Watch my SPOILER review on YouTube
Despite successfully course-correcting the mistakes of “The Last Jedi,” posthumously adding Carrie Fisher back into the fold, and loads of fan service, Episode IX is a fairly lifeless affair. There was a lot of stuff that “The Force Awakens” set up that was either ignored or contradicted by “The Last Jedi.” This film does a pretty good job taking what was set up in the first film and meshing it with the second to make a cohesive narrative. (However, there are a few things that are either poorly explained or just don’t make a lot of sense.) The story overall is weak, and is poorly paced. While the movie has amazing visuals, the action sequences are underwhelming, especially the finale, which has a a lot of stuff happening that it’s hard to care about. Another thing that doesn’t get you emotionally invested is the characters. The acting is fine, but their story arcs are either minimal or just all over the place. These are great characters, but the chemistry they had in previous films just isn’t there, and part of that is because the humor rarely lands. And, although I appreciate fan service, especially at the end of a trilogy, much of what they do here feels forced and sometimes corny.
**1/2 out of *****