On December 20, 2019, Lucas Film released “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” which was the last installment of the nine-part series and the final episode of the sequel trilogy. The first movie, “Star Wars: A New Hope”, was released forty-two years ago. Since then, the original trilogy has been finished, a prequel trilogy has been made, and other movies such as “Rogue One” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” have been produced to compliment the other films. With the creation of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the sequel trilogy and saga have been finished.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” featured thrilling battles, shocking discoveries, and a climactic ending that resolves Rey’s conflict with the Empire. Recurring themes from other Star Wars films such as death, courage, sacrifice, and family relationships all were present which created an emotional overtone to compliment the fluid special effects. The characters who were originally introduced at the beginning of this trilogy including Rey, Poe, and Finn were fully developed by the end of this movie. Overall, the long-awaited ending was satisfying and fulfilling.

Throughout the movie, many characters from previous movies and trilogies reappeared creating nostalgia and a sense of wholeness for the entire series. Many of the best scenes included old characters such as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The presence of all the pivotal characters from the entire series evoked a feeling of satisfaction and approval for people who never embraced the new characters that were introduced at the beginning of the sequel trilogy.

Going into the movie, the expectations regarding the conclusion were very high considering this was the culmination of eight films, and the ending did in fact live up to its high expectations. Rey showed more fearlessness and determination than ever before when she continually resisted temptations from the dark side. Despite discovering her family origins, she remained true to herself, using the wisdom and advice of older characters who have sound mentorship to her. The resistance never gave their hopes up and sacrificed everything including the wellbeing of their friends to keep this ray of hope alive. In the final showdown, Rey put aside her internal conflict to defeat a longtime rival from the dark side and Kylo Ren  completed his redemption arc he was encouraged to seek for by Han Solo in “The Force Awakens.” Although the final actions were predictable, the path each character took to get there was dramatic and exciting which contributed to a very satisfying ending.

In the end, the good side conquered the dark side but at times he plot was overcomplicated and moved too quickly. The cameras were constantly switching between scenes in different locations. Characters that had previously died kept reappearing without any explanation, which made the plot hard to follow. Star Wars attempted to connect everything that they had already started, but that was too big of a task for just one movie. As a result, the plot seemed very rushed. At times, it was hard to understand what was going on in a scene and it felt like there should have been more dialogue to indicate what was happening.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” provided a rewarding and pleasurable conclusion  where Rey defeated her grandfather and the dark side. The plot incorporated elements of the previous movies including familiar characters and themes creating a sense of completion. Although the plot was overcomplicated, Star Wars created a fitting end to a spectacular series.

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