The Rise of Skywalker marks the end of an era which began with 1977's A New Hope and ended after nine films. To that end, The Rise of Skywalker is the last film in the legendary Skywalker Saga - but also the beginning of another story. Once again, the film follows Rey, Finn, Poe, C3PO, R2D2, Lando, Princess Leia, and the rest of the Resistance, as they battle against Kylo Ren and the rest of the First Order (who have enlisted the help of the insidiously evil Emperor Palpatine to conquer the rest of the world with the help of Palpatine's vast army and power).
Although The Rise of Skywalker was financially successful, it wasn't as financially successful as the other films in the newer trilogy. On a budget of $275 million, the film made $1.074 billion at the box office. In comparison, The Force Awakens, which was the first film in the trilogy, made twice that on a similar budget.
That rings true for its critical reviews as well: they are incredibly divisive. Christy Lemire of Breakfast All Day wrote in her review that "It is trying to accomplish a lot, because it has to tie up every plotline. It has to involve every character. It has to has to take you to every planet... And so, in trying to cram in all of that, it feels very cursory and very rushed." Brandon Katz of Observer wrote in his more positive review that "The Rise of Skywalker entertains, it elicits laughters, and it makes you feel even as you snicker at some predictably basic and occasionally nonsensical story decisions."
