Peter Collins

Computer animation and special effects sure have come a long way since '96 because this movie looks fantastic. Unfortunately that's all folks (for the positives) because this '21 sequel is a bombastic mess, void of anything new and aside from the "server-verse" angle, it's not good. The original was never a masterpiece but it was just that - "original". The six writers decided not to actually write a movie and instead just copy "Ready Player One" by scouring and unloading the entire Warner Bros intellectual property catalogue on the audience to overload the senses and mask how unoriginal, unnecessary and contrived this all is. Lebron James and the cast put in a solid effort with what they've got to work with, especially Don Cheadle as the villain. The trouble with "A New Legacy" is that there isn't a story to warrant a sequel, let alone the whopping 115 minute runtime. The original was a swift 87 minutes which served as a celebration of Michael Jordan's return to basketball at the height of his popularity - it was lightning in a bottle! Kids and basketball fans who love LeBron James will surely like this movie. As previously said it looks great. It does hit the funny bone more than once, it has a soundtrack too and for some people that might be enough to call this a good time. If this were original and the first one I'd be more flexible in my rating but it's not. I've seen this movie before - it was better the first time. Bill Murray, you the real MVP!

So what if it's not like the old Perry Mason. It's seedy, dark and gritty - Chinatown-esque with both plot and characters getting deeper by the episode. Matthew Rhys as the titular character is fantastic as are the rest of the cast while the look, mood and set design is of the highest quality.

A wasted middle chapter which disregards the ideas left behind in The Force Awakens, ruins the fantastic ending with Luke Skywalker and takes us on an illogical, boneheaded journey with now uninteresting characters acting stupid, accomplishing nothing and essentially leaving the final movie in the trilogy with nowhere interesting to go. Terrible.

After The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker is an obvious course correction to try and undo what the last movie did which was divide audiences with its nonsensical choices. They had to try something because the last movie was a complete mess but the end result here feels forced.