00:00People keep telling me they know me. No one does.
00:06Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker flies into theaters this weekend,
00:09and the reviews have started rolling in for the last film in the Skywalker saga.
00:13So if you want to go into the movie without any spoilers, this is your warning right now that spoilers are ahead.
00:19Now expectations for the movie are high, but according to the reviews so far,
00:23the film doesn't handle those expectations particularly well.
00:26According to critics, it's not that Rise of Skywalker is necessarily a bad movie,
00:30but it's also not a movie that's easy to enjoy or even understand for that matter.
00:34As The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy points out in his review, he writes,
00:44It might not be easy to confidently say what's actually going on at any given moment and why,
00:48but the filmmakers' practiced hands, along with the deep investment on the part of fans,
00:53will likely keep the majority of viewers happily on board despite the checkered nature of the storytelling.
00:58And Addie Robertson at The Verge says,
01:00There's plenty of spectacle and space fighting to keep The Rise of Skywalker entertaining.
01:04Minute to minute, it's an enjoyable movie.
01:06And at its brightest points, it captures Star Wars at its best.
01:09But J.J. Abrams just hasn't pared down the bombast enough to keep his story grounded.
01:14And with the trilogy at its end, it's strange to be left with as many new questions as resolutions.
01:19What, uh, what are you doing there, 3PO?
01:24Taking one last look, sir.
01:28Meanwhile, Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson writes,
01:30I found it hard to care much either way about Rise of Skywalker, neither betrayed nor sated.
01:35The movie is too determinedly on its sweaty course, heedless of actual audience interest in its tunnel-visioned quest
01:41to be broadly loved or, at least, internet-approved of.
01:44And Molly Freeman of Screen Rant was equally ambivalent, writing,
01:48Over the last 40 years, Star Wars has become such a massively popular franchise that The Rise of Skywalker faces the impossible task of trying to please everyone.
01:57All those involved in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker make a valiant effort to do just that and give everyone what they want.
02:03But the result isn't so much a cohesive movie as it is methodical wish fulfillment loosely strung together by an overwrought plot.
02:10To be sure, there's something for everyone to like, if not love, in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker, but the reverse is also true.
02:16There's something for everyone to dislike, if not hate, too.
02:19The Force will be with you. Always.
02:23For much more of what the critics are saying about The Rise of Skywalker, head to THR.com.
02:27Until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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