A Forceful last hope of the Empire's Solo Rouge Return

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2020)

A Long time ago in a galaxy, far, far, far away George Lucas watched a bunch of Japans films and thought to himself... let's do it in space! Billions of dollars later, 11 films and 2 decades we come to it, the end of all things. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. So the reel question is, can this work? Can J.J.Abram's pick up the pieces left off the floor that Rian Johnson blew up or is it too much to ask for even the man who made Mission Impossible awesome?
Rise Of The Skywalker is like a psychological test. Do I forget the logic that I carry and enjoy the film for what it's worth or criticize it for plot holes and inconsistency with the rest of the franchise? This is how a lot of Star Wars cult fans must see the movie. I enjoyed it for its successful large scale set pieces; I forgave it for its surreal plot moves and irrelevant characters.
That seemed to be one of the issues The Last Jedi faced, it always had too many plates spinning for Ryan Johnson to handle. He couldn't keep up with his multiple plot threats which both somehow separated everyone and brought them all back together simultaneously in a seemingly organic way. He failed, miserably. Thankfully J.J. Abram's destroys The Last Jedi in the opening moments by (, SPOILER!) revealing that Snook was nothing more than a clone created to lure the real prize to the ultimate villain of the piece... The Emperor.
This sets us up perfectly for the nostalgic ride that The Force Awakens gave us... Kylo teaming with Emperor Palpatine? Why? Because the fans demand it! That possibly could be the answer to many of the questions that Rise Of The Skywalker hands us... Because the fans demand it! I don't mind that the film is ultimately just fan fiction made flesh just as long as it embraces it too. In justice to the movie, I believe it does. There is just too much fan services for J.J. to not be conscious of what he is doing.
This is undeniably the most Star Wars film since Star Wars. Everything you could want from the film and more is broken down into little chunks and spoon-fed to us. Each beat is neatly signposted so we can't get confused or be surprised. That's the challenge of the new franchise, merging the nostalgic while keeping it fresh. Princess Leia Poppins is the ultimate example of this, we know Jedi and Sith can lead great distances, we don't want them to fly that's just silly.
Rise Of The Skywalker is not the greatest Star Wars film ever made, that is still Rogue One, but it is far from the worst. J.J. succeeds in tying up his part in the franchise whilst serving both old and new one's enjoyment. Rise Of The Skywalker is a fitting conclusion to the reboot of Star Wars.
8 discarded Sabres out of 10