STAR WARS EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (12)
★★★★★
FOLLOWING the death of mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds herself on a parallel journey of selfdiscovery to Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who has assumed the position of Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Finn (John Boyega), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and
C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) accompany Rey on a daredevil mission, while General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) presides over the entrenched Resistance.
Meanwhile, a shift in the Force propagates rumours about the return of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
When Rey’s faith wavers, Leia repairs frayed nerves.
“Never be afraid of who you are,” she instructs.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker shoehorns every conceivable reason for viewers to whoop, cheer and – yes – surrender to steady trickles of saltwater into 141 minutes.
Director JJ Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio preside over a happy union of old and new with obvious reverence and affection.
They provide generations of expectant Padawans and Sith apprentices with a nostalgiasaturated swansong.
Loose plot threads are tied neatly and heartstrings plucked as friendships and gently simmering romances threaten to become collateral damage of a bloodthirsty war against the First Order.
It’s not always the most elegant film-making and the opening 20 minutes are extremely clunky – plot gears grind furiously with a dewy-eyed denouement in mind.
However, when planets align, Abrams delivers rousing action sequences, including one of the series’ most visually stunning lightsaber duels, and he engineers a fitting farewell to the late Fisher using unreleased footage.
Available from April 13 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, and from April 20 on DVD/Blu-ray.