My Star Wars story began less than a fortnight ago when, after years of delaying the inevitable, I finally settled down to see what happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. In preparation for the sequel trilogy's conclusion, subtitled The Rise of Skywalker, I watched the good (Empire, Jedi, Awakens), the bad (Menance, Return, Revenge) and whatever the hell Attack of the Clones was. Now, with all roads leading to this, does this series swansong send the franchise out on a high, or did they fail to rise to this challenge?
Surviving members of the Resistance face the First Order once again as an old enemy sends a message of revenge to the galaxy. As Kylo Ren is pulled between the light and dark side, Rey, Poe and Finn's journey reaches its culmination as the Skywalker Saga draws to a close. After creative differences, writer and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J. J Abrams, returns to the franchise to usher out Disney's sequel trilogy.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features some of the most extreme audience-pandering the big screen has seen in some time, and this thoroughly disappointing franchise conclusion suffers greatly as a result of it. After a small but vocal group viciously expressed their disapproval of Rian Johnson's altogether bolder and riskier previous instalment, The Last Jedi, writer and director J. J Abrams has seemingly attempted everything within his power to appease the small band of detractors and offer up a finale that bends over backwards to satisfy a minority.
From very early on, Skywalker announces itself as that film - a movie that will do all it can to erase the boldly impressive risks of the prior instalment that was, on the whole, embraced and well-liked. From instantly sidelining a newly-introduced character that critics took particular exception to (and it's not difficult to see that racism played a key role in it) to going back on a thematically-rich discussion on identity and character lineage, "movie by committee" has never felt so apt, and Skywalker registers as one of the blandest entries in the forty-two-year saga to date.
Maybe working to make a more universally-pleasing Star Wars film would be worth it if the outcome was something of a crowd-pleaser, but with very few of Skywalker's narrative or thematic decisions holding much weight, and the plot unfolding predictably and uncreatively, it's hard to imagine anyone feeling too satisfied. Even divorced from the success of prior features, this stands as an overwhelming disappointment. Abrams and Chris Terrio's screenplay is a shoddily-written, jumping between set pieces and plot points by cramming in twists and surprises as connective tissue in such an unsophisticated manner that the pacing really suffers: everything about The Rise of Skywalker feels so hollow and rings so false, like a gust of wind could knock it over and all that would spill out are Disney's coins.
Of course, this is a Star Wars films so millions upon millions have been pumped into it meaning that the VFX work is reliably impressive, and while the use of the late Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia leaves a lot to be desired narratively, the repurposed footage is mostly well-incorporated. But while there was a discernible identity to the visuals of The Last Jedi, there's little to differentiate Skywalker from any other space-based adventure. It's surprisingly, poorly-edited, evident from the opening scene that drops us straight into the action after the opening crawl inexplicably decides to tell, not show.
With our actors required to sell character arcs that feel unnatural given what came before, nobody really thrives here, but most give it their best shot. Adam Driver remains the series' MVP, channelling a broken rage into his depiction of Kylo Ren. Daisy Ridley is generally solid but struggles to convince in the light side-dark side dichotomy that supposedly conflicts Rey - there's really never any doubt where her true loyalties lie and while this is mostly a screenwriting fault, perhaps Ridley's constantly amiable portrayal stifles that inner turmoil once for good. Oscar Isaac and John Boyega skate by on their natural charisma but they are each given little to work with throughout this closing chapter. Tragically, Kelly Marie Tran is all but entirely absent, relegated to glorified office work.
There are a few bright moments: John Williams repurposes a number of the series' musical themes well for this "final" chapter, and new droid Baby Frik is immensely cute, but this is small change in the grand scheme of things. For in trying to make the safest Star Wars, The Rise of Skywalker becomes the arguably blandest and most disappointing yet. There's crowd-pleasing and then there's audience-pandering and if Johnson's Jedi broke the mould, Abrams Skywalker is in such a blind panic to fit it all back together, ignoring - worse even, actively erasing - the numerous narrative threads, character arcs and thematic ideas awaiting fulfilment. Maybe on the fateful fourth attempt, Star Wars can manage a consistently good trilogy.
4/10
Summary: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fails to rise to the occasion, delivering a hollow conclusion that bends over background to please the masses while ultimately satisfying few.
Surviving members of the Resistance face the First Order once again as an old enemy sends a message of revenge to the galaxy. As Kylo Ren is pulled between the light and dark side, Rey, Poe and Finn's journey reaches its culmination as the Skywalker Saga draws to a close. After creative differences, writer and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J. J Abrams, returns to the franchise to usher out Disney's sequel trilogy.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features some of the most extreme audience-pandering the big screen has seen in some time, and this thoroughly disappointing franchise conclusion suffers greatly as a result of it. After a small but vocal group viciously expressed their disapproval of Rian Johnson's altogether bolder and riskier previous instalment, The Last Jedi, writer and director J. J Abrams has seemingly attempted everything within his power to appease the small band of detractors and offer up a finale that bends over backwards to satisfy a minority.
From very early on, Skywalker announces itself as that film - a movie that will do all it can to erase the boldly impressive risks of the prior instalment that was, on the whole, embraced and well-liked. From instantly sidelining a newly-introduced character that critics took particular exception to (and it's not difficult to see that racism played a key role in it) to going back on a thematically-rich discussion on identity and character lineage, "movie by committee" has never felt so apt, and Skywalker registers as one of the blandest entries in the forty-two-year saga to date.
Maybe working to make a more universally-pleasing Star Wars film would be worth it if the outcome was something of a crowd-pleaser, but with very few of Skywalker's narrative or thematic decisions holding much weight, and the plot unfolding predictably and uncreatively, it's hard to imagine anyone feeling too satisfied. Even divorced from the success of prior features, this stands as an overwhelming disappointment. Abrams and Chris Terrio's screenplay is a shoddily-written, jumping between set pieces and plot points by cramming in twists and surprises as connective tissue in such an unsophisticated manner that the pacing really suffers: everything about The Rise of Skywalker feels so hollow and rings so false, like a gust of wind could knock it over and all that would spill out are Disney's coins.
Of course, this is a Star Wars films so millions upon millions have been pumped into it meaning that the VFX work is reliably impressive, and while the use of the late Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia leaves a lot to be desired narratively, the repurposed footage is mostly well-incorporated. But while there was a discernible identity to the visuals of The Last Jedi, there's little to differentiate Skywalker from any other space-based adventure. It's surprisingly, poorly-edited, evident from the opening scene that drops us straight into the action after the opening crawl inexplicably decides to tell, not show.
With our actors required to sell character arcs that feel unnatural given what came before, nobody really thrives here, but most give it their best shot. Adam Driver remains the series' MVP, channelling a broken rage into his depiction of Kylo Ren. Daisy Ridley is generally solid but struggles to convince in the light side-dark side dichotomy that supposedly conflicts Rey - there's really never any doubt where her true loyalties lie and while this is mostly a screenwriting fault, perhaps Ridley's constantly amiable portrayal stifles that inner turmoil once for good. Oscar Isaac and John Boyega skate by on their natural charisma but they are each given little to work with throughout this closing chapter. Tragically, Kelly Marie Tran is all but entirely absent, relegated to glorified office work.
There are a few bright moments: John Williams repurposes a number of the series' musical themes well for this "final" chapter, and new droid Baby Frik is immensely cute, but this is small change in the grand scheme of things. For in trying to make the safest Star Wars, The Rise of Skywalker becomes the arguably blandest and most disappointing yet. There's crowd-pleasing and then there's audience-pandering and if Johnson's Jedi broke the mould, Abrams Skywalker is in such a blind panic to fit it all back together, ignoring - worse even, actively erasing - the numerous narrative threads, character arcs and thematic ideas awaiting fulfilment. Maybe on the fateful fourth attempt, Star Wars can manage a consistently good trilogy.
4/10
Summary: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fails to rise to the occasion, delivering a hollow conclusion that bends over background to please the masses while ultimately satisfying few.