams
Studio: Walt Disney Studios/Lucasfilm

Star Wars films have an... interesting legacy don't they? I say this because every film released since the original in 1977 has never had a perfect response from the word go. Empire Strikes Back was initially given a mixed response, but was later loved by nearly all viewers. While Phantom Menace jumped between mass critical praise and extensive hatred from fans. So whatever response The Rise Of Skywalker gets right now, it's likely to evolve over time.
As for the film itself, I personally have felt very satisfied after viewing it. A lot of complaints have been thrown at the lack of character development, instead throwing in spectacle for the sake of spectacle. And I have to ask why? There's plenty of brilliant moments for these characters. Most noticeable Adam Driver as Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley as Rey. Both actors make this movie, and deliver so much through their chemistry, vocal range and their use of facial responses to deliver thoughts and feelings.
The themes and questions raised for our characters were brilliantly laid out. And while many may say this retcons on the rest of the sequel trilogy, I do feel the three films flow really well. Rather than retconning, it feels like J.J. Abrams was trying to take what he was left with at the end of The Last Jedi, and add to it, in order to create a more pleasing answer. As someone who was left intrigued by the answers given in Last Jedi, I loved the answers we got. And while intentions may have been different for characters early on in The Force Awakens, it's easy to look at what's happened since, and see a cohesive albeit cluttered three act structure across the trilogy.
Now I'm not here to just shower praise on this film. I have my problems with this film too. And while these problems don't hinder my viewing experience, they deserve attention just as much as my praise does. Many have raised issue with the first 30-40 minutes. And I have to agree with it's cluttered and extremely choppy pace. It jumps around far too rapidly, and doesn't give you a break from it's set up and explanation. An early sequence with Finn (John Boyega) and Po (Oscar Isaac) could've easily been chopped out, which may have lead to a more shocking and maybe even comical introduction for them when they appear with Rey later on. I also feel I couldn't grasp the intentions behind the bickering between Finn and Po throughout the bulk of the narrative. It felt like it was leading to something, but this something either never happened or it wasn't a clear resolution. Heck, a line said to Rey during the first third is set up to be returned to and again we don't get a clear resolution to that.
This leads to my other big problem, taking Rey and Kylo out of the equation, I don't really care for any of the characters during our final battle. Don't get me wrong, this final battle is glorious to witness, and does get the blood pumping, but I wasn't invested in whether these characters made it through the battle. Whereas when we cut to Rey or Kylo, I genuinely did care and feel invested. And for a finale film, you really should feel invested in the cast you've grown to love across multiple films.
Overall, I have my problems with The Rise Of Skywalker, but at this point in time, while I acknowledge these problems, I really don't care too much while watching the film. This finale still grabs my attention and keeps me thrilled and entertained throughout. Yes, it's seems that intentions were different between Abrams and Rian Johnson, but if you ignore that and look at what we did get, this finale still wraps up things in a fun and satisfying way!
SCORES
Story: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Production: 4.5/5
Acting: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5