I was thinking about going to see this one but I'm not much of a history buff so....

Rise of Skywalker is currently at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The reviews are all over the place -- some are saying it's a great conclusion to the saga, others are saying it's a mess and/or underwhelming.

I guess I'll have to just go and decide for myself. Less than 36 hours ...

It has icebergs. How bad can it be?

I liked it. I think many reviewers tend to forget that Star Wars is an homage to the serials from the 40s and 50s. It's not supposed to be overly complicated.

I have my ticket for tomorrow, I am skeptical, but open minded. Even if the movie is terrible we still have The Mandalorian.

I would rather stay home and binge watch The Mandolorian all night.

PLEASE don't let them make a Mandolorian movie and ruin a good thing.

I think I'll see Cats instead l o l j/k

I saw Rise of Skywalker this evening.

I am happy to report that I found it to be a satisfying conclusion to the new trilogy. I'm not so sure how well it works as the finale to the entire 9-film saga. Will take another viewing or two to decide that.

Without getting into spoilers, I liked that they actually tried doing some different things this time out, instead of copying what came before (as Force Awakens did to a large extent).

You may hear some rumblings about a same-sex kiss in the movie. Yes, it is in there. It's very brief, literally blink and you'll miss it. In fact, I think even if you DON'T blink, you may still miss it if you're not watching for it. As a point of comparison, it seemed even more fleeting than the "Sulu is gay" moment from Star Trek Beyond, and THAT was very brief.

As you may have noticed, someone on my Facebook wall is throwing a major fit about it. I wish it weren't there, but it's not going to stop me from going to and potentially enjoying the movie.

Everyone who was attached to the Star Wars franchise as far as writers and directors I pretty much walking away and they're all giving the same reason "toxic fandom".

What they mean is not just at the fans are impossible to please, this is true of franchise bands in general Star Trek fans are notoriously impossible to please.

But what is making everyone walk away is not just the fact that Star Wars fans are impossible to please but the fact that they are nasty and vicious, they don't just say they hate the movie they go find the writer they find the director they find the actors and they harass them mercilessly.

Both Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best were actually so bothered by the harassment that they contemplated suicide.

It does come to the point where people contemplating doing a Star Wars movie have to seriously consider whether it's worth the hassle.

George Lucas got so sick of the venom they sold Star Wars to Disney just to get away from the fans. When asked why he sold Star Wars Lucas said that it just wasn't worth putting in all the time and effort and money just to be attacked.

I actually wonder how long Disney is going to try to milk the franchise before they to decide that it just isn't worth the effort and just walk away.

Yes, I noticed.

When I see media critics like Scott Mendelson at Forbes hate on it extensively and describe it pejoratively as "fan service" it actually makes me wonder if I should reconsider my position of not seeing the film.

I haven't seen it yet, but I have heard that one of the things the critics hate about it is that it retcons away some of the more controversial aspects of The Last Jedi.

Personally, I didn't have a problem with The Last Jedi, I liked the way it subverted audience expectations, but if true, this is probably what Forbes meant by "fan service".

I'm a fan. I'm happy to be served.

Precisely. That is exactly what is stupid about the complaint.

No spoilers, but there were a couple of "fan service" moments that I *loved*.

Amazing, absolutely amazing. Wow.

The thought came to me that Rise of Skywalker may turn out to be my favorite of the sequel trilogy.

I may go for an IMAX showing in Pittsburgh next week.

You'll be able to see the iceberg so much more clearly!