Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Review - 6 Ups & 8 Downs

5. There Are MANY Pacing Issues

Perhaps because of the agenda to undo so much - or at least ignore it - from the previous film, that opening act hurtles along at break-neck speed. It feels like an information download that starts with a huge revelation in the opening paragraph of the opening crawl and then there are a series of story leaps that are sort of just blasted into your face relentlessly.

It's necessary because of the change to the narrative from the end of the last movie, but it means there is very little space for moments to breathe. That isn't just an issue in the opening act, either - pace is used to get over the fact that there's not the right amount of bridging work or development in there and lots of moments of character decisions that would usually require some time to gestate just happen and then we're on to the next one. It's hard to take all of that in.

That also means that, quite generally, the editing feels sloppy and the way it moves from scene to scene is messy. It's like an over exicted child telling a story at times and it's hard to really say it's truly good story-telling in that respect.