416. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker; movie review

STAR WARS - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Cert 12A
142 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat

"What are the critics talking about? That was amazing!"
So began the verdict of nearly 30-year-old Master W after our once a year outing to the cinema together.
And this comes from a man who has been devoted to the franchise after receiving the first trilogy as a Christmas present when he was about ten years old.
I had to concur. I am not a big Star Wars fan, although I was gaga over The Force Awakens a few years ago.
However, this franchise finale gave me the same wow factor of Avengers - End Game.
It stars Daisy Ridley as Rey, the leading light of the Jedi who are facing extinction in this ultimate franchise tie-up.
Yep, to make sure there are no loose ends, Leia Organa has a significant part even though Carrie Fisher died in real life three years ago.
Apparently, this was engineered via an assembly of out-takes that has had a story built around them.
I am presuming that Star Wars geeks could spot the seam but I definitely could not.
Indeed, I am probably on a different plane to many who will have been stroking their chins on whether each character got a fair crack of director JJ Abrams' whip or whether the story stands up to scrutiny both in terms of its power and continuity.
I simply saw it for what it was - a cracking good film which gave a respectful nod to the past.
Despite having seen every film in the franchise, I am not nearly enough of a sci-fi geek to comment on the nuances of Star Wars The Rise Of Skywalker.
However, I can report that I was riveted for nearly two and a half hours by the vibrant battles and the deep pathos.
Ridley does a decent job of leading the path to the light but I must admit my fandom of Adam Driver meant that I was more taken with his dastardly Kylo Ren.
And, of course, there are favourites such as C3PO, R2D2 as well as the goodies (Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and the baddies (Richard E. Grant (he's very ruthless) and Domhnall Gleeson) and even a surprise re-emergence or three.
In my view, it was everything I expected. A good old-fashioned fight between good and evil with a few twists and turns.
But, more importantly, the geeks in my company were equally salivated.
Either way, have no reservations - it is a cracking movie.

Reasons to watch: If you are a movie fan, you have to.
Reasons to avoid: If you have never seen a Star Wars film it won't have the same impact

Laughs: Two
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 9.5/10

Did you know? The franchise holds a Guinness World Records title for the "Most successful film merchandising franchise." In 2018, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at $65bn and it is currently the fifth-highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

The final word. JJ Abrams: "It was really just doing the best we could for ourselves to not trying to check boxes and say: "These are the things that we must do." But what are the things that we feel the story needs to do? And knowing going into it that we're certainly never going to please everyone. But if we're not being true to ourselves, it's never going to work." Screen Rant

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