'Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker' Reactions: Spectacular Highs Yet Mixed Response To Fan Service & Stuffed Plot

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Is it possible to stage a satisfying conclusion to one of the most beloved franchises of all time and a nine-film saga that has the entire world waiting with bated breath? The answer may be, not really. Reactions from Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” are out and while many of them positive and some overwhelmed with emotion, the reactions feel decidedly mixed. A few sentiments and recurring themes run throughout the reactions we’ve collated. One: the movie feels rushed and it’s too bad J.J. Abrams didn’t have enough time to work on it. Two: it’s convoluted and possibly overstuff with plot (a lot of “still processing” thoughts). Three: some things don’t seem to make sense and Four: There seems to be an overt fan service that has turned some people off.

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By the way, there are no spoilers here, but beware of Twitter, apparently some major spoilers—and potentially the opening crawl—have leaked online.

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Two Playlisters saw the film tonight, Gregory Ellwood and Griffin Schiller and their tweet reactions lead off our list. Ellwood doesn’t seem to be very positive at all and keeps most of his comment coy and vague, but says the only thing he really liked was Daisy Ridley. Schiller praises its pace and kineticism, suggesting the movie starts and never lets up, but ultimately says it’s “good” and not great.

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Two other telling responses are that of I09’s Germain Lussier—a huge “Star Wars” fan and Uproxx’s Mike Ryan, another lifelong fan of the galaxy far, far away. Both are somewhat positive, but definitely have their reservations and criticisms. Worse, some people seem to suggest—that as many feared, ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ course corrects many of the plot and narrative points set up in Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi.” Full review embargo lift doesn’t unveil itself until tomorrow night when you can read our review, but in the meantime, you can tide yourself over with these reactions.

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