Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review

This is the closing act in the latest Star Wars trilogy with Rey (Daisy Ridley) and her companions Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) continuing to fight for the resistance against the First Order. With the rise of the Sith, Kylo Ren and secrets about Rey’s past emerging the three intrepid travellers undertake their largest journey yet.

It was a shame that writer J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio could not come up with a single original thing for it though. The plot is bland with their ‘epic voyage’ no more than a glorified treasure hunt through planets and sets that feel familiar and unimaginative. Talking of familiar and unimaginative; the final battle against the Sith! Did anyone else find the portalling in of the ships oddly familiar? It reminded me so much of the portals scene in Avengers Endgame that I just had an overwhelming need to be seeing a better movie (that movie) instead. There is not even a new villain. It makes no logical sense to re-hash Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). His inclusion feels boring and lazy – a tame way to end this lacklustre trilogy of mediocre highs and lacklustre lows.

This takes us to Kylo Ren! The moody teenager with a crush on Rey. His story arc comes across as jarring and far from being the future of the First Order he feels like a joke, a parody of the old Darth Vader. His choices are abrupt and the emotional moments he has are undeserved and rushed. His character arc leaves me confused and outraged and its close in the third act is an astounding choice made by the screen writers. The same can be said for Rey. The choices made for her character make you feel cheated. This final Star Wars film is just incredibly lazily written. It is no wonder it left me overwhelmingly disappointed, with a bitter taste in my mouth.

There were some good points – I love the way Rey and Kylo speak through the force and it is expanded in this film in innovative ways. The sound is another standout! The lightsabres sound incredible and the droids as always are funny and even cute in moments. Despite this, I cannot recommend this film. I paid £4.99 to see it in December and frankly, I was ripped off! It might be out on Disney + but I would not go watch it. Celebrate this sacred day with the original trilogy. It will satisfy your Star Wars itch and is original and interesting. I am incredibly disappointed to see a franchise like this take such a step backward and I really believe that without the unwavering love of this franchises' fans; this film would have bombed.

3.5/10