Carrie Fisher's last appearance as Leia makes this latest episode in the Star Wars saga an emotional rollercoaster as she and brother Luke (Mark Hamill), old and tired, do battle yet again with the former Ben Solo and his spooky Supreme Leader.

The resistance are in decline. Rey (Daisy Ridley) seeks help from Luke, who lives on a wild island populated by weird fish-bird hybrids with cute faces and little freaky caretakers.

Solo (Adam Driver) juggles with the dark side and in one memorable moment is completely outfitted by the enemy. Other characters come and go - Laura Dern as a purple-haired admiral, Amanda Lawrence in a rare meaty part, Domhnall Gleeson and Adrian Edmondson as hapless baddies, John Boyega with Oscar Isaac and Kelly Marie Tran as heroes.

The CGI and sound elements are excellent, and the humour from the brave little droid, pompous C-3PO and the aforementioned little birds relieves moments of tension.

Action pieces won't disappoint the faithful and a strong ending sets up the next film, due in 2019.