You've seen it before, only then it was better.

Rating: 2/10 (17 March 2020)

I'm a Star Wars fan, simple. The magic of the original trilogy thrilled me as a child in the eighties. Every iconic scene and character will stay with me forever. The reason the first trilogy worked is because it had drama, originality, humour, great actors and actresses and competent direction. The set pieces worked, they excited me. Back in the late nineties when phantom menance was released I was genuinely excited to be back at the cinema and back in this world. New Jedi, seeing more of their powers in action, even jar jar was a digital experiment that, while not great, worked at the time. Attack of the clones and revenge of the sixth completed a good story arc, again filled with memorable set pieces and scenes, good actors. These last three films, and rise in particular have had almost nothing of what made Star Wars great. No originality. Rise for example has a scene so like pod racing from phantom menace it was embarrassing. We have seen these planets before, yeah give a little fan service nod to other places and character, but keep it subtle. The ending of this film includes a massive battle to end all space battles, thousands of ships both good and bad - it should have been incredible, should being the key word. It flopped, it was boring! How the people that made this film have managed to make a thousand space ship battle boring is honestly quite impressive!
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement, to have this as the final film is heartbreaking. No care for the characters, no care for a coherent story, respectful of what has come before, no originality, no drama, passion or love. Throw in some old characters, planets and scenes we have had before, send it to the cinemas and make a billion. A win for Disney, a loss for fans.