<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by JJ Abrams. Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Richard E Grant, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Domhnall Gleeson, Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell

Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes

After my second watching of The Rise of Skywalker, I realised that sitting closer to the screen in an IMAX theatre is certainly more immersive for this kind of movie and more enjoyable.

While audiences and fans were not too happy with Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, they’ll be hard-pressed to complain about JJ Abrams’ Episode IX, the final chapter in the Star Wars saga. Now he can get back to directing the Star Trek films that generated a lot of interest among fans and had a great cast of actors to replace the original crew. Yes, I am a Star TREK fan.

But, I did enjoy the last Star Wars instalment; it is entertaining, emotional, has great visual effects and takes you on a nice ride through the galaxy.

Did someone say ‘plot holes’? At the beginning of the movie the return of a dark emperor brings a request to kill Rey (Daisy Ridley), which is strange considering he needs her alive to kill him (you’ll understand by the end). And when Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) have their surreal battles half way across the cosmos from each other, he sees her and not the room she’s in, and also doesn’t see her holding the dagger that he knows is in her room apparently and is unable to figure out where she is until something else happens. Didn’t make sense.

The battle scenes and chases through space remind you of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot films at points. He clearly knows what worked for him and has brought that fresh perspective to these old franchises still keeping their essence and canon intact.

Disney fails some fans by not having a Finn (John Boyega)/Poe (Oscar Isaac) romance, which Isaac has said he’d love to do. Instead there’s a celebration scene at the end that has two secondary same-sex characters kiss. This scene was deleted from the film in Singapore, where being gay is still illegal. Well, at least India is more progressive than that country in some respects.

Of course, there’s fan service in The Rise of Skywalker. They’re the ones who make these sagas epic and everlasting. And there’s still lots for a new generation to like about this film. Will they remember it after 10 or 20 years like fans of the original Star Wars Trilogy? Probably not. They don’t make them like they used to.

And yes, Carrie Fisher’s role is deep, emotional and poignant. Even though she has been dead and didn’t act in the movie. Thanks to ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) for making the movies magical.

Nostalgia is creeping up on me as I get older and miss things like DVD players, Walkman’s, GameBoys and Sega Genesis. And as franchises are disappearing, so too are the meaningful stories and characters that defined a generation of humans to look to a future with hope and wonder. Those of us who can remember those times and those films are the last to know what it truly means for the ‘force to be with you’ and to ‘live long and prosper’. We’re the lucky ones.

PS: Though the little character Babu Frik has gotten some attention for his cutesy/funny bit part in the film, I’d rather have more depth to my sidekick characters.