Overall Grade: 3.5/5
Star Wars – Rise of Skywalker (ROS) is a fitting conclusion to the ninthology (not sure if that’s a word). “Challenging a task it is” to measure up against the astronomical expectations of die hard fans and create a movie that satisfies all tastes. This one though, delivers for the most part. Approach the movie with tempered expectations and not compare it to the original trilogy. Nothing beats the original and nothing ever will so why even try. Warning: review contains some minor spoilers but not the major one
Before going to see ROS, we whetted our appetite by re-watching (for the one millionth time) “Star Wars – A New Hope” that put us on our way to a galaxy far far away.
ROS is a fast paced roller coaster ride from beginning to end. I was looking for seat belts on my theater seat to make sure I didn’t fall down. The movie begins with the same cast of characters in this latest installment – Poe, Rey, Finn, Chewy, etc getting into the thick of things right away. Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) are the best additions to this franchise – Poe being the closest thing to Han Solo and Rey being the Luke Skywalker of this trilogy. The best new character was Babu Frik – the precious little weirdly cute droid mechanic – laughed at every scene he was in. Ian McBride is back reprising his demonic role as the evil Emperor Palpatine (seems like he survived Darth Vader throwing him down the reactor shaft in ROTJ, must have had great health insurance) and scenes featuring the Emperor are by far the most compelling. He wants to dismantle the Jedis once and for all and enlists Kylo Ren with the task to eliminate Rey as she is the latest threat to the Republic. Meanwhile Rey and company embark on a journey to find the Emperor and end his reign.
The main “twist” of the movie is the reveal of Rays’ bloodline which was definitely a shocker and J.J.Abrams (director) fits this well into the narrative of the movie. What’s missing though was the father/son dynamic of ESB and ROTJ which ofcourse cannot be replicated.
There’s enough ooh and aah moments to keep you hooked and everyone gets their fair share of screen time. The most cringe worthy scene has to be awarded to the kiss between Kylo and Rey (sorry for the spoiler) – I could hear uncomfortable squirms from the audience. They really could and should have done without that. It’s also the modus operandi of Star Wars fans to look for as many plot holes and complain about them so here goes – how come Han Solo makes a ghost appearance when he is not a Jedi; how come Chewbacca didn’t perish in the ship that was blown up; how come Kylo didn’t chase Rey when they were face to face in the desert for the first time; how is Lando able to garner a fleet of millions in the blink of an eye; how does C3PO easily get his memory back by R2 when there was so much melodrama around him being reset in order to get a key location he had stored in his memory bank; how do Jedi’s suddenly have healing power to save lives; how is force ghost Luke able to hold a lightsaber…
So yes – there are plot holes but if we took that same approach with the original trilogy – would find many as well.
Side note: Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) was not alive when ROS was made so they used unseen footage from the first two movies and meshed it quite seamlessly in this one. My only gripe here was why the makers felt Leia so central to these movies that she needed to be in all 3? I would have thought Han Solo and Luke were more important and beloved characters and should have been used more – imagine a scene where Luke, Han, Leia and Lando met …would have been quite a sight! They did the same thing with Darth Maul – one of the coolest villains but was eliminated in the first movie.
PS. Storm Troopers have the worst aim ever. They need to be banished to target practice training camp and given a below average rating at their next performance evaluation by the big boss, the forever charming Emperor.
Overall – Rise of Skywalker is worth a watch and a fait d’accompli. It did what it set out to do – the unenviable task of ending the most iconic film franchise in history. Enjoy the movie and don’t go in as a movie critic, go in with an open mind to experience a grand finale. Suspend your belief and don’t ask “how did that happen”…just assume it happened, move on and savor the moment.
Great review.