Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

3 Reasons to See It: 1) It's Star Wars and there's a cultural mandate to see it (read as FOMO). Lots of tie-in to Rebels. 2) It's the last chapter and they do tie things up pretty nicely. 3) It's a pretty fun movie with some emotion all over the place.

3 Reasons to Not See It: 1) The story is a little shallow thematically. 2) This a gut-feel and most likely wrong, but it felt at times like they wanted to tie up the series and didn't focus on the characters as much as they normally do. 3) Not a lot of space battles. Space flying, but not the epic battles.

Popcorn: 8/10. For the most part, I enjoyed this. I saw it opening night with a few friends. There was one scene that I audibly groaned (apparently, some others noticed it and agreed). I felt like some of the humor was back and overall, it was an enjoyable end. I would say it's only a "must-see" if you're a Star Wars fan.

Art: 8/10. This is a descent movie. There's plenty in the music, filming, and art departments. I felt the story was a little shallow and there were points where it didn't shine when it could have.

Acting: 5/6. By this time, we've seen these actors before and they're really good. I didn't see much in the way of acting subtleties, but it was still great acting. The standout was Keri Russel because you never saw her face - just her eyes. Once.

Music: 4/4. I will always give full score for John Williams. This score still maintained the iconic feel of the original music but also bent it in ways that were new.

Filming: 4/4. There were some really beautiful shots in some lush locations. I don't feel they skimped.

Art Dept: 4/4. I've never been disappointed with any Star Wars in the costume and hair/makeup. This was no exception.

Editing: 3/4. The editing was excellent but there were some parts that were cut too close together and was a little dizzying to watch.

Story: 5/8. I wasn't as impressed with this story. The theme was present and easy to identify. But it didn't really serve as the spine of the story either. We more did a shallow observation of several themes than a deep dive into one or two. There were a couple scenes, too, that I wish they would have avoided.

Directing: 5/6. I liked the movie. It was fun and I'll be seeing it again. Everything pulled together and was one narrative.

Production: 4/4. As always, Star Wars is a big movie experience and this was no exception.