Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Ian McDiarmid, Naomi Ackie, Billy Dee Williams, Harrison Ford, Greg Grunberg, Dominic Monaghan, Warwick Davis
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: The Resistance and the First Order engage in a final battle to determine the fate of the galaxy once and for all.

Review:

Tim: I have a lot of thoughts about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as this new trilogy as a whole. I've thought a good deal about this, yet still don't feel satisfied, either with this trilogy, or my thoughts about it. The world of Star Wars never seemed more exciting than when Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the highest grossing movie of all time in 2015. It was an incredible film, my favorite movie of that year. The introduction of new, compelling characters while staying true to the heart of the original films was a wonderful balancing act that I believe J.J. Abrams hit perfectly. All that enthusiasm built for the second film, but was dashed when Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi disappointed, alienating fans and proving to just not be a very good movie. That gave J.J. Abrams a massive, insurmountable challenge for Episode IX. He not only had to wrap up 9 movies, he had to go back and fix much of what Johnson broke.

I know Disney and Abrams have denied he did that, but anyone who watches this film can see how obvious it was. Whether that's presenting Luke Skywalker as he always should have been, letting the three main cast members actually spend the movie together, answering the question of Rey's parentage, or having people actually answer the call, it's clear that this movie was designed to fix the problems of the last film. That puts this one in a precarious situation. I certainly liked that Abrams did right by the fans of this franchise. However, this too often trends into fan service territory. Plus, he can't do all that and wrap up a 9-film saga that has spanned over 40 years in a satisfying fashion. I know it's not fair to compare this (or anything) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they stuck the landing on their 10 year saga with the incredible Avengers: Endgame. That isn't the case here. This is a polarizing, flawed film that ends the Skywalker Saga not with a bang (although, not quite a whimper, either).

I really love Rian Johnson as a director, but I can't completely forgive him for the mess that was The Last Jedi. I liked Rise of Skywalker more than the previous film. This actually felt like a Star Wars movie, so Abrams gets credit for that. It has more heart and has some great moments of levity. This one felt closer to the fun, adventure movies that these should be. So, this trilogy didn't end on the lowest note. However, this film is a world away from The Force Awakens.

Even at 2 hours and 22 minutes (which is long and feels long here), Abrams still has to rush to tie up all the loose ends and conclude the Skywalker Saga. Too many aspects of the conclusion feel rushed. Some of the decisions were odd. I loved Luke's line about "Some things are stronger than blood". That felt like a powerful summation of much of these films. However, that seems to be undone with the film's final line, which is actually pretty cool if you think about it in a different light. That's a lot of what this film felt like- wow, that's cool! But, I'm not entirely sure I feel that excited when I think about the context of nine films.

I know I'm not painting the best picture here, but I did enjoy Rise of Skywalker. There's some terrific moments between Rey, Poe, and Finn. That's so important- we need time with these three characters and it felt like we got it here. That means we get less time with others, but I was okay with that. I know there was a lot of controversy around Kelly Marie Tran's screen time being cut. I was actually happy about that- her character wasn't nearly as compelling as the three leads, and so if her getting less time means we get more time with them, I'm all for it. I appreciated how they incorporated Carrie Fisher after her untimely death, but her scenes felt a bit forced, due to having to use previously shot footage. Although they don't all share a scene, I loved that we got to see Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford one more time. You can add Billy Dee Williams there, too. Again, his character's presence felt forced and too convenient, but it was great to see Lando one more time. I really loved the addition of Keri Russell, but I wish she had more to do. She was a cool character. I mostly enjoyed Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, although his whole storyline felt too rushed.

There are some really great sequences throughout this film. The visuals were definitely strong. I loved the scene where Rey attacks the fighter piloted by Kyo Ren. The lightspeed skipping scene was fun. The Rey-Ren battle with the raging seas was cool. Abrams definitely creates some terrific moments, but he struggles in pulling it all together in a satisfying conclusion.

I guess I could go on, but I think I made my points. I liked Rise of Skywalker and appreciated that it was an improvement over The Last Jedi. However, taken in context, 6 out of the 9 Skywalker Saga movies are better than this one. I'd need to think longer about Attack of the Clones to make a final determination. That's no way to end something like this. Fans deserved a triumphant conclusion, and we did not get that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi