Here’s my Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker which stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and more. Directed by JJ Abrams.

So here we go, the ninth chapter in the Skywalker saga with Rey and Kylo Ren finishing what they started in The Force Awakens. Was it good? Was it bad? Was it really what the critics panned it to be? Should we even listen to the big name movie critics?

I have to be honest the movie is all over the place in terms of plot and narrative. The sheer number of conveniences the characters go through this scavenger hunt is unbelievable too. But I can honestly

Daisy Ridley is on top of her game as Rey in this film with great character moments and acting bits. You can see that she has grown comfortable with her role as the new standard bearer for the Star Wars franchise from this point on. She’s still a bad ass and definitely fun to watch especially during her fight scenes. One small gripe is that throughout the entire sequel trilogy, she’s never sustained major damage until now. Think about that.

Credits: Walt Disney Studios

Adam Driver takes a back seat from this one in exchange for meatier moments which fully takes care of his character arc. We do get to see a lot of physicality for his turn as Kylo Ren. And it’s also such a great thing to see Driver show his dramatic prowess in a sci-fi movie like Star Wars after his wonderful and critically-acclaimed role in “Marriage Story”.

As a fan, I love all the callbacks and the Easter eggs in this one particularly the appearance of Billy Dee Williams who played Lando Calrissian. The dude is always the “lucky charm” for the third films both in the OG trilogy and now in the sequel trilogy. There’s the numerous cameos we get treated to and even those iconic musical cues pop up from time to time to remind viewers how deep in the lore we are.

Visually speaking, there’s just so many things to breathe in. To say in this Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review that the film is pure spectacle is a little overkill. However there’s just a lot of great visuals in this one from new worlds, new creatures, new TIE Fighters and new Stormtroopers. The fight scenes are also good. And let’s not forget that Avengers: Endgame moment that catches us off guard.

The jokes are very akin to comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis and his dialogues. It’s that kind of writing. So be wary. I wasn’t laughing though and I tried really hard. But this humor could be for you. This was one of the more cringey. The dialogues can be tongue-in-cheek from time to time but it still helps in moving the story forward. Its a big shame though that most of the things that they pushed that can be deemed “progressive” gets swept aside for the classic formula/ tropes i.e. Finn as well as Rose Tico.

The movie is long and I will always welcome long space operas no matter the format. But man, does it make for a popcorn treat.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review – Verdict

8/10

TROS is a fun galactic romp with some sweet, sweet payoff at the end but it suffers from a few hiccups. You can see why there are some critics who dislike the film but at the same time as a fan, its such a treat. It suffers from narrative problems but you can see what they want to do. It’s like that situation where you just want this whole thing to end so you can start anew and unknowingly creates something that a segment of the market would still love. Still, you get your money’s worth with the ticket price for TROS. It still has a lot of redeeming features and elements that makes it a decent Star Wars movie.

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