Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an imperfect movie leaving that left this fan thoroughly enjoyed. Warning: Light spoilers ahead!
Going into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with a clear head was the only way I was going to get through the movie. I saw some criticism. I saw some praise.
But what I really wanted was fun.
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The Rise of Skywalker delivered exactly that.
It wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but it wasn’t a disaster of a movie either. It lies somewhere in the middle with imperfect moments, but also with beautiful shots, wonderful acting and a tug at our heartstrings giving us fan service we knew would bring a huge smile to our faces.
The first 30 minutes or so of the movie were the toughest. There’s a time jump between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, but there isn’t actually much explanation as to what has been going on. We learned quickly that Palpatine is back, but even that felt very on the surface because it never really dives into his come back or even what it means to the galaxy at large.
However, once you get past the odd pacing at the start of the movie, Episode IX turns into a fun thrill ride in a race against the clock. The new characters are great, but under utilized. However, they have quickly been added to the long list of characters that make Star Wars special, fitting into the story seamlessly and giving more depth to characters we have already know.
The story itself is a little rough, but we already knew the goal was defeat Palpatine once and for all. The galaxy would never have been safe if they had not. Having said that, I would watch The Rise of Skywalker again 100 times. I enjoyed it that much and whooped it up, laughed and cried my way through it.
It completed a story that we didn’t know needed a new ending (honestly, The Return of the Jedi was a perfectly fitting end to Palpatine’s story). However, it did create new stories, characters and families for us to enjoy for years to come.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently in theaters.