The End of an Already Finished Story.

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2019)

Watching The Rise of Skywalker, it was hard not to feel that they were trying to end something which had already finished. This to me felt like a somewhat empty film.
When Return of the Jedi finished, it wrapped up the Saga nicely. It gave closure to the characters, and to the story.
Since The Force Awakens, they have gradually undone all of that work and have, bit-by-bit, left the saga with a sense of emptiness.
This story picks up some time after the unfortunate Episode VIII and also has the unenviable task of wrapping up the story that, again, didn't need to be told.
To jump right to the negatives and positives, this move features absolutely stunning CGI and John Williams returns, one last time, to deliver one of cinemas most outstanding soundtracks. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver give very solid performances as the two main characters and the supporting cast do pretty well for themselves as well.
Sadly, there are not as many practical effects as one would like in a Star Wars film, so it feels a bit 'Avengers' and the script lacks enough depth to bring any real feeling to the film.
I left with no real emotional connection to the characters or the story.
This being said, it was a much better film than I thought it was going to be, however, the story came across as quite forced (no pun intended) and, of course, opened up a whole swathe of plot wholes that affect not just this film, but all Star Wars movies retrospectively.
They simply tried to do too much with this film, but it is worth a watch.