Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Which could just as easily have been called “The Regurgitation of Skywalker and Then Some”! Unable to convince Rey (Daisy Ridley) to convert to the dark side, newly appointed Supreme Leader of the First Order Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) seeks two lost objects to guide him to an uncharted planet where The Sith wait. When the Resistance learns via an embedded spy of a massive army with ships equipped with planet bursting death star technology, Rey leaves her Jedi training to confront Ren. Make no mistake, director JJ Abrams, using previous footage and familiar locations, blatantly depends on rehashed plot points to make this frustrating serialized conclusion, but on the upswing, the film is well paced, almost too much so flashing through new reveals and the expected reappearance of the original triad. The unnecessary cantina scene (is there only ONE architect in the known galaxy? Because ALL bars in the Star Wars films are laid out exactly the same!) and the homage to Millennium Falcon asteroid maneuvering is offset somewhat by obvious fan favors including references to Star Wars paperback book cover illustrations. But not since the frolicking Mr. Frodo has any trilogy concluded with such vapidity.

[PG-13]