Review:

For having to pick up the awful mess that Rian Johnson did with The Last Jedi, J.J. Abrams did an admirable job of having to right the ship and come up with an ending that ties The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi as cohesively as possible, and at the same time try to satisfy all fans which can’t be an easy task. The beginning felt rush and frantic with scenes jumping too quickly without giving the spectator a chance to absorb what’s happening. What I found useful in enjoying the movie is to accept the fact that Rey (Daisy Ridley) has the combined forces of 100 plus Jedis so that when she does something that Luke Skywalker and Yoda combined can only dream of doing along with new powers that has never before been seen… rather than rolling my eyes (or getting up and leaving the cinema), I decided to just accept it as it is and lo and behold, I’m actually enjoying the movie. The script had lots and lots of holes that’s laughable and not properly addressed as well as too much exposition that detracted from the story but considering the rubbish of The Last Jedi, it is understandable the need for the explanation and the many plot holes throughout. Watching the film, was like experiencing deja vu over and over because elements from the Original Trilogy was peppered throughout the film. Not sure if that’s good or bad but I had hoped they would have come up with something more original and if I’m being highly critical, The Rise of Skywalker is basically a rehash of the Original Trilogy. Having said that, I was still able to have a good time watching the film and when it ended, I didn’t feel the joy and elation I did when watching the Original Trilogy but was relieved that it was over and this time around, they didn’t piss on the true essence of Star Wars… well, not too much. Yes, it could have been better but again it could have been much, much worse. Thank your lucky stars that Rian Johnson had nothing to do with it otherwise, oh boy.