After nine films, the Star Wars saga has come to an end. This has been one huge franchise. Now, does this mean that there will no longer be a Star Wars film? As long as these films bring in a ton of money, Disney will be hard-pressed to let it go. It will come back, but under a different name. So with this, we have "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" to complete this story.
This installation of the Star Wars franchise once again takes viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker". It reunites existing characters along with some characters from long ago.
One, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has apparently come back from the dead, and is starting up the first order, so he can usher in, what he calls, the final order which is to cleanse the galaxy of all who oppose him. He enlists Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and both General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and General Pryde (Richard E. Grant) to combat the resistance, specifically Rey (Daisy Ridley). General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) soon enlists Poe Dameron (David Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) to work toward ridding the galaxy, once and for all, of Palpatine and all who's duped under his powers.
Others to round out the cast are Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Naomi Ackie as Jannah, Kerri Russell as Zorii Bliss, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico.
This was slickly and proficiently directed by J.J. Abrams ("Mission Impossible III" '06, "Star Trek" '09, "Anatomy of Hope" (TV movie) '09, "Super 8" '11, "Star Trek Into Darkness" '13, "Star Wars: Episode VII--The Force Awakens" '15) plus TV and video games. This director knows what it's like to helm a large film production, hence his resume. His "Star Trek" '09, was incredibly well directed, written and casted--his characters in that film came alive and were portrayed in a very real way, just as with this film. He comes across looking effortless in his technique and almost makes his direction look like any one could do it, and this is the mark of talent. It was certainly written by two seasoned pros, Chris Terrio ("Argo" '12, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" '16, "Justice League" '17) plus a short, and J.J. Abrams ("Taking Care of Business" '90, "Regarding Henry" '91, "Forever Young" '92, "Gone Fishin' '97, "Armageddon" '98, "Joy Ride" '01"The Catch" (TV movie) '05, "Mission Impossible III" '06, "Super 8" '11, "Star Wars: Episode VII--The Force Awakens" '15) plus TV, video games and a short, based on characters created by George Lucas. Although these writers are seasoned, at least Abrams is, the writing could've been a bit more polished. With a 140 minute running time, it simply amazed me how often certain situations and people weren't explained as well as they could've been. I don't want to go into specifics, but suffice it to say, there were gaps that either couldn't have happened or areas that weren't fully explained. But, even with these discrepancies, the film was still fun to watch and in certain places, it actually brought a tear or two to my eyes. Chris Terrio has written a film that has been announced, "Justice League Part Two" which, for those fans out there will surely revel. The visual effects predominantly created by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) were seamless and truly enhanced the storyline. And last, but not least, the score by the incomparable John Williams ("Jaws", "Star Wars", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial", "Home Alone", "Jurassic Park", "Schindler's List", "War Horse", "Lincoln", etc.), was amazing! Talk about enhancing the story--I don't see how this guy does it film after film.
If you're a Star Wars fan, and there are plenty of them, you'll revel with this one, especially it being the end of the saga. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this franchise, this was better than I ever thought it would be. It is also presented in a nifty IMAX format as well. As the film progresses, it is quite the roller coaster ride, so grab the popcorn.
Out of 4 Stars 3 Rated: PG-13 141mins.
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