*MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SERIES

IMDB Synopsis

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron’s journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences.

Star Wars has been a part of my life literally as long as I can remember. I saw The Phantom Menace in theater when I was 6 and have seen 8 Star Wars in Theater as of last night. I literally have A New Hope mouse pad. So I will have a lot to say about this movie, but let me start off with a few thoughts from my buddy Jordan who I saw this with.

Here’s the thing about (some) Star Wars Fans… they expect perfection. Most of us in the theater enjoyed an exciting, action packed adventure that closed the Skywalker Saga on a great note. It wasn’t perfect, but it had most everything that you could ask for to end the trilogy. Let us not forget our two storm trooper pals who were so relieved that Rey and the boys showed up on the Destroyer. It’s about time we see some emotion from the Serial Number name having goons.

I feel bad for the fans who are calling this the worst Star Wars movie. They expected JJ Abrams to land a Triple Lindy. (watch Back to School if you don’t know the reference) After The Last Jedi, people were upset because it was unique and risky, now those same people are bitching because this one went back to the basics. Aside from a few moments, this movie was everything that a Star Wars movie could be. Let’s all just take a deep breath and reflect on a Saga that has spanned five decades and inspired hope in millions.

So I would say as a massive fan of Star Wars that basically sums up my feelings, I had a grand ole time at the theater and seeing the end of this saga was awesome.

HOWEVER

We need to talk about this as a movie though and overall as a piece of this trilogy is just does not quite land as the previous did. The Force Awakens was a massive undertaking and you can forgive Disney for basically remaking A New Hope when they had to please millions of Star Warriors (shoutout Trent and Robbie Fox). Then for The Last Jedi they hired Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and he decided to subvert all expectations and even some might say “let the past die.” This proved extremely divisive with the fans, leaving critics and myself loving it, but a lot of fans felt betrayed (ridiculous in my opinion) by the decisions that they felt did not fit into the Star Wars they know and loved. So now Disney reversed course and decided to make a fan pleasing finale because that is what the people want I guess. To me though it just felt so safe and did not feel like pushing the limits like Empire Strikes Back or The Last Jedi.

The Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker plot is so crazy it is hard to even describe, but basically it is a journey to find and destroy Emperor Palpatine. Wait Palpatine I thought he died? Oh yeah they brought him back for no reason other than to *Spoiler Alert* MAKE REY HIS GRANDDAUGHTER! Absolute absurdity I know. The rest of the movie is basically a non stop romp of action and cameos that has your emotions jumping up and down for the whole run time.

Stock Watch

Stock Up – Daisy Ridley

She is the star of the Trilogy and really had an amazing run in the movie and the overall saga. She had so much to do from action, to banter, to full on emotion she crushed every second of it. I am excited to see her move on from Star Wars now and see what she can do in other genres.

Stock Up – Adam Driver

What else can I say about this guy, he has had one of the greatest years in cinematic history and that is not Hyperbole. If you want more gushing on him please see The Dead Don’t Die, The Report, Or Marriage Story.

Stock Down – John Boyega

Honestly this guy stinks. First, he badmouths Rian Johnson in junket interviews than he puts in another ridiculous performance in this as the guy who just yells. His character has never really made sense for me so when J.J. confirmed he was force sensitive and wanted to tell Rey that, it just made it even worse for me. I am out I guess very much so on the character but I just did not find him that charming in any of these movies.

Stock Neutral – Oscar Isaac

I think he actually is really good in these movies, I just do not think they do that much for him overall. He already is a very well established actor and will continue to be after this. I do think he has really grown into a leader in these and his banter has become top notch. His light speed hopping had my brain going into a meltdown.

Stock Up – C3P0 and Chewbacca

Both these guys finally got their dues in this after being great sidekicks throughout the saga. C3P0 got his emotional moment that had my eyes watering a bit and Chewy finally after all these years got his medal! What else can you ask for with these iconic characters.

*A couple other tidbits

• Seeing Carrie Fisher was great but it was a weird at the same time cause her character could not move and could hardly say anything.
• Here is my hottest take, I LOVE his character, but Mark Hamill is just a bad actor.
• How did they get Harrison Ford to do this?
• Redeeming Kylo is pretty ridiculous seeing as he has killed like a billion people.
• LANDO!
• I loved the little alien Babu Frick.
• Rey Skywalker…c’mon people

As Jordan said above this movie continues to prove how Star Wars can inspire hope in millions of fans throughout the world. The main issue I am having is just the planning it feels went into this or lack thereof compared to their Disney Companion Marvel. That on the go nature made all the fan service feel even more in your face than Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and hurt the overall story. The Rise of Skywalker still is extremely entertaining and is ultimately satisfying, I just wish the journey was a little more compelling.

Juice Rating:

*My Star Wars rankings can be found here.

*You can find all of my Movie Ratings here.

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