A Walt Disney Picture, Written by JJ Abrams, Chris Terrio, Colin Trevorrow, and Derek Connolly, Directed by JJ Abrams.
I always thought The Last Jedi would be the most controversial Star Wars film, until I finished watching this one.
I still have incredibly mixed feelings about The Rise of Skywalker. One one hand, it goes unnecessarily out of its way to re-write The Last Jedi, it feels like major plot points were taken from reddit, that it tried to be an entire trilogy in one film, and that in its attempts at fan service it actually did the opposite.
However, this is a franchise I grew up on and it is incredibly special to me, and I feel this film gives the original trilogy characters a respectful and powerful send off, whilst also bringing the franchise full circle and providing an emotional finale.
The main issue with the film for me is the revelation of Rey as a Palpatine. It takes away from the idea of “anyone can be a hero” and also entirely undercuts Ben Solo’s arc as the link to the past. The film spends most of its run time with Rey battling against her “sith” legacy when this hasn’t even been hinted at before. Rey is an interesting character and a really powerful action heroine, but this film tried too hard to make everything about her and therefore threw her under the bus. Daisy Ridley is an absolute triumph in the role and does her best with that she is given, and I can’t wait for the career she will build.
Kylo Ren has been the most interesting part of this trilogy and while we do get more of his conflict and his eventual redemption here, he is sidelined and eventually dies for Rey. Ben Solo finally embraced his destiny as the last Skywalker and fought alongside Rey against the Sith in a fantastic moment, but it was all too fleeting, and his sacrifice after the Reylo kiss (Driver and Ridley’s chemistry was electric and the absolute best thing about this trilogy) felt entirely forced. Ben and Rey should’ve ended this film together because that would’ve been a fitting end to the story and would’ve brought true balance to the force. Adam Driver is simply the best actor the Star Wars franchise has ever had and he does the best he can in this film, but the Last Jedi remains his best work in the franchise.
Palpatine’s scenes are really thrilling and McDermaid does a great job, but his role in the film just seems so rushed and forced, and therefore really impacts negatively on the entire story.
As for the new trilogy cast, Oscar Isaac finally becomes the Poe Dameron we all wanted to see and gives off strong Han Solo vibes throughout, something I wish he’d had the chance to do all through the trilogy. As for the rest, they all have less to do but they do it well and everyone mostly gets a chance to shine.
When it comes to the original trilogy, everyone gets a meaningful moment that pays respect to the legends they are. The appearances of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, they all get powerful scenes that truly feel like their characters at heart and it was emotional to see. The short Luke and Leia training flashback will stick in my mind for a long time. Lando, Chewie, C3P0 (a stand out), R2D2 and all the others all get fitting ends too.
While it is so ingrained in our society that it doesn’t get respect, John Williams’ score in Star Wars is the greatest movie score of all time and that is no different here. He is truly the greatest of all time.
Rey gets her own “I Am Iron Man” moment just after she hears the voices of all the Jedi’s of time gone (which was a nice moment) but the actual line Rey has feels very forced and cheesy, especially with Ben Solo being so sidelined.
The final shot was entirely predictable, but still gave me goosebumps to see. Despite Rey taking the name Skywalker feeling wrong as Ben should’ve been there with her, and it seems odd for her to go back to being alone after falling in love and finding her family/friends, the actual final shot of Luke and Leia looking over Rey as she stands and looks at the two suns is very powerful and really feels like the end of the saga.
Rating = 3/5
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