A brilliant twist ruined..

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2020)

When I first heard the laugh of the infamous Emperor Palpatine at the end of the trailer I couldn't wait for the final instalment of the 'Skywalker Saga'. The thought of seeing how this incredibly powerful and cunning sith lord had managed to not only survive the events of Return of the Jedi, but also yet again become a threat to the galaxy far far away was utterly tantalising.
I was expecting, assuming the reveal would be spectacular, something I would remember as a big moment in the saga for years to come but instead without much effort Kylo Ren practically waltzed into Palpatines hideaway and he was just there, round a dark corner. For me this hugely underplayed the return of such a big and intriguing character.
Next, the sentence 'I made Snoke' ruined all of the time people such as myself had spent thinking about where the mysterious sith lord from The Last Jedi had come from and why he was for the most part very powerful with the dark side of the force. Possibly a scene starting with Palpatine in the process of creating Snoke would have really showcased the emperors might whilst giving fans a better answer to their many questions from the previous film.
Later in the film we find out that Rey is in fact a Palpatine herself, for me this was an odd revelation and the reveal really didn't do much for me. If the emperor knew of this force sensitive grandchild of his it seems very odd that a man of his intelligence, power and resources couldn't get his hands on Rey sooner. To think he had the time to accomplish everything that he did but not contain that situation seems highly odd to me.
Along with the quick throw in of the fact that Leia has a ligtsaber and is a very capable force user was a wasted opportunity, the waves and scenery being the most exciting thing about Rey and Kylo Rens duel (far better duels in the prequel trilogy) and the life swapping moment between Rey and Ben at the end I think on the whole this was a disappointing end to the story.