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Christopher Nolan has delivered some of my favorite movies of the century. All the way from Memento to the most recent Dunkirk, I've yet to dislike one of his films, so expectations are always high with him. The current global pandemic closed movie theaters worldwide, but fortunately, some countries already opened them, including my own. My IMAX screening of Tenet was my first trip to a theater since February! As a firm believer and strong advocate of the so-called "cinematic experience", I would always remember fondly the day I returned to a place I hold very close to my heart independently of my opinion about the film. Nevertheless, it became an even more special day once I left that enormous screen behind with a happy face.
Nowadays, people complain about everything, especially on social media. So, I'm not surprised that the "savior of cinema" marketing tagline triggered so many souls. If Nolan didn't have enough haters, it surely got a few more after this campaign. Me? I look at it like any other marketing scheme: it's intended to hype its own movie, so I don't really understand why this specific publicity caused so much controversy. Obviously, "savior of cinema" doesn't mean Nolan is going to save theaters from dying. It's just a tagline trying to hype the first major blockbuster in several months! It's a marketing strategy to try and convince people to give Tenet a go. If there's a film meant to be seen at the biggest screen possible, this is the one.
I'll get the outstanding technical achievements out of the way. Inception and Interstellar boast impressive visuals that are hard to compete with, but Tenet is up to the challenge. With uniquely complex, stunning, grand set pieces, Nolan delivers riveting action based on a mind-blowing temporal concept that will make every single viewer scratch their heads. I lost count to the number of times I tried to open my eyes more so I could see (and understand) everything that was going on. Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is handheld for a lot of action sequences, and he has such control over his craft that he was able to capture some of the most jaw-dropping action moments of the last few years through gorgeous angles and a firm grip.
Nolan said that Tenet would be "the hardest movie to cut" for any editor. Jennifer Lame's editing plays a vital role in the time inversion sequences. It's relatively easy to imagine how brutal of a task she must have had. She's incredibly consistent throughout the runtime with perfectly timed cuts that elevate even the simplest of scenes. I wish I could be more specific, but in order to avoid spoilers, I'll just write this: she has a bunch of nominations coming her way, including an Academy Award. Ludwig Göransson's score is tremendously powerful, and it definitely adds to the magnificent action set pieces, especially in the third act.
Finally, Nathan Crowley (production designer) creates such a realistic look that it almost made me believe this could actually occur in the real world. CGI has come a long way, and it's indisputably a tool that can completely transform films into something fascinating when used correctly. However, practical effects will always offer a feeling impossible to replicate through computerized images. It's probably the aspect I appreciate the most about this movie: its massive application of practical effects and real stunts. It surrounds the physics-defying premise within a bubble of realism, and that's only achieved with talented people in the right technical departments.
Story-wise... this is where it gets tricky. I have to be honest about my experience: I found it surprisingly okay to follow and not that challenging to understand. This doesn't mean that it isn't a remarkably complex, layered narrative with ideas that will be incredibly hard for some people to comprehend. I'm not trying to patronize anyone, far from that, but some viewers will inevitably leave the theater without completely understanding what they just saw, simply because it's a two-hour-and-a-half movie packed with heavy exposition about a fictional quantum physics concept. For example, in the same way that some people genuinely can't have a 3D perspective, other people will also have visual difficulties in distinguishing the inverted sequences.
The need to be vague about plot details doesn't let me explain a lot, but the unique concept Nolan develops in Tenet is undoubtedly an exceptionally intriguing idea. As crazy as it might sound, I found the visuals more confusing than the actual scientific explanations that they go with. Unfortunately, that's one of my main issues with the film. Throughout the entire runtime, there's an excessive load of exposition about the time shenanigans. It's a massive amount of information for anyone to be able to remember every single detail. Even worse, some dialogue sequences feel so incredibly forced that it's almost like the movie stops for quick breaks where the characters explain something directly to the audience.
This last point leads me to another problem. John David Washington gets better and better as time goes by, but he feels like a mediator between the film and the audience for the first half of the movie. His dialogue revolves around asking questions about what's happening and how the time inversion works, which is obviously understandable given the character's circumstances, but the execution of these conversations lacks that spontaneous vibe. It really feels like someone yelled "Action!", the actors did their lines, and that same someone yelled "Cut!". Washington isn't exactly a worldwide, well-known actor (Ballers, BlackKklansman), and this is his first big blockbuster appearance, so his inexperience didn't help him through these moments.
However, he ends up being a fine protagonist (no pun intended). Robert Pattinson is charming and quite funny, actually. I couldn't avoid the "humorless" review headlines, and being totally honest, it's surprisingly a lot funnier than I thought it would (not) be. His character has a vital role in the whole story, and it's through him that most of the knowledge about the intricate concept at hand is developed. Elizabeth Debicki is probably the spotlight stealer, though. With a remarkable performance, she represents the emotional arc of the film, and she delivers one of her best interpretations ever. I was afraid that her storyline would turn into a forced romance, but fortunately, it only helped build Washington's character traits.
On the other hand, Kenneth Branagh plays a cliche Russian bad guy with generic motivations who feels way too formulaic for such a ground-breaking movie. But ultimately, that's what Nolan presents. His astonishingly talented methods as a director and his obsession with detail as a writer make Tenet a certainly flawed yet phenomenal film with a concept that might be the hardest he's ever had to pull off. As long as people can remove themselves from the real world and enter a whole new one with entirely different mechanisms and rules, it will be the so-called "blockbuster of the summer" that everyone deserves this year.
All in all, Tenet undoubtedly boasts an incredibly complex narrative with a unique temporal concept impressively demonstrated through spectacular, loud, jaw-dropping, practical action set pieces. Christopher Nolan is a masterful director and a fascinating writer, but he has to thank its technical crew for creating such a visually stunning blockbuster. From Hoyte van Hoytema's riveting camera work to Jennifer Lame's seamless editing, passing through Ludwig Göransson's powerful score and Nathan Crowley's beautiful production design, Tenet is one of the most technically mind-blowing movies of the last few years. With the help of a remarkable cast (especially Debicki and Pattinson), the definitely intriguing story makes the epic runtime feel a bit shorter, despite some scenes being unnecessary. The heavy and forced exposition throughout the entire film transforms an otherwise entertaining flick into a fictional physics class that will confuse thousands of viewers. It also doesn't help to have a generic MacGuffin and a formulaic villain at the core of such an unconventional movie. In the end, Nolan isn't the "savior of cinema" (no one will be), but he certainly delivers the blockbuster everyone's been waiting for since the beginning of the year. As long as people are able to accept and enter his new world, Tenet will be received as one of the best films of 2020.
Rating: A-

I fully understand that Christopher Nolan is trying to play with time, as that what's the movie's about - and yes, he is known for confusing movies - but here, Nolan has made something uninteresting. The idea of things going backwards is cool, but the rules are unclear. We never know what the basic goal is - I could understand secrets, but the film has to be interesting and 'Tenet' simply isn't. Nothing here makes me want to work things out; it's forgettable. Sure, you can say this has to be seen on the big screen, but the long runtime makes it unappealing to most mainstream audiences. Unfortunately, 'Tenet' is not here to save the 2020 box office. I work at a cinema, and to say it underperformed well would be correct. We are going to see more 'Tenet' hot-take YouTube videos than thinkpiece/what you missed ones. Christopher Nolan has made his most forgettable film to date - it's not a bad movie and I'm sure his diehard fans will adore this one, but for everyone else, there isn't much here. 'Tenet' won't be remembered as another “groundbreaking visual spectacle“ from Nolan or for “saving cinema“. It will be remembered for its weird release schedule and having been shown during a global pandemic, and that's unfortunate. Like the rest of the year, 'Tenet' is a write-off.
Read Chris' full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-tenet-time-runs-up-like-my-enjoyment-of-nolans-latest-film

It has that cheap as heck animation that I hate. The "I'm 12, put this on the fridge, mommy" sort of quality animation And I absolutely hate that.
Basically, any show with animation worse than Family Guy has to work really hard just to win me over a little.
But, it turned out to be the most darkly sarcastic show that I've seen on television. Ever.
It has that humor that makes you go: "that's horrible!!!!" at the same time you are laughing yourself to tears.

**Rick and Morty** is one of the only TV Shows in the history of TV which was made for _smart-ass Dumb Science Loving Book-worms_ but ended up as a **mainstream Fan Gatherer**. It's pretty great how a show like this accomplished such greatness among the other Dumb hits.
I really wouldn't believe any of my friends getting everything of it cause they always just seem bored when I start mumbling about Space, black-holes and stuff. _Yeah, I really get pretty protective when it comes to Rick and Morty... duh._

Certainly my favourite Miyazaki film. The animations are a touch angular, but colourfully and stylishly depict this story of a beautiful young girl who is cursed by an evil witch. In despair, she sets off, directionless, from home and comes across "Howl" and his moving castle - and the sprite "Calcifer". She begins a journey of discovery - about herself as much as anything. "Howl" - the ultimate free spirit is also facing down demons of his own that he is struggling to reconcile with. "Calcifer" provides the conduit for them to get to better understand each other and also much of the humour as they seek to break the spells that bind them. This works on many different levels and each time I see it, I seem get something different from it.

Really good movie staging in a fictional center European country. The drawings are great and the story is as delicate as any other from Miyazaki.

**Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol takes an already great formula and upgrades it with bigger stunts, more character development, and an expanded universe.**
Ghost Protocol tops the list of best Mission Impossible movies and sits near the top of best spy films. Ghost Protocol ratchets up the action, the stunts, the comedy, and the allure while still delivering a compelling and entertaining story in ways the franchise hadn’t mastered before. The world of the IMF expands beyond its star agent Ethan Hunt by showing agents on other missions and giving Hunt’s team backstories and development. Brad Bird’s Pixar charm rubs off on the film with fun, quirky moments punctuating the incredible action set pieces and providing a little breathing room in the intense face-paced plot. The quality of new characters and the pedigree of the actors playing them seems to prepare the franchise for spin-offs or even a changing of the guard (if Tom Cruise ever wanted to pass the movies on to a new lead). Ghost Protocol sets a new bar for the Mission Impossible series that causes its successors to thrive as they reach for its level of excellence. If you didn’t want to watch all 6 (and soon to be 8), Ghost Protocol wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

This is almost as good as the first outing - almost 20 years ago - for "Ethan" (Tom Cruise) and he finds himself on the wrong end of an evaluation from the US Government - led by "Hunley" (Alec Baldwin) that wants to dissolve the IMF. He and "Luther" (VIng Rhames), meantime, are on the trail of the "Syndicate" - a criminal organisation that poses a real threat to the peace and security of the nation and to his organisation. Co-opting "Benji" (Simon Pegg) and "Brandt" (Jeremy Renner) they soon come across the enigmatic "Ilsa" (Rebecca Ferguson) who wants to help out, but why? What now ensues is a tautly directed thriller with plenty of action that takes us all around Morocco and Europe before quite a gripping conclusion to the intrigue leaves everyone unsure who they can trust. Christopher McQuarrie seems to have decided to go back to the television series for reference here, the teamwork (even from the usually terrible Pegg) and the plot develop more plausibly and excitingly; it has a grittier and more substantial story to it, and even if Cruise looks a little unkempt from time to time, that narrative is just better - it actually is a thriller rather than just another piece of star-led boisterous entertainment. Like most films that depict the principle of US Senate oversight, it continues to poke fun at the (in)competencies of that body to even make a proper cup of coffee; there is some humour in the dialogue and it's put the franchise very much back on track.

Perhaps what I'm missing with _Mission: Impossible_ is the big screen experience. Because I'm just not really feeling the love with this franchise. 15 years down the road since the first film and it still all feels a little unfocussed and silly to me, despite how beloved I know it is.
That all said, and though the villain here is certainly no Phillip Seymour-Hoffman of _M:I:III_, I still felt this was the strongest entry of the franchise so far. They even finally figured out that women can be used for more than just a damsel-in-distress, throwaway-set-piece or eye-candy. They haven't moved terribly far past that point, but at least they're changing it up a little. This fourth entry also adds a little levity, something a series that has always been a little dumb, is well served by.
_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

The Matrix I loved.
The Matrix Reloaded I liked AND used it to teach... seriously.
The Matrix Revolutions just stank.
Seriously, it was really bad.
Reloaded was kind of heavy handed on the philosophy... but it still had enough stylized action to compensate for characters who were so transparent representations of religious philosophies they were as vapid as steam.
Revolutions kind of abandons the conflict of philosophies, doubles down on one and then.... it commits the BIGGEST crime of all.
It switches gears into CGI battles and all but abandons the stylized Wire-Fu and gun violence that made the first two movies so much fun.
HELLO! We weren't watching them because of the plot, we were watching them because they were trippy cool kung-fu shoot em up sci-fi films... and you went and abandoned the action that we loved in place of CGI battles that are even boring almost 20 years later.
It basically left everything that made us go "WOW!" when we saw the first one behind and took a totally new form for the climax and... you lost me there.

And so the much-hyped Year Of The Matrix comes to an end. Truthfully, though, the real Year Of The Matrix was 1999, when the groundbreaking original proved to be the right film in the right place at the right time. Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist and Y2K fears about the power of machines over mankind, The Matrix not only revitalized slo-mo action sequences with its 'bullet-time' style, it had a political relevance that already seems dated in a 21st century world dominated by a war against terror, not technology.
The Matrix Reloaded, for all its faults, did try to up the ante, both in its creation of a wider Matrix myth and its budget-heavy effects. Revolutions, however, is content to follow in its wake, the final couple of hours of a four-and-a-half hour slab to which the original movie, in the makers' minds, is but a pre-title sequence. Granted, there's less philosophical babble and more emphasis on action in Revolutions, but the Wachowskis, having backed themselves into pseud's corner, can only deliver with a formula where spectacle and pretentiousness follow on from each other in steady succession. Gut thrills and intellectual stimulation are never integrated as one.
Revolutions' sustained action set-piece - the Sentinels' attack on Zion - is undeniably exciting, but it sure doesn't feel like an episode from a close sequel to the original Matrix. For a start, Zion was off-screen for the entire first movie. Secondly - and dramatically more importantly - this centerpiece relegates the main characters to, at best, mere bystanders. Neo and Trinity are off on a mission of their own. Morpheus - now dressed in what looks like a burgundy Benetton jumper rather an outfit consistent with his standing as the coolest dude on (or under) the planet - takes a literal backseat to Niobe's driving. Instead, the key players are the Kid, whose backstory is apparent only to those dedicated enough to watch The Animatrix cartoons, and Mifune, whose on-screen impact is unfortunately as brief as it is memorable.
That such a primary scene is completely filled with secondary characters isn't just disappointing - it's damaging, because it draws attention away from the protagonists' climactic acts. Basically, this is the bit you remember, more than Neo's vital conversation with the Wizard Of Oz-like face of the machines or his up-in-the-air fisticuffs with Smith (a fight whose sfx impact has dwindled following Reloaded's Burly Brawl).
Some viewers will indeed be completely satisfied, their questions answered, as the final credits roll, but they're the ones who have done their homework. Without filling in plot gaps by watching The Animatrix or playing derided computer game Enter The Matrix, a sense of confusion reigns. And those who are confused can't emotionally engage with the characters, thus rendering any amount of sacrifices and love themes null and void. In the original film, the casual viewer could relate to a slave race of pod people and their need to be freed, but the Wachowskis seem to have moved the goalposts as the story has progressed, sidelining what began as a focal point of the plot.
In other words, few box-office-storming blockbusters have been aimed so consciously at such a narrow and precise cult audience. The Year Of The Matrix will be remembered as an indulgence for fans, while the original movie will be affectionately held as a separate entity by a bigger crowd.
Verdict - What once represented the future of science fiction cinema has become little more than a solid genre offering. But, hey, it wasn't supposed to be the Second Coming, was it? Oh, hang on...
3/5
- Empire Magazine

[MAJOR SPOILERS]
I despise this movie with a passion. I still believed the sequel trilogy to be salvageable up until this point. Unfortunately, it ruined anything good the sequels had going for them.
_The Force Awakens_ was full of trash to get you to feel nostalgic, but despite that, I thought it wasn’t awful. I still wasn’t a fan, but all hope was not lost. _The Last Jedi_ was worse. They completely butchered Luke Skywalker. Instead of being the Jedi warrior that ended the tyranny of the empire, he was reduced to a grumpy hermit drinking green titty juice. Pathetic. A whole lot of garbage happened in this one, although I did like Snoke as a villain and I thought he had potential. I had mildly enjoyed the First Order up until this point.
Anything positive I said above no longer applies to this piece of hot dookie known as _The Rise of Skywalker_. Instead of actually going somewhere interesting with Snoke as a villain, they completely trash him and literally any ongoing story arcs from the previous two films because “somehow, Palpatine returned.” Yes, that’s right, they got rid of any building momentum to retcon Palpatine’s death with no explanation. And then Rey is a Palpatine I guess, but for some dumbass reason she takes on the Skywalker name and blah blah blah a bunch of bullshit. Rey and Kylo Ren’s love story is as unconvincing as ever. Oh also, they killed off Leia for some dumbass reason. One more thing: tell me, Disney, how tf does a literal LASER SWORD with the ability to cut through metal like butter, simply bounce off of someone, or doing anything BUT kill them on contact? On top of butchering the characters and plot, lightsabers were taken to the slaughterhouse as well with mechanics that make no sense.
The one good thing about this movie is that it looked cool. And for that, I award this film one point.
1/10

Whilst still serviceable, 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' disappointed me - it makes for a relatively limp finish to the sequel trilogy.
The plot is the biggest letdown. It's all over the place, it might have a good amount of action but the actual point of the film is uninteresting and feels like something we've seen before. The cast still do well amongst all that, but I can't say I'll remember a performance from this.
With that said, Daisy Ridley is the best thing about it. Adam Driver is fine, but his character doesn't interest me much at this point. John Boyega and Oscar Isaac felt underused, while Kelly Marie Tran is discarded almost completely. Richard E. Grant is a slight upgrade on Domhnall Gleeson, but not by much.
A shorter run time may have helped this, instead it feels kinda bloated and without much reasoning to be so. I don't dislike it, it's still just about what I'd describe as good, but given it's part of 'Star Wars' it should've been far greater - in my opinion, at least.

This was painful to watch. Nothing works, it is almost like this movie was directed by someone who doesn't know the rules of this universe. Everybody is now force sensitive and random Jedi masters popping up here and there.
A complete U turn from all the other movies and the direction they were taking and their logic. Lead by the most useless and lifeless cast ever, with a main character that contradict itself during the whole movie. Family isn't important but let me pick my family name because of my past...
This movie finished to bury this franchise for me and I will now stick to The Mandalorian and stories like Rogue One or Solo. What a waste.

Bad. Everytime i watched Star Wars, i regret. So much hype.

When it comes to “Star Wars,” being a fan comes first and a film critic comes second. I was four years old when I saw the original, and I’ve been a huge devotee of all things in the galaxy for forty plus years. This isn’t a review written by a disgruntled fan, as I have grown to love Rey, Poe, and BB-8 almost as much as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2. But when a movie is so careless with its beloved characters both past and present, it’s something that can’t be ignored.
The Skywalker saga comes to its disappointing end in this (supposedly) final chapter. The recycled story is basic and mostly predictable, as the surviving Resistance rallies together to face the First Order for one final battle. So much is shoved into this movie that it feels like a pressure cooker that’s being forced to tell a too-rushed story. It becomes frustrating early on.
I realize “Star Wars” is a touchy subject and fans will always be debating the films until the end of time, but “The Rise of Skywalker” is one of the more mediocre entries in the series. From the reveal of Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) origins to the head-scratching actions of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to the disappointing conclusions for Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe’s (Oscar Isaac) stories, this thing stinks to high heaven. Almost everyone does things that are totally out of character, events happen that make absolutely no sense within the Lucas-created universe, it seems like more questions are raised than are answered, and new rules of what the Jedi can and can’t do seem to be made up on the fly because they make for convenient story arcs.
I’m not usually a literal filmgoer but this movie is so poorly plotted that its myriad problems are too abundant to ignore. Since this is a spoiler-free review I can’t divulge them here, but those who’ve seen the film will be able to name at least half of the dozen or so massive problems within seconds.
Particularly shameful is the inexcusable way Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), who was a major character in “The Last Jedi,” is discarded like trash and relegated to a very minor background role in this film. Perhaps a defense could be constructed that she didn’t quite fit into this part of the journey, but I say hogwash. This is absolutely a decision that feels like it was done to appease angry internet fanboys who screamed and howled about Tran and her character behind the anonymity of their keyboards. Kowtowing to bullies is a colossal setback to the very themes that root the “Star Wars” franchise.
Further aggravating to life-long fans is the sparse emotional connection that stems from the film’s many fakeouts. There are zero consequences to the movie’s most shocking moments. It’s a crappy thing to do because it assures a near-complete loss of trust from your audience. For every gasp-inducing jolt and hold-for-tears touching moment, a sense of betrayal almost always follows.
Even worse is the quality of the filmmaking. This movie is so poorly shot it’s shocking, and director J.J. Abrams, who did a terrific job with “The Force Awakens,” is again in the driver’s seat. Only this time instead of keeping an unflappable composure behind the wheel, he’s swerving in and out of traffic at such a high speed that he spins out of control and careens off the nearest cliff.
“Rise of the Skywalker” is broadly entertaining, but it’s not a good movie. It’s the year’s biggest letdown.

Had its moments I guess, but the plot made very little sense and the blatant ways of trying to undo what Rian Johnson did, as bad as they were in The Last Jedi, just wreaked of desperation. Do have to chuckle at completely dropping the set up of a Finn/Rose/Rey love triangle, though in that case not such a bad thing.
The one consistent thing from this mess of a trilogy is Adam Driver, too bad he didn't get the proper material to make the most of it. Beyond him, nothing else really works, even the direction from Abrams felt old, besides, not a big fan of CGI vs CGI battles (like in Transformers), lacks a certain weight and thus suspense.
Further shame, now that the Skywalker Saga is done, as poorly made as the prequel trilogy was under the direction of George Lucas, even he wouldn't pass bringing Han (Ford), Leia (Fisher) and Luke (Hamill) together.
**2.5/5**

“Do it!”
I’m surprised they added that in there despite all the memes.
Anyway…
A long time ago...four years to be distinct; the space opera ‘Star Wars’ returned to cinemas with ‘The Force Awakens', that brought back the bittersweet experience that fans have been craving for over 30 years. Well lets just say Christmas was magical that year. While I wasn’t quite as wowed as everyone else, but I still enjoyed it otherwise and I was interested where the story will go after J.J. Abrams left his “mystery box” of questions for another director to answer. How exciting and epic the next years will be.
And then the sequel and two spin-offs happened. Well lets just say my interest for these new movies has completely evaporated. Sad times indeed. And no I don’t feel like I’m being overly negative in the heat this movie is receiving, because right now, at this very moment, my thoughts and overall feeling on this movie are genuine, and re-watching it isn’t going to safe it. I’m not disappointed or angry, because at this point I stopped caring.
‘Rise of Skywalker’ is a factory made movie with no heart, no soul, and no magic. Words and phrases like: bold, epic, and satisfying - are not the type of words that I would describe this final chapter in the Skywalker saga. I can’t call something bold if it played things incredibly safe. Each movie exists just to shred up and apologize for what came before it.
J.J. Abrams can be hit or miss sometimes, but I must admit he had a difficult task to follow up on ‘Last Jedi’ and Rian Johnson undoing his mystery box questions. If that wasn’t bad enough, the death of Carrie Fisher also had a massive effect on the story, and including her into the movie, while respecting her legacy and giving her as much screen time with the limited deleted footage they have. Abrams sadly treads on familiar ground and doesn't really handle the originals (or even the prequels) with respect. This is literally a remake of ‘Return of The Jedi’.
The story in this movie is almost nonexistent. It’s so rushed that you can’t catch a breather amidst the chaos. Nothing flows naturally. Characters running around and jumping from location to location. I think the quick pace easily hides the poor writing and plot holes. I also thought the title crawl is a bit off and felt it was written by a Reddit user. From the moment the movie starts until it ends nothing makes a lick of sense.
I think the biggest waste of opportunity is the character of Finn, because the potential of greatness was set up in ‘The Force Awakens’, and they didn’t do a single thing with it. I mean, a Stormtrooper who revolt against the corrupt and sinister empire, which is something we haven’t seen before. Heck, a long time ago he held a lightsaber. Unfortunately in this movie he’s a comedic buffoon that sweats and shouts a lot. What a waste of John Boyega’s talent. They did him dirty.
I like Daisy Ridley, not so much on Rey. I don’t want to jump on any bandwagon here, but I don’t understand how someone can be so over powered and skillful at the force with barely any training. Whenever there is training it’s over before you know it. There was a point where I said to myself, “Who taught her to do that?”, or “how the hell did she do that?”. I really struggled to emotionally connect with Rey, because there’s nothing more dull than a character with no flaws or growth.
The strongest element throughout these three movies was Kylo Ren by the magnificent Adam Driver. This guy literally carried this series on his back. At least his character as an arc, and not just wasted potential. I actually connected with his inner conflict between the dark side and the light side.
The cinematography looks beautiful and absolutely striking. The visuals and music will always be great with these movies regardless on the actual movie.
Emperor Palpatine is back...for some reason. The vague explanation of why he’s back made it clear to me that Disney had no plan from the start for these new movies. Still, Ian McDiarmid is fantastic as always. He oozes with evil and soaks up every wicked moment of it.
The awkward and ill-placed comedy from ‘Last Jedi’ is still present and it got worse and worse as it went along. With this being the finale, new characters still get introduce and get some development. Like, why are you introducing new characters now? Billy Dee Williams returns as the slick and classy Lando, but sadly doesn't really do much for the story. Richard E. Grant is great as the ruthless new commander of the First Oder with the small screen time he has. Dominic Monaghan, on the other hand, feels like an extra. Rose Tico has a smaller role this time around and her entire love triangle with Finn from ‘Last Jedi’ gets brush under the carpet. Kelly Marie Tran sure can’t catch a break.
The action sequences with the lightsaber fights and space battles were mostly forgettable. Even the scenes that stick to mind wasn’t that special. The camera fails to capture focal points with the grand scale lacking.
I like how there’s a lesbian couple towards the end that’s on screen for about two seconds. So when the studio want to market the movie for China, they could easily edit out it to make it more “marketable”. How progressive Disney.
Overall rating: An unsatisfying conclusion. At least ‘The Mandalorian’ is good.

**_I enjoyed it, but I did so with a sizeable asterisk_**
>_I said to Rian, "_Jedis don't give up. I mean even if he had a problem he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake he would try and right that wrong_." So right there we had a fundamental difference, but it's not my story anymore. It's somebody else's story, and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That's the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that, I'm sorry – well in this version. See, I'm talking about the George Lucas_ Star Wars_. This is the next generation of_ Star Wars_, so I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he's Jake Skywalker. He's not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it served the story. But I still haven't accepted it completely._
- Mark Hamill; Official Press Tour for _Star Wars: The Last Jedi_ (December 18, 2017)
>The _Force Awakens_, _I think, was the beginning of something quite solid._ The Last Jedi_, if I'm being honest, I'd say that was feeling a bit iffy for me. I didn't necessarily agree with a lot of the choices in that and that's something that I spoke to Mark [Hamill] a lot about and we had conversations about it._
- John Boyega; "John Boyega Is on His Own Hero's Journey" (Isaac Rouse); _HyperBeast_ (December 8, 2019)
>The Last Jedi _is full of surprises and subversion and all sorts of bold choices. On the other hand, it's a bit of a meta approach to the story. I don't think that people go to_ Star Wars _to be told, "This doesn't matter."_
- J.J. Abrams; "Will _Star Wars_ Stick the Landing? J.J. Abrams Will Try" (Dave Itzkoff); _The New York Times_ (December 11, 2019)
Rian Johnson's _Star Wars: The Last Jedi_ (2017) was a film which divided critics and audiences to an unusual degree – on Metacritic it has a critical score of 85/100 (the second-highest in the franchise), with 53 positive reviews against zero negative, but its audience score is only 4.4/10 (the lowest in the franchise), with around 3,000 positive reviews against nearly 4,500 negative. In their (predominantly negative) reviews of _Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker_, many critics who championed _Last Jedi_ posit that the film was a great work of art, unfairly maligned by a toxic fanbase pissed off that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was in a perpetual bad mood and that Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) was unacceptable because she wasn't white. And certainly, there was an element of that in the reaction some diehard fans had to the movie – the racist and sexist abuse that Tran took from such fans was shameful, and the very definition of toxicity. However, these critics essentially argue that if you didn't like _Last Jedi_, the _only_ possible explanation is that you're a racist, misogynistic, reactionary, right-wing Neanderthal – it certainly can't have anything to do with simply disliking the movie because you disliked the movie. And of course, such critics don't mention the horrid screenplay that spends 40 minutes on a side-quest that has nothing to do with the rest of the film; they don't mention how Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) withholding her plan from Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) makes not a lick of sense; they don't mention Luke throwing away his lightsaber (to hell with that scene); they don't mention how General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) was turned into comic relief; and they sure as hell don't mention resurrected flying space Jedi (to hell with that scene too). The fact is, the film is an absolute mess, and it has zero to do with skin colour or gender.
And so, one must ask, is _Rise of Skywalker_ a course correction or a flat-out apology? I'm leaning to the former, but there can be no doubt that much of what _Last Jedi_ introduced into the canon has been unceremoniously discarded – Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is once more wearing his mask and the Knights of Ren are back; the Jedi child seen at the end of _Last Jedi_ is never mentioned; Rey's (Daisy Ridley) parentage, so casually dismissed in _Last Jedi_, is once again crucially important; Rose, that most maligned of characters, has gone the way of Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), and is barely seen. Indeed, _Rise_ is more of a sequel to J.J. Abrams's _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ (2015) than it is to _Last Jedi_, one or two major plot points notwithstanding, and whilst _Last Jedi_ looked forward, clumsily introducing new concepts and themes to the franchise, _Rise_ follows _Force Awakens_ in doing the opposite – it looks back, and is chock-full of throwbacks and references to the previous films. And although I certainly enjoyed it as a spectacle (it looked and sounded exceptional in 3D IMAX), there's no doubt it's a deeply flawed piece of work. It's the kind of film that feels like it was created by a computer algorithm or a corporate committee trying to tick as many boxes as possible – rather than attempting something ambitious which fans _might_ not like, it's far more concerned with trying to please everyone without offending anyone. And this is only one of two impossible tasks it assigns itself.
Picking up the story a few months after the events of _Last Jedi_, the war between the Resistance and the First Order is still raging. However, a recent development has altered the playing field and taken both sides by surprise – Emperor Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) has returned, having survived the events at the end of Richard Marquand's _Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi_ (1983). Revealed to have literally created Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) in a lab, Palpatine has been manipulating events from behind-the-scenes for years and now plans to harness the immense combined power of every Sith who has ever lived. As the film begins, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, who assumed the mantle after he murdered Snoke in _Last Jedi_, is making his way to Palpatine's base on the 'hidden' planet Exegol, which can only be reached with the use of a powerful Sith Wayfinder, of which there are only two in existence. Seeing Palpatine as a threat to his leadership of the First Order, Ren is planning to kill him. However, rather than doing so, he watches in awe as Palpatine reveals a massive armada of hundreds of fearsomely powerful _Xyston_-class Star Destroyers. He then orders Ren to find and kill Rey. Meanwhile, with Luke dead, Rey is continuing her Jedi training under his sister, Leia Organa (a cobbled together 'performance' by Carrie Fisher, comprised of a combination of unused material from the previous films, body doubles, and CGI). When Poe and former First Order stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) discover that Palpatine is on Exegol, Rey learns of the necessity of the Wayfinder from Luke's notes. And so Rey, Poe, Finn, Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), and the droids C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2-D2, BB-8, and D-O set out to find it.
_Rise of Skywalker_ is directed by _Force Awakens_ director J.J. Abrams (_M:i:III_; _Super 8_; _Star Trek: Into Darkness_). Colin Trevorrow (_Safety Not Guaranteed_; _Jurassic World_; _The Book of Henry_) was originally hired as writer/director, but he left/was fired from the project after clashing with franchise producer Kathleen Kennedy, who seems to have a bit of a thing for firing directors, and who was dissatisfied with the script by Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (_Kong: Skull Island_; _Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom_; _Pokémon: Detective Pikachu_). In the credits for _Rise_, Abrams and Chris Terrio (_Argo_; _Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice_; _Justice League_) are credited with the screenplay, working from a story credited to Trevorrow, Connolly, Abrams, and Terrio, although Terrio has said in interviews that the Trevorrow/Connolly credits were a legal requirement, and nothing of their script remains in the final film.
And this brief bit of background chaos serves to help illuminate what is probably the biggest problem with both this film and this new trilogy as a whole – lack of narrative through-lines. At no point during _Rise_, not for one second, did it ever feel like the culmination of a nine-film arc. Hell, it barely felt like the culmination of a three-film arc. As already mentioned, _Rise_ seems more like a sequel to _Force Awakens_ than it does to _Last Jedi_, but the problem runs deeper than that; not only is there a modest disconnect between the three films in the sequel trilogy, but there's a much more important and sizable disconnect between this trilogy and the previous two – George Lucas's _A New Hope_ (1977), Irvin Kershner's _The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980), and Marquand's _Return of the Jedi_ and the Lucas-directed prequel trilogy; _Episode I: The Phantom Menace_ (1999), _Episode II: Attack of the Clones_ (2002), and _Episode III: Revenge of the Sith_ (2005).
Love them or hate them, the prequels do feel like they take place in the same narrative space as the originals; they not only form a coherent and logical trilogy in and of themselves, but (Midi-chlorian foolishness aside), they also form a coherent and logical six-film arc with the original trilogy. In short, the prequel trilogy has very strong and narratively organic connective tissue to the original trilogy. Lucas himself has spoken to this connective tissue, pointing out that when you watch the originals, it's Luke's story, but when you watch the six films, it's Anakin's story. When you factor in this third trilogy, however, despite Disney dubbing the nine films the "_Skywalker Saga_", the overarching story essentially becomes Palpatine's, as he's the only constant in all three trilogies (apart from C-3PO and R2-D2). However, whilst Palpatine's presence in the first two trilogies is integral, woven intricately into the fabric of everything that happens, his appearance here is…less so. This has the effect of making the nine-film sequence feel unbalanced, with the last three never really managing to feel like a valid continuation of the previous six. At best, they feel like a spin-off, with thematic connections and recurring characters occasionally shoehorned in to try to establish narrative continuity, but, by and large, they're their own thing – which is not how Disney has sold them at all.
All of which leaves _Rise_ with not one, but two impossible tasks – 1) to somehow conclude this trilogy in such a way that it also works as the satisfying closing chapter to the nine-film _Skywalker Saga_, and 2) to somehow conclude this trilogy despite having to abandon and retcon much of what the second film did.
The importance of this trilogy's disconnection from the others was brought into relief for me by something my uncle said when we were discussing _Rise_. He's a fall-down drunk who talks to trees and may be involved in a plan to resurrect Hitler as a gay sushi chef, but he has a very interesting perspective on the _Star Wars_ films. To paraphrase, he said that to him _Force Awakens_, _Last Jedi_, and _Rise_ never felt like _Episodes VII_, _VIII_, and _IX_ – rather they felt like _Episodes X_, _XI_, and _XII_, and the "real" _Episode VII_, _VIII_, and _IX_ were never made. This isn't him arguing that Lucas's ideas for the third trilogy (which were rejected by Disney) should have been used and would have been awesome – rather his point is more structural; this trilogy is built on a serious of major events which take place between _Return of the Jedi_ and _Force Awakens_, which we never got to see and which fundamentally divide this trilogy from the other two. Had we been made privy to these events, however, these last three films would have had a much easier task of integrating into and ending the twelve-film _Skywalker Saga_. I have to admit, it wasn't something that had occurred to me, but the tree to whom he pitched it really sold me on the idea when it told me over the phone, and it does make a lot of narrative sense – had this been the fourth trilogy rather than the third, its connection to the first six films would have been much more organic, the story much more contiguous, and the task of bringing the entire saga to a close considerably less daunting.
Of course, a big question is whether or not Disney had a specific narrative plan going into this thing, with many arguing that the lack of coherence between the three films proves that they did not. But that seems somewhat unbelievable to me. Rather (and again, I have to credit my uncle with this), it's more likely that Abrams laid groundwork for a coherent three-film arc, but Rian Johnson was more concerned with making a Rian Johnson film than a _Star Wars_ film, and ignored (if not necessarily undermined) much of Abrams's preparatory work. This also feeds into the criticism that the first hour of _Rise_ is too plot-heavy and expositionary; which could be explained if he was essentially in a position of having to do two films' worth of work in one, because plot points that should have been emphasised in _Last Jedi_, to set up the events in _Rise_, simply weren't.
The big thing here is the return of Palpatine, which has been argued to be completely arbitrary, a desperate bit of fan service from a filmmaker trying to win back fans, and which doesn't make a whole lot of narrative sense. I can certainly sympathise with those sentiments, and I agree that his return negates Vader's sacrifice at the end of _Return of the Jedi_ and makes a mockery of the whole "_restoring balance to the Force_" prophecy in the prequel trilogy. However (and this is the final reference to my uncle), there were a number of hints in _Force Awakens_ (that I did not pick up on) that a big bad was pulling the strings and that that big bad was Palpatine. To explain any more would constitute spoilers for _Rise_, but there are videos on YouTube posted shortly after the release of _Force Awakens_ which speculate (correctly, it turns out) that Palpatine might be involved. Taken together, it's enough to convince me that his return wasn't as arbitrary as it may seem. And although the fact that it seems that way at all is still a major problem, that's more likely the fault of Johnson rather than Abrams.
There are some smaller issues with the film, however. For example, there are far too many shots of Rey staring off into the middle-distance as she senses something (usually connected to Ren). The film also tends to treat death less than reverentially; no less than six characters die, only to return in some form or another, which cheapens and undermines both the goals of the characters and the inherent risk in attempting to achieve those goals. The quartet of main characters also remain as insipid as they were in the previous two films – Rey never gets beyond the reluctant Jedi trying to wrap her head around everything; Finn never gets beyond the token good guy who used to be bad template; Poe never gets beyond Han Solo-lite; and Ren never gets beyond the moody emo who hates his parents and so is rebelling against them by hanging out with a questionable crowd of intergalactic fascists. As you do. The structure of the plot is also poor, far too repetitive, and relying too heavily on coincidence. The biggest problem is that the whole film is built around the Resistance trying to get to Exegol. To do so they need the Wayfinder, but to get that they need this other thing, but to find that they need to go here and speak to him, but to do that they need a mystical doohickey but to get that they have to…you get the picture. The whole film feels like a series of video game quests.
Something else that bothered me is a semi-spoiler, so skip this paragraph if you wish. Mimicking the scene in _A New Hope_ where the _Millennium Falcon_ swoops in to save Luke in the final battle, there's a shot towards the end of the film where a massive fleet of thousands of Resistance ships is revealed, led by Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). But where did such an armada come from? How was Lando able to assemble so many ships in such a short space of time (he has no more than a couple of days)? If such a fleet exists, why not use it before now? Visually, it's a spectacular shot, but the grandiosity is achieved by sacrificing logic.
For all that, however, I have to admit, I enjoyed _The Rise of Skywalker_ for the most part – it's a fine spectacle taken on its own terms, very loud, very over-the-top, and very entertaining. One thing that's come in for a lot in criticism is the number of callbacks to previous films. And there certainly is a lot, but, generally speaking, I thought they were fairly well-handled, logical enough and reasonably organic. For example, Palpatine tells Ren that some people consider Sith abilities to be "unnatural", which was exactly what Palpatine told Anakin (Hayden Christensen) in _Revenge of the Sith_; Poe and Finn are shown playing the holographic chess game on the _Falcon_; the turret gun on the _Falcon_ still has the old-school graphic readout as seen in New Hope; during her training, Rey uses the blast shield on her helmet whilst fighting a flying bot, another reference to _New Hope_; characters sink into quicksand in a scene reminiscent of the garbage compactor scene in _New Hope_; a character Force-lifts an X-Wing from a swamp just as we see Yoda doing in _Empire_; there's a scene of Palpatine and Rey watching a nearby space battle, just as Palpatine and Luke do in _Return of the Jedi_.
Aesthetically, as one would expect, everything looks and sounds great, particularly Palpatine's base on Exegol. Abrams and cinematographer Dan Mindel (_John Carter_; _The Amazing Spider-Man 2_; _Pacific Rim: Uprising_) shoot these scenes like it's a horror movie – deep chiaroscuro shadows, ominous caverns disappearing in the background, unnaturally powerful lightening flashing from above. This tone is helped immeasurably by the production design by Rick Carter (_Forrest Gump_; _A.I. Artificial Intelligence_; _Avatar_), which really sells the vast otherworldliness of the place. Equally important here is the sound design by David Acord (_Guardians of the Galaxy_; _Avengers: Age of Ultron_; _The Secret Life of Pets_), which features a constant chatter of unearthly and disembodied voices, like a thousand ghosts all whispering at once.
The whole thing has a dark vibe the likes of which we've never really seen in _Star Wars_, and the scenes here are probably the best in the film, from a craft perspective if nothing else. The scenes showing Rey and Ren speaking to one another via Force Dyad are also excellent. These scenes were easily the best part of _Last Jedi_, and they're just as good here, as we see the background of one character's location appearing behind the other character, with the backgrounds shifting from one to the other as the scenes play out. A lightsaber fight makes particularly good use of the Dyad, with events in one location having an unexpected effect on events in the other.
So, all things considered, although I enjoyed _The Rise of Skywalker_ and found it a vast improvement over _Last Jedi_, it never touches greatness. Everything feels workshopped and focus-grouped to within an inch of its life, and the spark of originality that was so prevalent in the original trilogy and less so in the prequels seems almost extinguished. It looks great, and it's both exciting and entertaining, but it's also safe and predictable in a way that none of the films were when Lucas was still in charge. And sure, you might say that fans rejected _Last Jedi_ because it took too many risks, and now they reject _Rise_ because it doesn't take enough, and there's probably some truth to that. But the fact is that the film never feels like a closing chapter, not because it looks like there'll be more chapters, rather because it never seems to know how to conclude the story with much in the way of satisfaction. I enjoyed it whilst I was watching it and it's a decent enough _Star Wars_ movie, with some terrific individual scenes. But as the final entry of a 42-year-old franchise (the most popular franchise in any medium in human history), the whole thing is, perhaps inevitably, a little disappointing.

This is some bullshit. You know it, I know it. _Rise of Skywalker_ is not just a bad movie contained within itself, it's also a **very** bad sequel to _Last Jedi_. But that didn't stop me from having a really great time at the cinema with _Episode IX_. Twice.
Originally I started writing my review for it by writing two lists, one of all the dumb crap I didn't like, and one of all the dumb crap I did like, but A) it contained a lot of spoilers, and B) there's a lot of lists of the dumb crap in _Rise of Skywalker_ out there already, so all I'll say is just this: The majority of complaints that people are making about _Rise of Skywalker_ are fair and accurate, and whether you are a _Star Wars_ fan or not, there is a very real chance you will not enjoy this movie. But between 2017 and 2019 I watched over 1500 movies, and I thought that this movie was one of the better ones.
_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

This movie is really awesome. It took me two viewings to truly cement the way I truly feel about this film. But upon second viewing this film was not just an entertaining blast from start to finish but to be honest a perfect conclusion to the Skywalker story. The film traverses the stories of the previous films in order to bring all those stories together for a culmination that is truly satisfying. The cinematography and visual effects as usual are outstanding in the film but this film seems to have a unique feel that adds to the foreboding tone kept consistent throughout. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley as Rey and Kylo truly shine in this film and are both giving their a - game and prove that they are both incredible actors and extremely emotionally flexible (particularly Ridley). The Arc of Kylo Ren is by far the highlight of this trilogy and in this film and the conclusion of said arc is immensely satisfying, Reys story also takes a surprising turn which I found immensely satisfying in hindsight. As a conclusion to my favourite series of all time I was left immensely pleased with the final sequence of the film which brings all of this lore together in a way I couldn’t predict to be this poignant. This film overall was a wonderful farewell to this saga that was so satisfying and enjoyable that I will look back on this saga with great nostalgia and adoration that I hope to show my children as a whole nine part saga and I am immensely honoured to have been part of this moment in pop culture and to get to view this conclusion is a truly wonderful thing for me. It’s with this i farewell the galaxy far far away with immense satisfaction.

5 reasons **you'll** love this movie:
**You** can't spoil the plot to anyone who hasn't seen it, because it doesn't HAVE a plot. Sure, stuff happens, and if you blab about it, you'll get asked "Who did what? When? Why?", and you won't be able to answer because you won't know either.
It validates **your** blind optimism over everyone else's cool deliberation, because our so-called heroes just blunder their way through every peril imaginable without any logic, strategy or preparedness, yet they come out unscathed for [reasons]. Often using guesswork, or was that "The Force"?
No need for **you** to remember any complicated story arcs, bothersome subtle clues or dramatic prophecy drops from throughout the series, because this final movie just makes up completely new stuff that you couldn't possibly have seen coming because it never existed before.
It's ridiculously easy to re-enact the movie at **your** next cosplay gathering, because the characterisations are so shallow and vapid that all you need to do is ad-lib the actors' lines, and you'll probably get a better script.
All that junk **you've** accumulated over the years will come in damn handy one day, just like it did for our so-called heroes. They managed to have everything they need on hand. So much so, that vitally important junk literally materialises right in front of them, and usually from places that makes you wonder why they never noticed it years ago.

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If you don’t know by now, I’m a massive Star Wars fan. I love the original trilogy, but the prequels… not so much. However, Disney’s sequel trilogy has delivered two of my favorite movies of the whole franchise, so its conclusion was obviously one of my most anticipated moments of the year. If that wasn’t enough to leave everyone excited, add the fact that it also means the end of the Skywalker Saga, and the pressure suddenly becomes 10x heavier. I went in with moderately high expectations, with not even a glimpse of any trailer or TV spot, just like I did with Avengers: Endgame. The latter surpassed my expectations and delivered a near-perfect conclusion to the Infinity Saga…
The Rise of Skywalker is a tremendous letdown. I won’t sugarcoat it. If someone told me at the beginning of the year that J.J. Abrams wouldn’t be able to offer a satisfying end to the nine-episode story, I would laugh like crazy. It disappointed me so much that I don’t even want to extend this review more than the usual. I know that a lot of people hated The Last Jedi, but for better or worse, that film exists. Rian Johnson’s decisions were made. Some people received them well, some didn’t. But all of us got to watch and experience his narrative.
There’s something called artistic integrity, which J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio completely forgot about. The lack of respect for the saga’s previous installment is baffling. The structure-less screenplay is so unbelievably convoluted that it reaches a point where evident logical issues come into play. Major plot points occur due to some genuinely hard-to-believe events, and even the characters seem to have no path whatsoever. It’s entertainment for the sake of entertainment.
Of course, there are a lot of visually jaw-dropping action sequences. The cinematography (Dan Mindel) is some of the best I’ve seen in the franchise and in this year. John Williams’ score is emotionally compelling, and it definitely elevates a lot of important moments, being a big source for the chills down my body. And yes, there are a bunch of epic scenes. However, throughout the whole runtime, the frustration was always there. Major threads and character backstories were answered in The Last Jedi, but The Rise of Skywalker feels more like another sequel to The Force Awakens than to Rian Johnson’s flick.
If there’s one undeniable aspect about this trilogy that this last movie proves is that there was no plan. No roadmap. No overall structure. Whether you love or hate each or every installment, this is indisputable. Disney screwed up this time. Creative freedom is essential to filmmakers, but the production team behind a franchise needs to have a well-organized structure. The simple fact that J.J. Abrams directed the first film, left and returned to do the third one, is already weird and uncommon by itself.
Besides the lack of artistic integrity, there’s this feeling of constant disappointment throughout the movie. On several occasions, The Rise of Skywalker is so close to delivering a perfect sequence. A chill-inducing moment. An incredibly emotional scene. Almost every time, it fails at the last second, at the last line of dialogue, or at the last action movement. Some moments are still captivating, and they don’t lose that much impact. Nevertheless, some are totally destroyed by the most ridiculous, cringe-worthy choices I’ve witnessed in the saga.
The first act is devoid of any thought. Characters go to places to get something they need to another place so that in that place, they find something else that leads them into another place… It’s frenetic, out-of-control pacing. The desperation to set up so many different side stories in time is so prominent that it’s visible from another galaxy. From the second act on, things get a bit more clear, and in the third act, all the threads blend decently. It’s in the last 30 minutes that the resemblances to Avengers: Endgame come into play. The only difference is that it doesn’t have 1/10 of the emotional impact due to the questionable decisions I mentioned above.
Only one character got his arc complete without detours or significant changes: Kylo Ren. J.J. set him up, Rian Johnson continued his journey, and J.J. closed his arc pretty well. Every other character either got their arcs complete with major changes throughout, or they didn’t come close to finish their own story. There’s one exception, though, and that’s Carrie Fischer’s Leia. It would be extremely disrespectful and unfair for someone to criticize the filmmakers about her. They inserted her reasonably well in the scenes (please, if someone complains about visual effects, just get lost), and they did the absolute best they could under the known circumstances. I might be extremely disappointed, but I do have to send the team my congrats for closing her arc in the most dignified way possible.
As for everyone else… well, the cast has been outstanding from the very beginning. Adam Driver, I have no words for him. He’s so perfect as Kylo Ren that I even defend his character as a villain more layered and emotionally complex than Darth Vader. I love Daisy Ridley as Rey, and she does a phenomenal job in this last film, even when her dialogue doesn’t entirely suit her. John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and everyone else (who I won’t mention due to possible spoilers) are all brilliant, and I have to congratulate them on making every single movie a bit better.
I don’t know what more should I write. I have very mixed feelings about it. I love a lot of the epic moments, the film looks absolutely stunning, and the action sequences are genuinely jaw-dropping. However, I strongly disagree with some decisions made by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio, especially the ones that make The Last Jedi feel like it didn’t exist. This lack of artistic integrity plus the constant disappointments regarding each big moment’s climax ruins one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Despite the brilliant performances from the cast, only Kylo Ren got his arc complete without significant changes. The Force Awakens set up some mysterious questions. The Last Jedi answered them. The Rise of Skywalker… also answered them. It’s one of my biggest letdowns ever, but I’ll still save the Skywalker Saga close to my heart. Next time, just build a roadmap, Disney…
Rating: C

When The Force Awakens was released the vast majority of fans liked it. They were practically watching a remake of A New Hope but it was enough for them. Although they never liked Rey. That damn feminist agenda right?
The Last Jedi took that from them, it got away from the formula and they went crazy.
Who was that Rian Johnson and how he dare to change the characters that only they know how they should act?
They did not give them what they wanted and that annoyed them and it's ironic because many times they have complained about the saga and its direction and if something has become clear to me it's that the great majority only want the same, like in the original trilogy. And what does that mean? Fan service. And that's what Star Wars has become.
You don't believe me? Ask fans about the scene they liked the most about Rogue One.
Vader's scene. A fan service scene.
And the fear of losing the ''fans'' forced Disney to undo what they were creating, they also threw Johnson and his film under the bus and they practically announced this new film like the one that came to fix the disaster. A shame and an insult to the director's work.
Rise of Skywalker in my opinion represents a setback and it doesn't matter that this is supposed to be the ending. It's a setback because they decided to play it safe and submit to the whims of the audience.
While that does not translate into poor quality, it doesn't represent something worth mentioning either.
Star Wars represents pure and good entertainment but when it lacks surprises and feels so safe and predictable it means that you're sacrificing any emotional resonance and when it comes to the end of the 9 episodes, that emotion is simply not there.
That shot of Rey looking at the two suns should have felt overwhelming and thrilling and I don't know about you but I didn't feel it and that was a huge letdown.
And that's what separates this ending from Return of The Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, even though it was known what would happen in Episode III, despite the mistakes there was emotion, here was like finishing the business.
I don't consider myself a die-hard fanatic of Star Wars but I do like the saga a lot, yet in order to survive, even of its toxic fandom, they have to dare to try new stuff and forget about the original trilogy because to live in the past is to die in the present and for the saga to have a future, looking forward is the only way.
It's a very well made and entertaining film and it was a decent ending for this trilogy but quite an underwhelming conclusion for the saga as a whole.
And the Knights of Ren? What a fucking disappointment.

It’s hard to write a review for this film without any major spoilers, so this might seem a little vague here and there. There will be very minor spoilers, primarily what’s revealed in the opening text crawl or the trailers, so not much, but if you want to go into this film completely virgin, stop here.
The film starts off with things already underway. A transmission has been sent out that contains the voice of Emperor Palpatine. Kylo Ren, now Supreme Leader of the First Order, goes to seek out Palpatine as a potential threat to his power. In the meantime, the Resistance is still in shambles after the events of “The Last Jedi,” and they are busy doing scouting missions and regrouping.
All of this is revealed in the opening crawl of the movie, which is where the problems begin. It violates a cardinal rule of storytelling: Show, don’t tell. It wouldn’t have taken much to have this done on screen in more dramatic and effective fashion. Instead, this has the effect of making it feel like we either missed something important or that we’re watching an entirely different movie with a different story. This makes things confusing. It doesn’t help that I was already thinking that J.J. Abrams probably needs to go back to Screenwriting 101 during the opening crawl. Not a good way to start.
Other things happen during the course of the movie that make no sense. Why does Kylo Ren reforge his helmet? We never really find that out. He just does. The Knights of Ren do appear in this film finally. Who are they? If you’re expecting an answer of any kind, you’ll be disappointed. Why is there this strange connection between Rey and Kylo Ren? One of the mysteries of the Force, I suppose. Characters who we don’t know appear from nowhere having been significant to the goings on even though we’ve never seen them before. Other characters take bizarre and up to now not even hints at character arcs. It becomes a horrendously confusing mess.
I liked some of the more controversial aspects of “The Last Jedi.” Rey being a nobody with no significant parentage? Great idea! The galaxy is a big place. Why does everyone have to be related? Well, this is adjusted slightly. I won’t go into details, but it was disappointing what they did, in my opinion. Leia’s story arc in this film is...weird. I’m going to allow that it’s due to the loss of Carrie Fisher and having to use archival footage (one scene that shows a young Luke and Leia using computer effects is freaky at best). But it’s off-putting and feels tacked on for convenience. It was nice to see Lando return, although even that felt more like throwing a bone to the fans. He could have potentially been replaced by any character with flying skills. Speaking of such, Wedge does make finally make an appearance, but it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
Here’s how I would sum it up spoiler-free: As I said, I liked “The Last Jedi” a lot, including parts that many didn’t like or found weird as I stated above, but at the same time it was not a problem-free movie for me. “The Rise of Skywalker” is the exact opposite. It definitely has some really cool moments, but feels so sloppy and makes so many storytelling mistakes that, on the whole, I have to say that it’s a bad movie. I’ve said this about just about everything I’ve seen come from J.J. Abrams, that he’s great at coming up with interesting imagery. He gets these pictures in his head of something that would be really interesting to see on film, like flashes one might remember from a dream. For example, there’s a great scene near the end that finally corrects what many consider a great injustice done in an earlier movie. But couching these images in a cohesive story is not his strong suit. In fact, he’s downright terrible at it. This problem seemed to be going in full force in “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Were some of my complaints addressed in some expanded material? I don’t know, but even if they were it would still make it bad storytelling. Star Wars has always been fairly good about keeping things self-contained. Expanded material adds extra background to enhance the enjoyment of the main material, like adding seasoning, but shouldn’t be necessary to appreciate the meal.
Overall, you need to see this movie to close out the Skywalker Saga, but that’s really the only reason. Don’t go into this expecting a good or even decent film, or for every question to be answered. Ultimately, it’s a disappointing end to Star Wars, and I say this as a Star Wars fan.

Went to the first showing in town tonight. I really enjoyed the film. Although it leaned heavy on nostalgia, it should, since it is wrapping up 40 years. I did not care for The Last Jedi, and was worried going in. Will do a deeper dive after I have seen it a few times.

Well.. this was dull.
Let me give you a little context to understand better how I felt during this movie. Firstly: I'm NOT a big Star Wars fan. I like the movies and see them as a "good" franchise, but I wouldn't put any of them on my personal top lists.
I enjoy the art of the franchise way more than the story. I LOVE the music, the design of ships and the visual world building. I like some aspects of the overall story more than others of course, but none really come to mind when I think of what I like about the movies in general.
That being said, I felt "The Force Awakens" was really boring. Just a generic movie trying to do "the Star Wars things". It was fine but not in any way memorable to me.
"The Last Jedi" on the other hand really tried ignoring the big "Star Wars cult" and therefore entertained me the most of all the 9 movies. I prefered the focus on using the "Star Wars" world to tell a story rather then to tell another "Star Wars"-version.
"The Rise of Skywalker" now is at best as boring as "The Force Awakens" and very often a big punch in the face to everything I liked about "The Last Jedi". Obviously the higher ups at Disney decided to take notes on everything "the fans" disliked about the 8th movie and do some sort of "damage control" according to that feedback.
The movie hast way too much going on for reasons which are often non-existant or just plainly bad. Since the movie couldn't grab my focus I just happened to think more about the big plotholes and started nitpicking and sometimes even mocking the movie for certain decisions which I don't want to spoil here.
It's really a shame. I hope Disney will use the name in the future to do standalone movies of different genres, for example a racing movie in space would be great or a good action flick with one or two of the beloved characters.
If I had to give it a rating I would probably give the movie a 4-6/10. I only REALLY enjoyed one scene because I hoped for it to happen most of the movie, but that didn't save the rest.

I quite enjoyed this. It is a simple, end-to-end action adventure set in space. It doesn't attempt to moralise or philosophise, it is just an interstellar shoot 'em up. Chris Pine is pretty wooden, Zachary Quinto does a passable "Mr. Spock" and Anton Yeltsin seems to be having a good time trying to get the onboard computer to recognise his particularly thick "Chekhov" accent. Sadly Eric Bana completely lacks menace as "Nero" and Simon Pegg's "Scotty" is just plain irritating but the special effects are stunning. If you're just looking for a bit of brain fodder with phasers, then this is your film...

A franchise re-energised-big time!
It's not an understatement to say that the news of a new Star Trek movie was met in equal measure by suspicion and pretty low expectations. Step forward J.J. Abrams to direct it, and many wondered while the guy behind TV series "Lost" and "Mission Impossible III" would want to dabble on hallowed sci-fi turf?. Things were further eyebrow raising when Abrams openly admitted to not having been a fan of the original show so cherished by a legion of Trekkies. Then news came of the film being a prequel, based around the Starfleet Academy and the coming together of what we know as the U.S.S. Enterprise crew. "Ooh that will be a tough one to carry off" said many, "Kirk & Spock as young spunkers - surely not" they said. Well not only did Abrams pull it off as it were, he simultaneously appeased most Trekkies whilst garnering a whole new generation of sci-fi observers. Budgeted at $140,000,000, Abrams Star Trek went on to gross Worldwide $384,953,778. Figures that, even allowing for the huge fan-base that the franchise has, show that many first timers not only went to see it - but also that they enjoyed it so much they went back for second helpings. I know I did.
The success of the film isn't hard to fathom, because although Abrams upped the action quota (with a number of breath taking and eye appealing sequences) he also dispensed with much of the sci-fi psycho babble that has blighted some of the previous filmic instalments in this most up and down of franchise's. Sure there's stuff in there for the discerning fan, with a time travelling revenge plot at its axis, how could there not be?, But Abrams and his writers (Roberto Orci /Alex Kurtzman) keep it simple, savvy and sexy. They smartly link to Trek lore with a crucial plot and character development featuring the Kobayashi Maru, while pain, emotional conflict and personal crisis all feature heavily. This is, one can "logically" say, a spiky post 9/11 Trek movie. There's even room for a romantic strand, a strand that is tender and fits the whole make-up of the piece perfectly. All of which only works because the cast are, in the main, producing great work.
Getting Leonard Nimoy to appear in a small, but crucial role, is nothing short of being a master-stroke. His presence keeps the all important essence of Star Trek within what is ultimately a reboot. It's like a father figure watching over proceedings, making not only the cast feel safe, but also us the viewers. The youngsters in the cast are impressive, Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Zoe Saldaña (Uhura) lead from the fresh faced front. While Karl Urban (Bones McCoy) and Simon Pegg (Scotty) impact with comic relief that aids instead of hinders the plot developments. Villain duties falls to Eric Bana as Romulan Captain Nero, he's a touch miffed is Nero, and Bana brings the character's vengeful pain vividly to life. While Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike adds a touch of class that he almost always seems to do.
This U.S.S. Enterprise has launched itself in another direction, and yes, it's boldly going where no-one has boldly gone before. It is, all told, a bona fide blockbuster with brains and balls. The like of which has sadly been missing from many a modern era summer release. Yes it's not all perfect, the odd scene could quite easily have been jettisoned, and some accents need a bit of fine tuning, but they are very minor complaints. A triumph from Abrams and his team - note the Stardate in the ships log, for this is a noteworthy moment in modern sci-fi cinema. Now comes perhaps a bigger challenge, the notoriously difficult second film... 10/10

**The following is a long form review that I originally wrote in 2013**
I did like _Star Trek_. I did not, however, appear to like it as much as the rest of the whole damn planet.
I appreciate the decent helping of Australian actors in the mix (like personal favourite Chris Hemsworth, above). I can get behind the colourful and impressive special effects spectacle. Most of all I dig the reboot angle they pulled. The whole time travel/tangent universe thing is the perfect breeding of remaining true to the original, while still not constricting themselves to the old canon. Fantastic idea.
But I didn’t love it. I’m a big fan of origin stories, but I personally feel that _Star Trek_ never really breached past that point. The first half was brilliant, getting to know the characters, the world, the ideals, everything. But in the latter half it seems they just sort of went “Well, we spent a bunch of time doing stuff good, but now we don’t have enough time left to make an actual movie out of this… Oh well, just chuck an hour of lasers in there and we’ll worry about that next film!” which just isn’t good enough. When _Into Darkness_ comes out later this year, the format will probably pay off, but looking at the merits of Star Trek alone, I think it fell short.
Simon Pegg (_Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead_) as the new Scotty and Zachary Quinto (_American Horror Story, Heroes_) as the new Spock were both solid choices, but other casting decisions like Winona Ryder (_Black Swan, Alien: Resurrection_) as Spock’s mother were an off-shot in the worst possible way.
I suppose though, in science fiction, it’s often safety first and little steps. As a member of what is probably the most frowned upon of the genres, I wish this Star Trek reboot all the best in its inevitable future, and it seems it will make good use of it. But for now, the solo film itself didn’t reach as far as I felt it could have with a little harder work towards the end.
62%
_-Gimly_