On New Year’s Day I saw my first film of the year — Star Wars : The Rise of Skywalker. In all honesty I was expecting to not like it all that much, mostly due to reviews and comments I’d heard from people I know.

But you know what? I really enjoyed it. It was a fun and visually stunning two-and-a-bit-hour romp across the galaxy. A true good versus evil tale that left me feeling like I’d had a good time at the cinema. And that is precisely what I was hoping for.

If I’m honest I was hoping for more fight scenes with Rei and Ben as allies, like in the previous film The Last Jedi.

The one thing that really did take me out of it though is the kiss between Rei and Ben right at the end. I didn’t feel that it was needed at all, and just felt weird to me. Is there really a need for the climactic kiss in every film?

But on the whole I really enjoyed it. I’ll probably watch it again whilst it’s on at the cinema.

As an aside, I don’t get why there is always a group of people who lose their shit when something in the Star Wars universe doesn’t go how they thought or wished it would. People who presumably consider themselves “true” fans or “die-hard” fans. To those haters I’d just like to say either get over your sense of entitlement or just watch a different film.