THIS REVIEW CONTAINS NO SPOILERS.
(Reviewed by our Guest Critic, The Movie Knight) After 42 years, the biggest film franchise in history has come to an end. This time out the First Order is set to make their boldest move yet that will threaten the entire galaxy. The only hope is General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher returns thanks to unused footage from past films) and her band of resistance fighters that include Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) Chewbacca, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), RD-D2 and BB-8.
If you are looking for a perfect Star Wars movie you are going to walk away disappointed. It’s strange because after four decades some people have this idea of what these stories are supposed to be. If it does not play exactly as they want, then the result is sour to them. However, if you are looking forward to seeing an epic send off from this series that may have been around for most of or your entire life, it goes out on a high note.
It has everything you are looking for, laser battles, spectacular aerial fights, and, of course, cool light saber duels. There is plenty of humor to go along with it too as well as “NO WAY!” moments. All the characters in the movie, both old and new, have their moment to shine. There’s no deny there are flaws present. Despite them, they really don’t get in the way of enjoying the picture. J.J. Abrams returns after taking off Episode VIII to give this last entry the guidance it needed. A lot of questions get answered and we even see the adventure take turns we haven’t seen before to keep everything fresh.
This is the last time we will ever see the words, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. This will be the last time John Williams does the score. We will not see these characters appear on the big screen ever again. As I sat in the theater watching, I realized it was not me sitting in the theater. It was the 6-year old me, seeing Star Wars for the first ever, changing my life forever.
3 Tiaras.