Star Wars IX: "The Rise of Skywalker"

[Andrew NDB]

So, ah... are we looking forward to this movie or are we dreading this movie?

[dubiousbystander]

I'm going to look forward to it, with reservations.

[Ceridwen]

For someone who has waited every May release with great excitement, the new regime has left me utterly...indifferent. Couldn't care less, they've already snuffed out any of the magic the franchise still had.

[Dragosani]

The Star Wars universe is huge, a massive galaxy, a massive timeline. Thousands of worlds, hundreds of alien species. The books, games and the tabletop RPG have shown what you can do with just a bit of imagination. Unfortunately that imagination is severely lacking when it comes to the movies. So it's a big pass from me.

[Andrew NDB]

Seems like a lot of "greatest hits" redone. Millennium Falcon maneuvering through tight corridors shooting at TIE-Fighters, Stormtroopers, blah blah.

[Ceridwen]

Well, that's all that they've done since Disney bought the franchise. There is nothing new, nor did they tap into any of the possibilities of the expanded universe (not all of which are good, granted), everything is a rehash. Yawn.

[dubiousbystander]

Well I saw it! At least I don't have to dodge spoilers!

[macleodhighlander]

I haven't watched any of the new trilogy. Might eventually give it a watch after the hype has died down.

[Takk]

I saw it and thought that it was really good.

It finally justifies the entire sequel trilogy's existence and inclusion in the overall saga, and in a way taps into the wider story of the force that has been going on for thousands of years. It even manages to makes some of the weirder things in the previous installment interesting, thus retroactively making VIII a better film. Plus it ties in fairly well to VII's emotional climax to bring all the connections to a proper through line. Meanwhile, what they were able to do with Leia is impressive, especially considering what they went through to ensure her inclusion, and the force ghosts are used to great effect. Ultimately, I found it to be really well done, all the way around.

Moving forward, I'd expect Disney to do little more than Story movies like Rogue One, and premium TV shows like The Mandalorian, but shy away from anything involving a full trilogy commitment. They clearly bit off a little more than they could chew with doing both of those things and a full trilogy, only managing to stick the landing because JJ Abrams came back to attempt righting the ship after Rian Johnson forsook the fans to chase the critics.

As an aside, I never would have thought this would end up being better than the EU when it all began, but comparing the story of Rey and Ben to that of Jacen and Jaina (and Ben, and Anakin, and Zekk, and so on), I actually think I prefer it to the long drawn out convoluted story that had previous been given to us. This was much more succinct and in line with the previous trilogies, and I like how it SPOILERbrings the whole Skywalker line to an absolute conclusion with the prophecy finally being truly fulfilled.

Go figure, that.

[dubiousbystander]

I suppose it would have been Leia who appeared for Ben rather than Han. Good.

[Ceridwen]

So went to see it - why not - it wasn't horrible but so utterly predictable, was calling the shots from my seat including things like 'This will be where they give Wedge his cameo.' Though I must admit I was pleased to see Lando, I've always really liked Billy Dee Williams.
Even if this is the the 'last' episode, Disney being Disney will likely be putting out 'Star Wars Story' films from now to doomsday, they were never ones to sacrifice a cash cow, and it will likely also devolve into nothing but a kiddie thing, since they seem to see the whole thing as nothing more than a kid movie in the first place, sad really. And I still think JJ Abrams is a franchise killer. He's awful.