The Skywalker saga comes to an end - of sorts

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2019)

I have just seen Episode IX and it was a mixed bag of emotions, SFX and dramatic scenes. I remember seeing the original Star Wars a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away (1977) and all of the subsequent films. The issues with THIS Trilogy is that it is a LONG time after the originals, so it had to bring something 'fresh' while not losing sight of the huge Fan-base of older SW lovers. After the criticism levelled at 'last Jedi', it was clear that a huge effort was needed to bring the Saga back on course for the Finale. By and large, JJ Abrams and his Team managed to put a half decent film together which fully reflects our current generation, superb SFX, huge nods to both the past films and a deliberate attempt to correct some of the issues with LJ. It also suffers from things that lots of current Films do - poor writing, poor character development, poor plotting and a real sense that we have seen half of this before. If you are a real Star Wars purist, then the fact that this entire new Trilogy 'dispenses' with Anakin Skywalker COMPLETELY indicates that the people making these have missed a major point! It is easy to criticise the makers for NOT continuing the mythology BUT a nod would have been in order. On the plus side, both Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley give it their all - despite some uninspired dialogue by the writers - and their ARE some genuine moments of emotion and farewell. Despite the flaws, 'Rise of Skywalker' does a pretty good job of seeing out the 'Disney Trilogy', while not quite achieving that for the Saga as a whole.