An unusual combination of fan service and retconning Episode VIII brings our saga to a polarizing yet still enjoyable end

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2019)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set a year after The Last Jedi, Rey (Ridley) is training to master the Jedi Arts, Finn (Boyega) and Poe (Isaac) are piloting the Millenium Falcon trying to help the resistance and meanwhile Kylo Ren (Driver) is now the Supreme Leader and guiding the will of Emperor Palpatine (McDiarmid), who has survived falling into a reactor is orchestrating an army to finally end the resistance.
After the polarizing Episode VIII, (which I thoroughly enjoyed), Disney tried to bring back Star Wars to the mystery of Episode VII effectively undermining most things that were set up by the previous installment. It is disappointing that this movie had to do that; it is disappointing that this billion dollar franchise caved so easily to what is effectively a minority of the population. However I should mention not all the retcons were poor, some of them were actually good additions. However this movie could have been more, it should have been more than giving us what we already knew. It effectively wants to play it safe and give the fans something they already had. It does cater to what the fans loved in the original trilogies and some weird fringe groups.
By retconning Episode VIII, it opens itself up to fan service and every other moment of the movie is dedicated to it. Some of it was great, as a fan of Star Wars I loved a lot of the ending, safe for one scene. The ending War was excellently crafted, yet a little hollow because it does play it too safe. When this movie opens itself up to fan service, a lot of moments end up feeling like Deus Ex Machinas, which some are earned and justified, other just feel like they had to be there because otherwise fans would riot.
What this franchise has taught me is that they will riot regardless of what happens in this franchise, so instead of making a movie that would satisfy the masses, it should be made to be consistent. However this is also a problem that continued throughout the trilogy. The force awakens tried to be too much like a new hope. The fans called it out so to counteract that, the last jedi tried to deviate from the original formula by throwing away fan theories. The fans called it out so to counteract that, they reverted back to fan service. And all I can say is, at least it is not a carbon copy of Return of the Jedi, there are elements that rhyme in succession to Return of the Jedi, particularly in the middle and end, but the setup is different enough to be its own thing.
This review may seem negative, however I should note that I did enjoy this movie. Maybe the lighting was off multiple times, or maybe the special effects were a little uncanny. However the performances and character arcs are fully realised for its two central leads. Kylo Ren and Rey have come a long way from who they were in episode 7. Finn and Poe have shown themselves to be brilliant and brave allies. C3PO (Daniels) and R2D2 (Vee) are still very much relevant and hilarious to the stories as they were in 1977, Lando (Williams) and Chewbacca (Suotamo) are a well deserved fan service that did not overshadow the new comers. And although some of the new characters could have gotten more screen time, particularly Rose (Tran), Zorri (Russell) and Jannah (Ackie), they did make the most of their short screen time. The special effects and fight choreography are as good as they ever been; the lighting when done right is very illustrative of character intentions and although the dialogue particularly of Palpatine is a little on the nose and generic, his delivery and the flashing light is very engaging.
Even if people are ultimately disappointed in this installment there is something for everyone to enjoy. I'm not saying this movie will balance out the people who loved the original trilogy and people who loved the Last Jedi, in fact quite the opposite, it will probably end up dividing audiences even more. But given that this is the end of the Saga it should finally give audiences closure whether they loved it or hated it, and I thought it was serviceable.