Review
EPISODE NINE
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an enjoyable and emotional end to the saga
AFTER 42 years and nine films, it’s the final chapter of the most life-changing film franchise in history.
The Rise of Skywalker has a hell of a job to do . . . and it is almost mission accomplished.
So keen is director JJ Abrams to make us feel safe under his watch, it feels a little like Star Wars by numbers.
The first half is dizzying. Leia and the rebellion are planning their coup. Finn, Poe and Chewie are bombing around in the Falcon, helping her by tracking a spy from within the First Order. And Rey is under Leia’s watch, exercising her Jedi muscles.
Since defeating Snoke, she and Kylo Ren are more tightly linked than ever, although the reasons are still unclear.
Emperor Palpatine arrives on the scene and the film splits into two – Republic vs Rebels and Sith vs Jedi – which feels unnecessarily complicated.
We cram in a light-speed tour of the galaxy, taking in some incredible sights – my favourite being the Interstellar-style tidal waves battering the fallen Death Star II. Stunning.
It’s impossible not to get sucked into this spectacle. For all its complications, it has some simply incredible moments.
An enjoyable and emotional end to a saga that has been a huge part of so many lives. May the Force be with you . . . always.
The Rise of Skywalker (12A) 142mins
★★★★☆
Onward
THIS fantasy quest might not have quite the depth of its Pixar peers but has more than enough heart.
Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt respectively) are elf brothers in a world where magic was once an everyday skill.
On Ian’s 16th birthday, he receives a magic staff from his father, who died before he was born. It promises to bring his dad back to life for just 24 hours so they can meet.
But the spell goes wrong, resurrecting only his father’s legs . . . so with his RPG-loving brother, they set out to get the rest of him back.
The pairing of Spider-Man with Star-Lord as the two brothers is savvy and their chemistry shines through.
The plot is paper-thin. This is a quest movie with the added weirdness of two kids walking around with their dead dad’s legs. Despite this, the film – aimed, I would say, at under-12s – works.
I thought I’d be able to sit this one out emotionally.
But right at the last hurdle, I dissolved into a puddle of Pixar tears again. It got me.
Onward (U) 103mins
★★★★☆
The Wretched
IT’S not that this “dark little modern fairytale” isn’t worth watching – it’s just that by the time an unexpected twist arrives, my interest had waned completely.
Ben is a typically surly and rebellious teenager who is sent to summer with his father and work at the local marina, in a bid to knock some sense into him.
He hates the snobby kids there and his dad’s girlfriend even more. But things take a turn when he makes a discovery about the inhabitants of the house next door.
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They are possessed by a spirit – causing him to go on a mission to destroy the witch. The film’s PR implies this is a modern twist on The Goonies but that is reaching too far, if you ask me.
It is a hodgepodge of cliche (flashbacks, bone cracking, body snatching and slamming cellar doors are all present and correct) with general inconsistencies that are hard to ignore.
The Wretched should have been better but shows a lack of either confidence or direction from the its makers.
The Wretched (15) 95mins
★★☆☆☆
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