Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

[ratcreature]

I guess this was okay? I didn't feel like squeeing a lot, but it wasn't awful either.

The whole Palpatine having survived as top Sith in the shadows was a bit meh, for me, and the reveal of Rey as his granddaughter left me cold. The thought of him having had sex at some point to procreate is just icky. I guess he wasn't always a resurrected Voldemort-like horror monster, and one shouldn't body shame, but nope. One bio-dynasty of force users would have been enough, imo.

I could have done without the Kylo/Rey kiss before Kylo (or I guess at that point he reclaimed Ben Solo as identity) conveniently expired to become a force ghost, after reviving Rey from the final Palpatine boss fight. And most of my fellow cinema audience didn't seem to be Kylo/Rey shippers either, at least I got a cringey, groaning vibe rather than a cheering one, but perhaps that was me projecting. At least he first healed her and then they kissed, rather than some creepy Sleepy Beauty trope. So that's something.

I expected Kylo to get a redemption arc, though I didn't care much, because to me it didn't feel like we actually saw him work to turn himself around, grow emotionally and feel sorry for his atrocities and the patricide. Apparently being shown mercy by Rey, getting healed by her and then receiving another talking to from his dead dad was enough to make him give up his Sith ambition to rule the galaxy with his dream girlfriend (whom he somehow hoped to win through obnoxious, sometimes violent stalking).

OTOH I wouldn't particularly have wanted to watch a Kylo-centric character study, and film isn't the best movie for that, anyway, and people who like redeemed!Kylo can probably slot the internal growth from their favorite fanfic or something as headcanon.

That Hux turned spy for the Resistance just to get back at Kylo, rather than any ideological reasons, I liked as a petty motivation though, and that seemed sufficient.

Finn finding other former stormtroopers who deserted and refused orders was great. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of them.

I also liked Rey claiming Skywalker as her family name for her connection to Luke and Leia as her teachers at the end, with both looking on as benevolent force ghosts, though overall there were too many force ghosts. Could anyone explain to me though, where her third light sabre at the end came from? I assume she buried Luke's and Leia's on Tatooine as neither left bodies, but how did she get another one?