Pure Sci-Fi Spectacle, What a Finale

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2020)

For as much ground as needed to be covered from a narrative perspective to satisfactorily wrap up this trilogy, Rise succeeds in almost every way, suffering only a first act bogged down by rushed exposition that tries to balance against equal amounts of action. Once it finds its feet however, the final act of the sequel trilogy is a passionate and loving send-off to the Skywalker Saga, rife with not only the stirring nostalgia of Awakens but the ground-breaking ambition of Jedi before it; and masterfully tying up all the loose ends and lingering questions left dangling by its predecessors without detracting from the glorious spectacle of the franchise's final battle.