For anyone like myself who grew up an ardent fan of the “Star Wars” franchise, the release of “Rise of Skywalker” signals the end of an era. Much like how the “Godfather” saga unfolds the trials and tribulations of the Corleone family, the central focus of this saga has been on the iconic Skywalker bloodline. Of course the series will continue with one-shot releases and undoubtedly new, original trilogies, but the final chapter of the primary story reaches an end with “Rise”
To say the film is being released among a wide spectrum of expectations is somewhat of an understatement. The penultimate film in the franchise, “The Last Jedi” was released to a notoriously divisive reaction. Some heralded it as a masterwork that took the series in a bold new direction. Others felt it had ruined the entire franchise with the unexpected choices it made. As for myself, I felt the film certainly had flaws but was nevertheless one of the stronger entries in the series. “Rise of Skywalker” was therefore seen by many as difficult to predict. Will it continue the bold direction of the previous film? Will it try to revert back to the nostalgic path of “The Force Awakens”? And does the film provide a satisfying conclusion to the franchise?
The answers to those questions in order are somewhat, quite a bit, and for the most part yes. There’s no way around it: this is a deeply flawed film. There’s aspects that feel very forced. There are others that felt woefully underdeveloped. But is it enjoyable? Does it FEEL like Star Wars movie? Absolutely.
As this is a spoiler free review I have to be somewhat conservative in how I describe any details, but you likely can gather what the plot is from the trailers. This is the final showdown between the heroic Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) and the villainous Sith Lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). It is also the last attempt to finally vanquish the evil Lord Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who seemingly has returned despite seeming to perish in “Return of the Jedi”. The supporting cast is tasked with attempting to dismantle a new fleet of Star Destroyers that each have the ability to annihilate an entire planet, dwarfing the original achievement of the Death Star. Some of this may sound familiar, and in many ways it is.
Before I articulate why I enjoyed the film I think it’s only fair to examine some of the major issues with the film first. First of all, the pace for the majority of the film is FAR too manic. I think there are maybe only 3–4 brief moments where the film is not in a constant state of kinesis, and it stands as the film’s biggest shortcoming. One of things I really enjoyed about the original trilogy that is often overlooked are the quiet moments. The reflective points that give us far more insights into the struggles of the characters, and evoke an almost meditative quality. There isn’t many of those in this film. As a result there are some well-executed moments of genuine drama that I felt lose some of the impact simply because the film is moving onto the next sequence before we as the viewer have had the opportunity to truly reflect on what has happened. In addition this does a disservice to some of the new characters, who aren’t provided nearly as much time to develop as I’d hoped. Glacial pacing can weaken the impact of a film, no doubt, but hyper pacing can be as detrimental at times as well. While it doesn’t ruin the entire movie it’s a mark against it.
I also felt while Ian McDiarmid is terrific as always as Palpatine, his inclusion in the film is a mixed bag. There are some moments with him I feel are breathtaking, but other details that made me question why they made the choices they made with him. Also, this film takes nearly every opportunity to cram as much fan service into this film as possible. A good bit of it I enjoy; sue me, I’m a fan. But at times there was so much of it that I felt it bordered on distracting. I also thought some of the supporting characters were relegated to almost non-existent roles in this film, and I would have enjoyed seeing more of them.
So if the film has these sort of issues, what did I actually like about the film? Well first and foremost, the movie looks incredible. My biggest issue with the first two prequels was that the way the lighting and cinematography was done did not LOOK like “Star Wars”. The newest trilogy never had that issue. This looks like the offspring of the original trilogy, albeit it cleaner and sleeker. Because it takes place after and they are newer films that logically fits. I love the way the majority of the sequences are shot, even if they are often rushed. The composition of the shots still carries that Western and samurai-influenced style we’ve come to adore in “Star Wars”. I also appreciate that the lightsaber battles in every film in this new trilogy are orchestrated properly. I objected to how over-choreographed they looked in the prequels and I love that the battles in this look like legitimate fights and not a ballet-and-fencing hybrid. In fact all the action sequences look fantastic. Even the new worlds explored in this chapter are pretty much all compelling. As for the special effects I’m so pleased I can’t distinguish often times what was practical and what was CGI. Top to bottom, this is a beautiful looking film.
I also felt why the film is clearly trying to play it as safe as possible in the final chapter, for the most part it respected the series as a whole. No it doesn’t retcon the changes in “The Last Jedi” outright, though it does add details that give a new layer of complexity to the revelations in that film. Many of the answers people felt that film lacked are provided with answers in this movie, and for the most part I liked the choices they made. Yes, there’s a lot of fan service. But while some of it falls flat, most of it I actually appreciated. There’s even some subtle callbacks to the prequel trilogy I actually had no issues with.
Without a doubt my favorite part of the entire film came down to the two lead performances. Daisy Ridley as Rey and Adam Driver as Kylo knock it out of the park in this film. Rey’s struggles to resist the Dark Side feel genuinely authentic in this movie. In fact this is something I feel this series improved upon even over the original films. I never truly thought Luke was gonna turn in those films. In this, they provide enough conflict to plant a little seed of doubt at times. On the other end, Driver as Kylo steals the entire movie for me. His tormented antagonist has an arc in the film that feels very natural, and every time he was onscreen I was interested where they were next taking his character. It’s a testament to these films that despite the love for the original cast they were able to make me care as deeply as they did for these new ones.
As for the ending, while most of the film rushes along far too quickly, I am pleased to say the last 30 minutes or so provide a real palate cleanser and they chose this part of the film to take a bit more time with it, and it pays off. I did not anticipate feeling very emotional at the end of the film, especially because I noticed some glaring errors with aspects of it. But I still was. It still filled me with that enthusiasm I had the first time I watched a “Star Wars” movie at 9 years old. Even the most cynical aspects of my critical eye when it comes to film can’t escape one simple truth: I love “Star Wars”. And for as sloppy as the execution is in some segments of this film, it still was able to evoke those warm feelings from me and leave me with a smile on my face.
Some people will rave this is a perfect film, and I feel some will insist this is an awful film. I don’t think either are remotely true. There’s plenty to criticize about the “Rise of Skywalker”. And yet, so often even through the flaws I was still able to see the franchise I fell in love with at a young age, and it made me excited to be in that world once more. If this is the last I ever see of the Skywalker story, I am at peace with that.
7/10
