JJ Abrams unshackles himself, indulging his style of film-making

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2019)

For the first 1 hour 30 minutes, the director indulges all of his worst trademarks as a filmmaker - absolutely hectic dialogue where everyone talks over each other, barely giving you time to register anything like an authentic feeling, frantic action with no emotional authenticity. He toned it down for The Force Awakens, actually allowing landscapes and scenes to show their beauty, but there is no restraint what so ever here.
The final 1 hour is better, and just about saves the film from being entirely bad. It contains some meaningful themes that could have risen to greatness, if handled better. The good news is that in terms of plot, the film does not actively *harm* Star Wars's rich narrative, by detracting from it in any permanent way. Star Wars is after all no stranger to critical flops that have a decent plot buried underneath. The bad news is probably just what you expected, that the film is a missed opportunity to make what could have been a great piece of cinema and catharsis.
Anyone surprised by this style of film-making hasn't been paying attention to JJ Abrams body of work. Star Trek, a show known for having a mature, quiet and contemplative side, became at times a seizure of light and sound under his direction in 2009 and 2013. There was a lot of token fan service and misplaced tone-deaf comedy in those movies. Gladly, this aspect isn't bad in The Rise of Skywalker.
Generally speaking, Hollywood isn't known for being able to make endings meaningful. Ending the most famous saga in film history would be a tall ask for anyone. The film isn't without merit, but makes for hard viewing at times. The final 1 hour ties up some of Star Wars's deeper themes somewhat, but it's difficult going amid it's over-crowded timetable.