PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

104

Pop quiz: who are the only

characters to appear in all

nine Star Wars films?

T

he grand culmination of the

nine-film, 42-years-in-the-

telling Skywalker Saga, The

Rise Of Skywalker is a

disappointment of galactic

proportions. Hobbled by undercooked

storytelling choices, forgettable

set-pieces, and a baffling refusal to pick

up the threads of The Last Jedi, it’s the

biggest letdown for Star Wars fans

since Battlefront II’s lootbox-gate.

Inexplicably, Emperor Palpatine is back

(the groundwork for which was laid not

by previous films, but Fortnite’s Star

Wars event) to quash the Resistance.

Meanwhile, Rey and Kylo Ren’s literal

love/hate relationship takes them on a

fetch quest across the galaxy.

Packed with incident, The Rise Of

Skywalker’s planet-hopping, MacGuffin-

chasing story doesn’t hold up to the

smallest amount of scrutiny. Rey and

Ren remain a compelling pairing, Daisy

Ridley and Adam Driver doing fine work,

and C-3PO is a standout, but every

other character is short-changed.

Content to take the

easy route, it gives fans

what they (think they)

want, not what they

need. Most egregiously, it

ignores or contradicts

key points established by

The Last Jedi and, as

fans have discovered in

the novelisation, omits

details that would make

sense of some more

perplexing plot points

A lightsaber battle at

sea is spectacular, ILM

does miraculous work

salvaging unused footage

of Carrie Fisher from

The Force Awakens for

use here, and cameo

creature Babu Frik

rivals Baby Yoda for Star

Wars scene-stealers.

But this is not the Star

Wars film you’re looking

for. Jordan Farley

blu-rays

coming soon

THE

GENTLEMEN

Guy Ritchie returns to the

guns and geezers genre

with this romp about a drug

lord who wants to leave a

life of crime behind him.

SPIES IN

DISGUISE

Spy-fi animation with a truly

nutso premise: Will Smith

plays a secret agent who

must save the world after

being turned into a pigeon.

WHY DON’T

YOU JUST DIE

Entertaining and violent

Russian splatter comedy set

largely inside a single flat

where a man tries to kill his

girlfriend’s father.

WHEN MARNIE

WAS THERE

The final film made by Studio

Ghibli until Hayao Miyazaki

came out of retirement, this

sort-of ghost story is an

atmospheric gem.

ESCAPE FROM

PRETORIA

Daniel Radcliffe stars in this

true-life thriller about two

political prisoners who plot

a breakout from a South

African prison.

MR ROBOT

SEASON 4.0

Final season of the ultra-

stylish hacker series

starring Rami Malek. Long-

term fans, worry not – the

show goes out on a high.

MY

NEIGHBOURS

THE YAMADAS

Studio Ghibli classic. Also

available on Netflix, but this

collector’s edition steelbook

will look nicer on your shelf.

HARD TARGET

Legendary action

director John Woo made his

Hollywood debut with this

spin on The Most Dangerous

Game, starring Jean-Claude

Van Damme in his prime.

DOCTOR WHO:

THE 12TH

SERIES

What the latest series

of Doctor Who lacks in

consistency it makes up

for in audacity.

JUMANJI: THE

NEXT LEVEL

The Rock and co. don’t so

much level up as spend the

majority of this identikit

sequel grinding for XP. Fun

enough, but familiar.

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on home

Star Wars: The

Rise Of Skywalker

The Force is wrong with this one

Answer: R2-D2 and C-3PO