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The pressure coming from the high expectations of Star Wars diehard fans is insane, anticipating a grand finale to their favourite decade-long trilogy. Does Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker live up to its fans’ expectations?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the last film in the franchise’s new trilogy, and, supposedly, the last Star Wars film in the franchise as a whole. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follows Rey (Daisey Ridley) who is training to become a Jedi under the tutelage of General Lia (Carrie Fisher), when new information reveals that Emperor Palpatineis back, and is planning to lead the huge Final Order army in a hidden land called Exogol. To find Exogol, Lia and her team of Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Chewy (Joonas Suotamo), and R2-D2, must find a crystal that points them to the hidden land. Along the dangerous journey, Rey is fighting her inner demons about the dark side, struggling to discover her identity under the influence of the Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is now loyal to the dark side. Rey is having both inner and outer battles while handling the pressure from Kylo Ren; will she finally succumb to the dark side?

Attempting to wrap up what has been going on for almost a decade, the plot is understandably messy. The feature’s main plotline of finding the crystal gets tangled up with other lines, to the point where it all becomes too much for the audience to follow.

The feature is also trying to please many fans, by bringing back most of the older characters and tying up a lot of loose ends, which is why some of the feature’s major characters are of no consequences. This is specifically the case with Finn, who mainly runs around calling after Ren to come back. Even the gang, as a whole, does not get a lot of on-screen time together, which is disappointing, since the chemistry between all of them is entertaining.

Photo by: J.J. Abrams

However,  the film works best when it focuses on Rey and Kylo Ren and their mysterious connection, which is the most captivating part of the film; constantly adding an intrigue to the plot.

The visuals of the feature are outstanding – specifically the wave scene with Rey and Kylo Ren – and the action is definitely there, from in flight chases to lightsaber battles.

For the acting, Daisey Ridley’s performance was very strong, showing the conflict she was living – even though the outcome of the plot was pretty expected. Adam Driver’s performance stood out as the most captivating performance of the feature, as he lured the audience in every time he was on screen with powerful subtlety. The rest of the supporting actors played their familiar roles, and unfortunately did not get a lot of onscreen time, due to the feature’s set up.

If you are a Star Wars fan, then it’s a must-see, but if you are not, this is not the one to see.