Everything comes full circle - The Balance is restored again!

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2019)

I wanted to share with you (while it is still fresh, after my first screening - last night at 10:15 PM) my thoughts on Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker - Episode 9.
LIKES:
The opening scene - with Kylo Ren in search for the hidden lair of Palpatine is wonderful. We see here (and throughout the movie) how much more Kylo's strenght in the Force has grown. He is more physical, more angry/determined to find the elusive Emperor. To get to him, he must find one of the only 2 devices that would lead him where Palpatine was hiding all along.
Rey's training with Leia - we also see Rey's growth under the tutelage of General Leia. Of course, the scenes here would have been even more amazing and touching if Carrie Fisher would have actually played them live (but more on that on the Dislikes below). Still... seeing Rey training reminded me of young Luke, in Episode 4 (A New Hope), training with Old Ben Kenobi :) instead we have Leia, telling her how she can be one with the Force.
Piggy-backing on the above... Young Luke & Leia Training Flashback - it was such a great surprise, and another nod to the original trilogy, to see Luke training Leia as well in the ways of the Force. Seeing Leia, having her own sword, knowing the potential we have lost there... It is bitter-sweet! And it was great seeing that, even if just for a moment, on the big screen. This is probably the only CGI piece of Leia that Carrie's family could have accepted.
The Force Bonds! are more powerful than ever! This time they are able to somehow manipulate time and space and come in the presence of one another, to transfer themsleves from one location to another, according to where they are. The scene from the ice plant, Kijimi, is particularly nicely done - with Rey and Ben fighting: Rey aboard Kylo's Star Destroyer and Kylo (trying to find Rey) on the planet. They Force connect and there is a constant swamp of the transporting from one location to the other. It is so darn cute when Kylo says to Rey to stay put as he'll come and get her ;)))
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Kylo Ren & Rey meet on the Death Star remains
The Force - throughout time, throughout the movies/trilogies, the Force has been omnipresent and has developed its meaning and strenght. I believe that in The Rise of Skywalker it reaches its climax! We see so many things being done through The Force: from Force Bonds, to healing through the Force, to moving things with the help of the Force, to the lives of Jedi/Sith being intertwined and passed on from generation to generation, from student to Master. I loved the scene in the cave, when Rey heals the odd serpent creature. I shivered when after the fighting scene on Endor, on the destroyed Death Star, Rey heals Kylo (just after killing him). My heart skipped a beat and I could not help crying when Ben Force-healed Rey (whom was already dead!). All this, all the ways in which The Force grew stronger in time (of course with the help of the technological advancements and what we can do now with CGI), it makes me happy I lived to see all these movies on the big screen!
The Original Trilogy Heros are reunited for a final movie together! Again, I would have wished for them all to be alive... yet, it is not up to us! But it was great seeing again Billy Dee Williams reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. I am glad he got to have quite a larger role in this installment and I am sad I could not see a reunion with Leia (Carrie). Harrison Ford's appearance as Han Solo was the cherry on the top! I did not expect to see him there and his scene is one of the most touching ones in this movie - a reverse scene of the one we had in Episode 7 (The Force Awakens). A scene where we see Kylo Ren turning to Ben Solo again. We can surely say that Rey killed Kylo Ren and that she brought Ben Solo back to life. Of course, one of the stars of the movie is Luke (Mark Hamill) whom shines in every frame he appears - just that... I am not sure why they had to have him still with the long hair... He continues training Rey and guiding her from the beyond. The scene from Ahch-To, when Rey goes there so as to exile herself is beautiful, and goes full circle again back to the original trilogy, having her take Luke's ship to get back to the Rebellion. Seeing Luke pull the ship from the water brough me back a younger Luke trying to pull the ship from the swamp, and failing in front of Master Yoda. Oh! And guess what?! Chewie gets (finally!) his well deserved medal!!!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Kylo Ren & Rey fight on top of the remains of the Death Star
Carrie Fisher's daughter's nod to Endor Leia - Heart-warming & Heart-breaking at the same time - I see so much of Carrie in her that I think she should play Young Leia in another Star Wars stand-alone movie. Enough said!!!
The Music & Master William's Cameo - stay on the lookout for John Williams on the planet Kijimi, as Rey and Poe and Finn enter the droid shop. He appears for a moment only but he is hard to miss, if you are a fan ;) I am so glad, so happy, so thrilled that he was The One! that made the music for all these fine Star Wars movies. Every piece is special, unique and spell-bounding. There are so many nods to the other movies, so many bits and pieces of music intertwined... and the ending with The Binary Sunset (Episode 4 to Episode 8 to Episode 9 now...) is just heartbreaking but extremely fulfilling!
Speaking of that... THE CAMEOS!!! - from John Williams to... Wedge Antilles - Denis Lawson - actually being inside a X-Wing again and attacking The Final Order! to the voices that we can all hear when Rey (in her final battle with Palpatine) is one with the Force: Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Yoda (the original), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus from animated series Star Wars: Rebels), Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn from the prequels), Obi-Wan (Ewan Mc Gregor) and much more that I could not yet decipher at the first go!
Reylo is happening and we all knew that! - Yes! Truly Ben & Rey are a power couple, they are the Yin & Yang of The Force, and as the Emperor puts it himself... he has not seen such a bond for many generations! They are intertwined and their destinies depend on eachother. Each of their hearts are linked by a tiny silver strand. They are made whole together and when they act as one it is a beauty to behold! The parallel scene with Rey facing Palpatine & Ben running to save Rey, facing the Knights of Ren... priceless! One of the best you will see, on the same stage as the Throne Room Scene in Episode 8 (The Last Jedi). They way Rey transfers one of her swords to Ben is simple poetry! Oh! And I must mention that seeing Ben in regular clothing... doing his best and even mouthing an OUCH! when falling down is PRICELESS!!! We needed more of that!
Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) manages to achieve what Anakin (Darth Vader) did not manage, even two-fold! He manages to bring back from the dead the one he loves & he helps bring balance to The Force and defeat the Dark Side permanently!
We find Rey's parentage - yup... the rumour from years back was right: Rey is a Palpatine. Her parents were killed by Palpatine and he wants her to succeed him. He was tricking Kylo/Ben all along. Rey's parents wanted to keep her safe, way away from The Emperor. And I am so glad they did, so that Rey would grow on her own, uninfluenced, being able to understand and know herself, her limits and her true thoughts on life. She was not manipulated by the Emperor in any way - not like Ben was, into turning to the Dark Side...
Both the Sith's and the Jedi's are (forever?) gone - Ben & Rey manage to defeat the Emperor and all The Final Order fleet is destroyed. Peace reigns in the Galaxy! Also... there are no more Jedi... just Rey. I guess... a Palpatine killing Palpatine was ironic but extremely necessary so that all would come full circle... we are now back to square one - I wonder what the next Star Wars trilogy would be about :)
DISLIKES:
Leia, throughout the movie - it is a bittersweet motive. From the beginning we knew that Episode 7 (The Force Awakens) was for Han, Episode 8 (The Last Jedi) was for Luke and Episode 9 was meant for Leia. But Carrie Fisher had another journey to take, another plan on her mind, so the masterpiece that could have been was only done middle-way, using unused pieces of footage from Episode 8 (maybe 7?). Carrie's family decided that they would not use her CGI image (unlike the revival of Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One - which, by the way... was bloody brilliant!!!).
During Episode 8 I loved that we had so much of Leia using the Force (the flying through space scene makes me cry. Everytime!). Thinking of how much we have lost, by losing Carrie and having her moment to shine again, makes me sad. I watched the movie knowing it is her, but somehow not her - not her acting in that moment... it was always a feeling of copy-paste. The unique moment of sadness, of feeling, comes (I believe) when Leia reaches out to Ben, through the Force, and dies in the process. Another one is when both Ben's and her body dissappear... being blended, made one with the Force.
I felt that we needed more of General Hux - I know he is the bad guy throughout the new trology, but hey! It turns out that he is the spy leaking info to the Rebellion, just so that Kylo would fail. Reading Phasma I got quite attached to his character and in Episode 8 (The Last Jedi) we had plenty of him, but I somehow feel that in this movie he was underused :(
I needed a Reylo Happy Ending - Ben and Rey together, as a family - instead I got some really good scenes of Kylo & Ren and Ben & Ren :( I needed more!