ReviewStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker film review – Episode IX’s electric romp through galaxy and series’ history will bring tears to your eyes

Old friends and foes return for finale of sci-fi saga that began 42 years ago – The Emperor Palpatine, Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and, yes, Princess Leia

J.J. Abrams is back as director and the pace is electric as Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron lead the fight against the First Order in scene after action-packed scene

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From left: D-O, Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) in a still from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (category:), directed by J.J. Abrams. Adam Driver and John Boyega co-star.

Published: 4:00pm, 18 Dec 2019Updated: 4:08pm, 18 Dec 2019

4.5/5 stars

Some 42 years in the making, the Star Wars saga is finally at an end. Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker, sees the return of some old friends – not least J.J. Abrams, back as director – and some old foes.

The Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), long thought gone after his defeat at the end of Episode VI, has risen. The search is on to find him, not least from Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), threatened by this villain channelling the Dark Side.

The Resistance has learned that the Emperor is amassing a new army on a hidden planet not present on any star maps, and so Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) set out to find and destroy him.

What follows is a high-speed romp through the galaxy, as our heroes look to outwit Ren and the evil leaders of the First Order. Early on, they’re reunited with the roguish Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), last seen downing the second Death Star.

As glimpsed in the trailer, the wreck of that battle station has a part to play in The Rise of Skywalker; indeed, given the Herculean task Abrams has in wrapping up the series, he and co-writer Chris Terrio draw strength from the Star Wars universe wherever possible, aided by a chorus of past voices.