68hellhammer

Powerfully gripping from the very first scene! A fast-moving story that answers many of the questions posed in VII and VIII, and also does wonderful justice as the last chapter in the saga. At the midnight screening I attended, here in Australia, the audience applauded at the end of the movie, clearly moved. As a fan who was there in 1977, we are unwittingly probably always 'chasing the dragon', hoping to recapture the experience as a (in my case) 9 year old, when there was just nothing else around like Star Wars. My favourites will always be A New Hope, Empire and Return of the Jedi. The Rise of Skywalker, however, comes a close fourth - for me a clear favourite over the remainder - no mean feat for the "can't please everybody" poison chalice of trying to direct a Star Wars movie in the face of ridiculously high expectations. Bravo JJ, cast and crew, who I believe entered the arena and knocked it out of the park.