Stephen Handley

When I was a kid the Star Wars stories were the greatest ever. I accepted it all and those originals became embedded in my mind as an alternative reality with its own truths. It was a deeply immersive experience. I watched those films 100s of times. I’m not a kid anymore. The new stories doesn’t hold up (or I’m just more cynical) and no doubt the conundrum for the writers is who they are writing for - the kids of today or my generation? My only conclusion is for the kids of today and that’s probably for the best. It’s not a bad film. I enjoyed large sections of it for different reasons but there are plot points that are more absurd than ever which leaves me numb. The lead characters put in their best performances of the 3 films (by a mile) and the special effects remain... well special. Put it like this, I’ll watch Rise of Skywalker again for sure and I haven’t done that for the last two films so it’s the best of the 3.