Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was released in New Zealand cinemas today, promising to wrap up the story of a galaxy far, far, away begun by George Lucas in 1977.
The film has a lot riding on it, looking to unite the huge Star Wars fanbase after Rian Johnson's divisive film The Last Jedi was released in 2017.
So did director J.J. Abrams succeed? Yes and no.
It was always going to be a tough ask to pull together a satisfying finale to Disney's new Star Wars trilogy after Johnson killed off Snoke (Andy Serkis) halfway through the last film, leaving the less-than-ominous Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as the supreme threat to the galaxy.
It's no secret that original and prequel trilogy fan-favourite Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) was brought back by Abrams to act as the antagonist for The Rise of Skywalker.
Palpatine was heavily used in the marketing for the film to set-up questions that fans would pay admission to have answered.
Questions such as, just how did he survive being thrown down a bottomless pit and blasted to bits when the second Death Star blew up at the end of Return of the Jedi?
This detail is glossed over in The Rise of Skywalker, with a short monologue looking to appease long-time fans who revel in the lore of the franchise.
If you turn your brain off and go with it, having the familiar cackle of Palpatine ring through the cinema again is a welcome delight, but more hardcore fans will likely be left disappointed at the lack of explanation his return is given.
It's been speculated that director Rian Johnson went rogue in the middle chapter of the trilogy, throwing Abrams plot points for the trilogy out the window.
Certain scenes in the new film seem to back this up, with Abrams seemingly throwing shade at some of Johnson's more controversial choices in the previous film, particularly in reference to how the character of Luke Skywalker was treated.
In terms of the Disney trilogy's hero Rey (Daisy Ridley), her character is more fleshed out than in past films, with Abrams answering some of the lingering questions about her past fans have been clamouring for.
The way Rey is portrayed in this film is more interesting than in the past two, and by the end of it her journey feels more earned, while still managing to be slightly underwhelming due to the lack of character development in the previous two instalments.
Kylo Ren continues to be the most intriguing character of the new trilogy and the movie is at its best when he and Rey share the screen together.
Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) also get more screen time this time around and their bromance picks up where it left off in The Force Awakens.
There is plenty of fan service for original trilogy fans - as Abrams supplied in his first Star Wars effort - and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and Chewbacca's (Joonas Viljami Suotamo) reunion elicited cheers from the audience at a near sold-out midnight screening.
General Leia Organa, played by the late Carrie Fisher, featured heavily throughout, and it was a credit to Abrams and his team that they managed to integrate her seamlessly into the film using footage from the previous two movies.
The film rolls along at a breakneck pace and packs a ton of action and exposition into its 2 hours and 22-minute runtime.
However, with a seeming lack of direction for this new Star Wars trilogy, the fact Emperor Palpatine was brought back as a last-minute stop gap villain left me - and others judging by post-film banter - wondering if we hadn't done this all before?
Palpatine looked to have been defeated for good way back in 1983's Return of the Jedi and after watching the Rise of Skywalker, I'm not sure if he was as menacing this time around because of that fact.
That isn't to say the film is bad, and I didn't notice anyone nodding off in the theatre - unlike my friend who fell asleep during the Force Awakens - something I still haven't forgiven him for.
It was entertaining throughout and if you can look past the baggage, and some decidedly corny moments, which comes with the much-loved franchise, it is an enjoyable ride that ties up the loose ends left by The Last Jedi.
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