Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Audiences gave The Rise of Skywalker a C minus CinemaScore, which is like your own grandma sending back the casserole. The movie opens by announcing the Emperor is back, explains it in roughly one line, and then sprints. A dagger leads to a wayfinder that leads to a planet nobody can find, and the 141 minutes play like a scavenger hunt somebody wrote during a car ride. Half the choices seem built to quietly undo the last movie. Big moments get taken back a few scenes later, so nothing feels like it costs anything. What’s left is Adam Driver acting his heart out, a gorgeous lightsaber duel on a wrecked Death Star in crashing waves, and Carrie Fisher’s scenes, stitched together from older footage and handled with real care. A 3.6 because a few beautiful images can’t fix a story that’s mostly panic. $46 says you finish this and immediately put on The Empire Strikes Back to cleanse your palate.

What works: Adam Driver gives it everything, and the ocean duel on the Death Star wreck is one of the best-looking scenes in the saga.

What doesn’t: A rushed fetch-quest plot brings Palpatine back with almost no explanation and keeps undoing its own big moments.

Who it’s for: Completists who need to finish the saga, and Adam Driver fans willing to sit through a lot to watch him work.