Review: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Is a Fun, Exciting, and Fan-Service Filled Conclusion to the Skywalker Saga

The time has arrived. The final chapter in the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is here, and I had the opportunity to attend an early screening of the film. I was actually kind of nervous when I sat down to watch the film. I love the Star Wars franchise! I loved the story that George Lucas started, and I’ve enjoyed what the other filmmakers have done with it along the way, including Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand, Rian Johnson, and J.J. Abrams.

Bringing the Skywalker saga to a close was going to be no easy feat for anyone, but Abrams took it upon himself to attempt it, and I have to say that I enjoyed the hell out of it! Abrams really did the best he could, and I think that he delivered an epic, awesome, and satisfying conclusion. I walked out of that theater with a big smile on my face. Now, the film is not perfect, and there are plenty of things to nitpick, but I was 100% entertained from beginning to end.

The movie starts out strong at a very lively and thrilling pace, and it doesn’t let up. There is a lot of story that Abrams had to cover in this movie, a lot of questions that fans wanted answered, and the film gives us everything we wanted to know. So you’ll be happy to hear that everything pretty much gets wrapped up with a nice bow. 

The Rise of Skywalker definitely plays with the emotions of fans. There are a couple of sequences in the film that just took my breath away and had me fighting back tears. Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil anything for you ,but if you’re a hardcore fan of the franchise and have enjoyed these movies, you’re going to be flooded with feelings and emotions. There are also unpredictable things that happen that you won’t see coming, and they’ll tug at your heartstrings.

Then, of course, a Star Wars movie wouldn’t be a true Star Wars movie without some epic action sequences, and this movie is full of extremely awesome action and lightsaber fight sequences that you’re gonna love. Even the Star Wars haters won’t be able to deny that the action-packed sequences in this film are completely badass! You’ve got to see this film on the big screen, it’s visually stunning in every way.

Now, the film was not perfect, it has its faults, and it’s not my favorite Star Wars movie. There are better Star Wars films. While I liked what Abrams delivered, the movie was very heavy on the fan service. Even though it’s impossible, he was really trying to find a way that would make all Star Wars fans happy. He definitely played it safe with this movie, and one of the things I noticed is that he used a lot of things that the fans have been discussing and speculating on over the years in the story. So it seemed like he was definitely catering to the fans and what they wanted to see.  

So while I was hoping Abrams would take more risks and try new things in closing out this saga, he took it in a direction that has a better chance of appealing to the masses. l won’t spoil anything, but there were some plot points in the film that I wish would have played out differently because it would have made the story more powerful. There’s one in particular I have in mind that I won’t talk about, but had Abrams done things a little differently, it might have taken the movie to a new completely unexpected level. But, he stayed on the safe path. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the movie, I did! I had a lot of fun watching it, and I was ultimately satisfied with how it closed out the saga. 

As you’d expect, there are going to be fans who loved the movie and fans who don’t. I go to the movies to be entertained and The Rise of Skywalker entertained the hell out of me. I hope you enjoy the film when you go and see it!