Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker was directed by JJ Abrams. It stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Adam Driver, Billy Dee-Williams and Antony Daniels.  

The story concludes the journey of Rey and the resistance as they continue to battle Kylo Ren and the First Order in order to save the galaxy from evil one last time… 

I really enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker and have seen it twice. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Issac all give great performances as Rey, Finn and Poe. I thought that it wraps up the new characters’ arcs really well and the relationships between them, whilst also wrapping up the original characters’ stories and the legacy of the original trilogy. 

All three portrayed the uncertainty that each is feeling really well as all of them are looking for a place in which they belong. Ridley especially captures Rey’s longing and drive for an identity really brilliantly and shows how insecure someone can feel if they don’t know who they are. Boyega captures Finn’s charm and wit really well and we see how far the character has progressed from stormtrooper and reluctant hero in TFA to resistance hero in TROS. Oscar Issac also captures Poe’s insecurity about leadership really well and we watch him find the courage to step up and take charge to be the leader Leia had always hoped for. The dynamic between Rey, Finn and Poe is wonderfully fun to watch and Ridley, Boyega and Issac all bring out the humour and fun of their characters. Billy Dee-Williams returns as Lando and recaptures his suave and cool nature really well and his dynamic with Chewie is especially fun to watch. I’d have liked to have seen more of Lando.  

Adam Driver is brilliant as Kylo Ren, capturing his darkness and vulnerability as he like Rey looks for his place in the world. His performance is intriguing and interesting as you don’t know which way he will turn: to the light or the dark…Ridley and Driver are the heart of the film and both continue to add new layers to their relationship. They show the inner conflict that each is feeling and we see both hero and villain struggle with their feelings and identities and this has been one of the most interesting things this new trilogy has done. 

However, The Rise of Skywalker does have some issues. I didn’t like the way the film handled Rey’s back story. The question of who she is was such an intriguing and interesting one in TFA but her reveal as the granddaughter of Palpatine was not explained enough and felt very rushed  in terms of the overall story. But the story does show that a person is not defined by their past and Rey taking the Skywalker name was a fitting way to wrap up her overall arc. The new characters like bounty hunter Zori Bliss and tribe leader Jannah didn’t really add any emotional weight or heft to the story and they just showed up with little explanation as to why they are there at all. General Hux as the spy reveal  made no sense whatsoever, and it turned Hux from a quite intimidating villain into a joke. 

Palaptine’s return is huge and his character has a massive role to play in the film’s finale, however the biggest issue for me was that it was never explained how he came back or what he’d been doing for the last 40/50 years. How did he build the final order? How did he find Exegol? There are too many plot themes and ideas that don’t make sense and don’t work to serve the overall story. If they had split this film into two it would have made for a better experience and the story would not have felt as rushed.  

But JJ Abrams does show that he understands the Star Wars franchise and where it’s going. Like with TFA, he balances the new and the old really well and clearly enjoys watching these new characters face up to the past and the history of what has been. He directs the action sequences really well, and clearly loves adding the references to previous Star Wars films. What makes his direction so great is his love of the characters. He reminds us that even though these are movies with space battles, lightsabers, Wookies and planet killing space stations, it’s actually about people. Their relationships, how important  friendship is, and how when all seems lost, it’s the people around you that will help you get through it all.  

The finale fight with Palpatine is surprising and visually stunning to look at and seeing these new generation of heroes face off against the old was really fun to watch.Ian McDiarmed clearly loves being back as the character and his voice drips with evil and menace! It was sad and quite tragic to see Kylo die and the way they handled his arc i thought was fitting and satisfying to his overall arc and we really see how how far Kylo/Ben has come as a person.  

My overall thoughts:  

The Rise of Skywalker is a bittersweet and triumphant finale to this story.  

As a fan, seeing it come full circle was beautiful and it was deeply sad and quite moving to say goodbye to these heroes that I loved for so long. Yes, there are things about the film that I don’t like, however I smiled and laughed a lot and watching how far these characters have come and the relationships between them grow has been wonderful. It features great performances from Ridley, Driver, Boyega and Issac, they all love these characters and portray them brilliantly one last time, as for Abrams , he directs it with love and passion not only as in the action sequences, but also in the character relationships. His direction, along with the performances make the Rise of Skywalker a fitting last hurrah to Star Wars! This is certainly the film to see this christmas and i’m giving it a  8\10.