As I have mentioned before many, many times, the original Star Wars is the first movie I can remember seeing in a theater. I loved it then and I loved it now. The prospect of more when Disney bought out the rights was, at first, a cause for cautious optimism. Would we get something like the older movies or just some mass produced, soulless product that comes out too often?
I think the answer to that question is “both” actually. But the promised final installment of the “Skywalker Saga” is finally here with the appropriately titled Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker.
It would be really hard to discuss much of anything about this movie without revealing some spoilers, but to speak as broadly as possible, as promised by the trailers, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is back. That throws an already chaotic galaxy even further into chaos. For Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order, is this a rival to their power? For the resistance under General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher, who got top-billing), it shows they might have even bigger enemies out there. So, while the likes of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) scour the galaxy for information, aspiring Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) needs to complete her training to finish the job destiny has her on.
Returning director JJ Abrams had quite a challenge for himself in finishing off a trilogy he started and a “saga” largely the work of George Lucas. But unlike Rian Johnson on The Last Jedi, Abrams isn’t the kind to really challenge these sorts of things. And, given the mixed fan reaction to Last Jedi, that isn’t overly surprising. That said, Abrams as a creator is much better known for how he starts things than how he finishes them. As it is, there is that feeling to Rise of Skywalker. For a movie that runs around two and a half hours, it did feel more rushed than anything else.
That comes from the fact Abrams attempts to shoehorn in so much stuff in this movie. There’s barely time for the audience to catch its breath as so much happens. For many, that probably won’t be much of an issue. For me, it was a problem. Abrams had to put in backstory for Rey and Poe, some time for Finn, give time to what original trilogy characters are still left (now including Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian), explain what the Emperor is up to, visit some new planets, make some new allies, and toss as much fan service as possible into a movie that was ultimately playing it as safely as possible. Then again, most of Abrams’ filmography suggests he is generally more comfortable playing with the toys of others than innovating new ones on his own.
That fits with what Rise of Skywalker ultimately is The end result is a movie that, while hardly bad, isn’t exactly the best the series has to offer. There are many fine moments, and if anything, Adam Driver’s Kyle Ren does have an actual honest to goodness character arc over all three movies. And I will say that McDiarmid has always been the right kind of ham for the Star Wars films. Like many of the better cast members throughout the years, he more or less knows what these movies are and acts accordingly.
Rise of Skywalker represents the third of three big geek-type properties coming to a close this calendar year. While Avengers Endgame showed a way to make the fan service as big and compelling as the story demanded and the final season of Game of Thrones disappointed many of the series’ fans, Rise of Skywalker feels like something that falls square in the middle between them. It was neither a huge success or a bemoaned failure. It just is.
Grade: C+
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