THE FORCE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU...

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2019)

So... WOW! ... That just about sums it up for me after watching the latest and last installment of this epic journey.
The first time I saw STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE was 43 years ago. I was 21yrs old, I saw it 10 times in the first month of its release, and it wasn't even subtitled A NEW HOPE yet. It was just this new sci-fi movie that was coming out and nobody knew anything about it (Boy! Did they know how to keep the lid on things back in those days!). All we knew was that, after watching the trailer, we HAD to see it - and seeing it forever changed our lives and our views of what movie making could be. Nine films later, amidst some very strong hits (and equally strong misses), we come to the end of this saga, and what an ending it is. There are those who are criticizing this installment for technical reasons, plot holes, a dislike for anything J.J.Abrams creates, and, basically, anything that didn't turn out the way they wanted it to. But for those of you willing to see/remember that this story began as an homage to the serial-based one-reelers delivered in installments each week, when we'd spend our hard-earned allowances to go to the Saturday matinees, I don't see how STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER can be anything but the fun-filled, roller-coaster ride of thrills and excitement it's intended to be - setting some nasty traps set for our heroes to escape by the skin of their teeth, making them suffer through some tearfully heart-wrenching losses, reacquainting them with some nearly forgotten allies and enemies and, ultimately, bringing them (and us) to an exciting and poignant conclusion. For a movie to even get close to accomplishing this in an age where presidential impeachments, rigged elections, social media, data points, VR, AI, TA (Technology Addiction), and a plethora of other distractions vie for our attention, well... let's give this installment of the phenomenon that is STAR WARS a little credit for at least trying to take us all to a time long ago and a place far, far away.
If what this review references means little to you, then you should probably skip SW:TROS - it most likely will not provide adequate distraction for you and you will be sorely disappointed. However, if there's any resonance at all in what I write, then I STRONGLY encourage you to complete your journey with Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Rey, Finn, Poe and the rest of the characters of this most beloved and enduring space opera. You will not regret a single fun-filled, thrilling, tearful, and ecstatically exciting moment... You will remember the face of your father... And the Force will always be with you.