Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (2019) Review

Some minor spoilers ahead!

Finn, Poe Dameron and the Resistance commence a final battle against new and old enemies of the First Order. As Rey tries to find out who her parents really were.


In terms of what a Star Wars film should be, director J. J. Abraham delivers a brilliant return form, layered with Lucas magic.
 Rian Johnson's Last Jedi as much as it tried to be different was too subtle in its script, and lacked fan execution. That said, whether by accident or design with the events of Rise it makes the dialouge of Last Jedi more pertinent, for example Luke says 'he [Kylo] would bring destruction and pain and death, and the end of everything I love.’ So in retrospect he already saw the death of Han and Leia. Last Jedi actually works better now in since Rise of Skywalker and the lines especially between Rey and Ben have more relevance. Rise of Skywalker doesn't pretend to be anything more or less than a Star Wars film.

Adam Driver is impressive, thankfully many of the characters get room to breathe, John Boyega's Finn, Daisy Ridley's Rey and especially Oscar Isaac's likeable Poe. Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) no pun intended gets to shine.
It's packed with homages, throwbacks and treads new ground. Chewie gets his medal, Lando (Billy D. Williams) returns, finally we see a flashback of Leia (Carrie Fisher) training, Harrison Ford's Han Solo cameos and the voices of many our favourite saga series main characters are heard. Denis Lawson even appears briefly as Wedge Antilles.

As much as harden fans would have liked all the force ghosts to appear it makes sense that Rey only saw those known to her, not just those who the audience knew. Leia, Kylo and Rey also get a fitting resolve. Even Hux gets closure. Mark Hamill's Luke fittingly appears along with Ewoks, Jawas and Tatooine.


With excellent special effects, sets and music score it may not have the old school feel of Rogue One or Solo but it's packed with action that echoes the likes of the Madalorian, Force Awakens and emotional energy of Last Jedi. It pushes buttons and fills satisfaction gaps that its predecessor couldn't.

 It's a great closure with fan satisfaction.
As a Star Wars film (while you could argue that no films should have been made since Return of the Jedi) it's great, as a sequel to Last Jedi it excels.


Overall, Abraham's delivers an almost impossible feat, some Star Wars magic.