No franchise is ever really gone...

Rating: 6/10 (15 January 2020)

The final chapter in the sequel trilogy of the Star Wars Saga has arrived. In this review for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. After witnessing a large decline in popularity since the divisive release of The Last Jedi. Is The Rise of Skywalker strong enough with the force to restore the last of this franchises reputation? Let us begin...
Plot
After the cataclysmic events of The Last Jedi. The Resistance are on the run from the First Order, while also struggling with their own inner turmoil. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and Rey discover that the Sith Emperor Darth Sidious has survived the destruction of the second Death Star who plans to exact his revenge upon the entire Galaxy. With time desperately running out for the forces of Good, only Rey and Kylo Ren are the galaxy's best hope for survival. All leading to the final showdown between the Jedi and the Sith.
Likes
The Rise of Skywalker is a seismic, space faring sci-fi epic carrying plenty of suspenseful action, blissful effects and much needed character development. J.J Abrams returns since The Force Awakens from a leave of absence. I am personally glad he's back in the chair after Rian Johnson kind of disappointed us with The Last Jedi not delivering on its promises of story and revelations. But for Abrams he brings back some of the enjoyment of what made Star Wars such an amazing Sci-fi epic in terms of action and practical effects. And even does offer more insight to the plot points he established in The Force Awakens (Only by a small margin. More in the dislike section). Also by finally giving us an answer to Reys parentage and one I'm actually very surprised by. More below.
The sets and practical and visual effects are immensely crafted and continue to be a highlight for this sequel trilogy. From the new aliens, to the set design, to the locations, to the ships. I just can't get enough of it!
For the characters, let's start with Daisy Riddley as Rey. The infamous Mary-sue of this series who miraculously is good at every bloody thing without trying. But in this film, she does show she is capable of displaying flaws just like every other character in the series prior and actually feels like a better written character than how she was previously. And actually displays how she can in fact be tempted by the dark side of the force just like every other Jedi. SPOILER WARNING! Mainly because it's revealed she is the daughter of Darth Sidious/ Emperor Palpatine. Which was unexpected cause' I thought she would be a Skywalker or a Solo, Or even a Kenobi or a Jinn. But she did take on the name of Skywalker in the end so that's something at least.
John Boyega returns as Finn and of course is also getting better writing in the film unlike how the The Last Jedi reduced him to a side-character who acts like an idiot and a coward. But unlike last time, he is actually more involved in the movie and gets some much needed development.
Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron is once again portrayed better than the "Other movie". Where instead of being a Rebellious Dick who doesn't follow orders. He goes back into being the likable, hot shot Rebel Pilot people know and love him for. And he is definitely more likable again to me than he was before.
Also, LANDOS BACK! Finally! So many years of absence and he finally comes back to kick some Empire tail again! Billy Dee Williams continues to bring in the charismatic, lovable charm of the Bespin Card Player we remembered.
The Classics of Leia, C3PO, R2D2 and Chewbacca come back into this movie and also get to have some more part in the story than how they were severely reduced to minor roles.
My biggest highlight of the movie would be near the end where all the Jedi from all over the franchise return as voices helping to encourage Rey to keep fighting The Emperor. I ultimately geeked out because you got to hear classic characters like Luke, Yoda, Obi-Wan. And then to Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu and even to Clone Wars character Ashoka Tano! Much appreciate the fan service there Abrams!
Dislikes
Once again we must go through the dislikes of this sequel trilogy. And to be honest, you probably will already know them before you start reading.
I don't really know whether this film has even bigger dislikes or the same amount as before. But I'm just gonna put down what I dislike about the movie.
It's pretty much a soft-remake of Return of The Jedi. Rehashing another planet killing plot, confronting evil fathers, getting captured on a desert planet. That stuff you've already seen before. And to be fully honest. It's even less original than The Last Jedi which I can tell was trying to be different.
Now it is less long than The Last Jedi. But it is still very long in terms of everything else bad I will be putting down. And by the time you get to the end of this you'll more likely feel relieved that this movie is over more than anything else you've seen.
One thing I remember liking about The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens was the ever-evolving action sequences. But in this movie though... it doesn't seem to have improved much since last entry. In a way the action seems to face a large scale of problems and seems less innovative. Like it's as if Michael Bay was hired to direct the action sequences while J.J was on break time. But still, they seem less exciting. And Star Wars, even the prequels had enough original action you could sink your teeth into. Also there is a lot of incomprehensible logic as to how certain new abilities in the force occur. Like with how Rey and Kylo can still talk to each other without Snoke bridging them. How does that work? Yeah, still not buying it guys.
And on that note. They still don't present the basis of the overall plot of the sequels. And not forgetting they still don't reveal much answers to revelations set up in previous entries. All the while adding more and more Questions in this film that still don't answer a damn thing:
What the Hell happened to the Jedi?
How did the Empire become the First Order and gain so much power again?
What is this Awakening BS that Snoke was on about?
How did the Emperor survive being blown up by the Death Star in ROTJ?
How is Han Solo a force ghost even though he isn't a Jedi?
What actually happened to Reys parents?
What was Finn going to tell Rey before being sucked into quick sand?
How does Rey and Kylo use the force to teleport and communicate between each other?
How is a dagger able to help Rey navigate the ruins of the Death Star?
How did Chewie escape death in a shuttle after Rey used force lightning?
Where are those kids from that Casino Planet?
Where's the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda? (Just kidding!)
Ok, I know this is Star Wars tradition to expand the series to other forms of media. But you can't all expect everyone to watch and read everything else in the Expanded Universe to get all the answers when you could just straight up give them to us. Lucas did that before you in the past six films without expanding it all into other material and he made more sense of things.
Lastly. They cut Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) out of most of the movie. Why I'm mad about this you ask is that it appears that Lucasfilm and Disney were reading too many hateful posts labelled against the actress that they decided to go in favour of the Far-Right and straight up reduce her role. I don't like her character that much as with most of the other newbies to the sequels, but she did give her character a lukewarm performance worthy enough of acceptance. But in a world ruled by The Apprentice, suddenly an Asian character like her is attacked just for being cast in a Star Wars movie. And it feels shameful to see this as nothing but a petty excuse to incite propaganda. And if this is how Hollywood and Disney is going to combat prejudice. Then I want no part of this series anymore.
Verdict?
The Star Wars franchise has come a long way since its Disney Ownership and to be honest. It has been painfully exhausting the way through. The Rise of Skywalker can prove it can still pack a punch with interstellar action and deliver the thrills and references fans love about the series. But it cannot reach its full potential with its lacking plot, unoriginal action sequences, confusing twists. Overreliance of nostalgia, pacing and repeating most of the same problems that Disney Star Wars films are infamous for these days. Some fans will find satisfactory, but not enough to appeal to all fans of the genre.
I give Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a score of 6/10.