Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) (Movie Review)

   It’s become something of a “Star Wars” staple for me that the third instalments of each trilogy are my favorites, as both “Return of the Jedi” and “Revenge of the Sith” are my favorite instalments in their respected trilogies. However, this staple came to an end with 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, which turned out my least favorite of the new sequel trilogy. It’s strange because I distinctly remember watching the movie on its premier, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience. Yet, when the movie ended, I wasn’t really thinking about it afterwards, nor did I have any real interest in re-watching it, which is something I’ve never really experienced with the series. Even a movie as simple as “Solo: A Star Wars Story” still stuck with me, and I was excited to watch it again. Still, I can’t say that I hated “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, it was a fun watch, but it just felt very disposable, and that’s not how the final chapter of a trilogy, or nine-chapter saga should feel. Over time, the movie hasn’t exactly gotten better, but I can’t bring myself to say I hate it either … in fact, there are a number of things in the film that I genuinely love as a long time “Star Wars” fan. Is there more negatives then positives, and how did this final chapter leave me feeling about the series overall? … let’s find out.  

   Taking place a year after the events of “The Last Jedi”, Kylo Ren is in full control of the First Order, and their grip on the galaxy is almost secure. However, there’s one force out their who may pose a threat to Kylo Ren’s power … a mysteriously revived Emperor Palpatine, who’s on a secret Sith World, and has a giant fleet of ships at his command. 

The new resistance under the command of General Leia takes this news very seriously, and thus sends her Jedi apprentice Rey, along with her friends Fin, Poe, C-3PO and Chewbacca on a quest to find this mysterious hidden world, prevent the fleet from spreading destruction across the galaxy, and possibly even bring down the First Order in the process. Kylo Ren meanwhile learns of Rey’s true origins, and aims to use this knowledge as a means to convert her to his side, as only together can they topple this phantom emperor. Right off the cuff, this film feels like an uninspired retread of “Return of the Jedi”, but with nothing special to separate itself from its predecessor. While “The Force Awakens” obviously had parallels to “A New Hope”, I at least felt like it was trying to start something new, with new mysteries, and fresh new characters. “The Rise of Skywalker” however takes the established formula, runs with it, and has absolutely no courage to try something different, or even take risks. Also, this film is surprisingly kind of hard to follow at times, as it moves at a break-neck speed, with characters landing in different locations, and I frequently found myself asking what our heroes are looking for, why they’re in certain places, and there’s nothing of simplicity that flows with all the exciting action and set-pieces.

   As for Emperor Palpatine’s sudden revival, I have conflicting feelings. On the one hand, I’ll always love seeing Ian McDiarmid in this iconic role, and visually, the character has never looked more awesome. He still has an imposing presence, and his base is an awesome location, full of mystery and dread. Also, when viewing all nine films chronologically, it does make sense for the original threat to book end the films. Having said all that … Emperor Palpatine’s revival just feels like it diminishes the initial send-off to his character. While villains from the “Star Wars” universe, including Darth Maul and Boba Fett have come back from the dead, I felt it was justified in their cases, as both were initially disposed of with so much potential yet to be explored as characters. Emperor Palpatine by contrast had a perfect story, and one of the most deeply satisfying villain deaths, when Darth Vader turned on him in favor of saving his son. In this movie, he’s back for a little, doesn’t really do much, and is greeted with a far less satisfying death then what he initially had. Now, I would have been more excepting of the Emperor if he was more of a spiritual essence imprinted on Darth Vader’s helmet, as opposed to some kind of unexplained clone. In fact, with so much focus on Vader’s helmet, and the Emperor recreating his voice in Kylo Ren’s head, it almost seems like that was the initial idea.

   As for the revelation of Rey being The Emperors grand doubter … I would have excepted it if there was more of a built-up foundation to it. For instance, when the truth is revealed, I feel nothing … because Rey never met the Emperor before, he had never really been a presence in her life prior to this journey, and thus, it just feels underwhelming. Also, it could have been engaging if I ever once felt that Rey was at risk of becoming a villain. 

Yet, despite accidently shooting-off lighting, and fighting a dark-side vision of herself, I never once felt that she was in any danger of going bad. Granted, I never once felt that Luke would go bad in the original trilogy, but at least his conflicts, and sudden outburst of anger felt real … like there was genuinely something of internal darkness that he needed to concur. Quick side note, that duel with Rey’s evil double-ganger was way too rushed, and should have been more impactful … instead of just being trailer fodder. Of course, the final nail in the coffin is Rey changing her last name to “Skywalker” at the tail end of the film, which spoils the only good thing this arc had going for it. During an emotional exchange with the force ghost of Luke Skywalker, it’s established that no-one should be jugged by bloodlines or family names … it’s simply what the individual dose with their own lives that has substance. Thus, she absolutely should have kept the name Palpatine, and wove it into something positive through her own examples … not change it. The one consistency with Rey is a determined leading performance from Daisy Ridley, who’s an engaging screen presence, and continues to give the character more depth than the script dose.

    Let’s look at Kylo Ren, who likewise is a mixed blessing. Once again, Adam Driver delivers a solid performance, and the character shines in a number of individual scenes. There’s an awesome little scene in the opening in which Kylo Ren lays siege to a village, and it’s cool to see villains on their own in an action sequence. However, it’s very clear that the Emperor was brought back simply so Kylo Ren could have a full reformation … which is executed well on screen, but it’s not what I wanted for the character. Following after Darth Vader’s reform in the original trilogy, I wanted this series to feature a villain with an equal level of pathos and tragedy … but who was beyond any form of redemption. In fact, in the Legends books, when Han Solo’s son Jason goes bad and becomes Darth Caedus, it’s a permanent switch, and he dies a villain. Seeing Kylo Ren reform in this film just felt repetitive, although it was at least executed well in the film. My favorite scene of the whole film is when Kylo Ren recreates the final conversation he had with Han Solo, but with a different outcome in which it’s Ben Solo who emerges, and Kylo Ren figuratively dies. It’s a great little scene, very well acted, and it allowed me to except the villain’s reformation, despite feeling repetitive.

   Regrettably, there’s not much to say about the other characters, as Fin and Poe are basically just there for the adventure, and whatever development they do get feels very basic. It’s almost like the writers had no idea what to do with the hold-over characters, so just pair them with new characters, and leave it at that. Poe reunites with a mysterious flame from his past … and that’s about it. Fin meets a female warrior who shares his backstory of formally being a Storm Trooper … and that’s about it. Even BB8 had to get paired with another little droid, which is ridicules, because BB8 was already perfect on his own. Easily, my favorite new character in the whole film was the little alien mechanic Babu Frik, who’s a very original design, and chalk full of personality. Billy Dee Williams returns to his signature role of Lando, which is welcome, but he doesn’t do a whole lot either. Honestly, my favorite character in the whole film is C-3PO, who for once is prominently featured on the quest, and has some of the funniest remarks the character has ever made. Despite being a tight pair, I’ve genuinely preferred C-3PO over R2-D2, and this movie proved that C-3PO can hold his own, without his little counterpart.

   Continuing on the more positive side of things, I loved how Princess Leia was utilized in the film, especially in the face of Carrie Fisher’s tragic death. Her inserted shots felt real, the effect was convincing, and I liked that she took on Rey as an apprentice. I especially loved seeing Rey in a Jedi training course … which was something long overdue for live action “Star Wars”. It was also very cool to get a flash back of young Leia and Luke training with lightsabers, and seeing Leia with her own blade is something I’ve always wanted to see … although I would have liked her with a different color then blue … seriously, why isn’t there more variety to these colors. Oh, Rey gets a different colored blade … which would have been cool if it wasn’t at the tail end of the movie. Putting that aside, I also loved seeing new force techniques incorporated in this film, like Force Healing. Actually, one of the stronger moments of Rey’s character was choosing not to fight that giant sand snake, and instead take a moment to see what’s troubling it. Another highlight is the expansion on Rey and Kylo Ren’s Force connection, and how this connection can miniplate their surroundings. This was one of my favorite concepts introduced in “The Last Jedi”, and it was very satisfying to see it expanded upon here. It also builds to one of the franchises most unique duels ever, with Rey and Kylo Ren sparring through their force connection. While their standing in two different locations, they can still affect the matter surrounding them, and thus can transfer blows through their weapons. This scene was highly original, beautifully filmed, and a great example of creativity beating out repetition.

   J. J. Abrams returns as director, and while his screenplay is kind of a mess, he certainly holds his own as a talent behind the camera. Even when I’m having a hard time following the plot, I’m constantly engaged by Abram’s direction, and how he utilizes the camera. He’s a director who knows how to keep the film rolling, and contain multiple frames in a single shot before making an edit. The film even received three nominations at the Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Music Score. Plus, I just can’t dismiss the commitment to practical set designs, and some great looking puppets. Quick side note, I really like seeing festivals in the “Star Wars” universe. So many events in these films are serious and tragic, so it was nice to see a colorful local party with various creatures on display. Even the comedy came in just the right amount, and there were a fair number of laughs. There are still some odd scenes that didn’t feel like they fit within the “Star Wars” universe. For example, there’s a scene when the Faulcon goes lightspeed skipping, jumping to various areas, and while it’s definitely a fun sequence, it also feels more appropriate for something like “Gradians of the Galaxy”. Most of the action however feels at home with the franchise, even if there’s nothing too memorable. There’s a chase in a desert that’s cool, but it doesn’t really stand out from other set-pieces either.   

   Speaking of set-pieces that don’t really stand out, let’s talk about that final lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo Ren, which is now the last duel of the whole series. The two engage on a path-way that's right in the center of a ragging ocean, which is an awesome location, and probably one of the coolest places to stage a duel. Aside from that, I unfortunately found the duel itself to be rather underwhelming, especially for the saga’s final light-saber duel. The choreography isn't very impressive, nor is the emotional conflict stirring enough, it's just a passably cool battle, and I expect more from a final showdown. This fight could have left more of an impression if it was boasted by a riveting music score, and that's something that's always enhanced the epic size of these final duels. This duel is curiously set to a silent music track, which is certainly atmospheric, but not very epic. I’ve watched a number of video’s that have inserted other classic “Star Wars” scores into this battle, and it truly feels more epic. Despite being an underwhelming final battle, it's still an okay little sequence in of itself, and it builds to a good payoff.

    As things come to a close, a fleet of Resistance ships launch a full-frontal assault on the First Orders secret fleet of battle ships, and all the while, Rey and a reformed Kylo Ren face a supper charged Emperor for one last showdown to end all battles. 

For the literal final battle of the saga, this climax once again is kind of underwhelming, as it just felt like a discount “Return of the Jedi” climax all over again … yet surprisingly less satisfying. Still, there are enough highlights for this battle to keep me engaged. The spectacle is definitely there, and for as silly as space horses are … I loved seeing them utilized during this climax. It’s hard to explain, but seeing our hero’s charge out on horses just felt like an exciting call back to classic epic movies, and I love when “Star Wars” incorporates something old with all the futuristic technology on display. While I think the final showdown between our three mains could have been a touch stronger, I did still get goosebumps when Ray heard the voices of all the past Jedi, and gave her the power to overthrow the Emperor. As a longtime fan of the franchise, it was so cool to hear so many familiar voices, including characters like Ahsoka Tano and Kanan from the expanded TV shows.  Throw in an effective hero sacrifice, and this climax is just satisfying enough, but probably my least favorite of all the final battles in this franchise.

   In the end, this ninth episode in the epic saga certainly aimed high to be a grand, triumphant curtain call, and ... it takes a large suspension of disbelief to except certain plot details, the narrative can be a little clunky, and it's perhaps a little too reliant on nostalgic call backs. Yet, the emotional character highs were still present, the spectacle was in every frame, and the adventure aspect never once let down. Maybe it wasn't a perfect home run ... but a passively exciting entry in the series all the same. My big issue with the movie is that it reduced the sequel trilogy to a house of cards. It bult on a foundation, then knocked everything back down to where we were before, and it just made the whole affair feel a little pointless in retrospect. There are still things I love about this trilogy, and “The Force Awakens” is still a personal favorite that I enjoy returning to. “The Last Jedi” didn’t work in execution, but I still admired the ambition, as well as some of the ideas, and I felt it offered some select merits. “The Rise of Skywalker” is watchable, and occasionally fun, but it just doesn’t leave you with anything to special to saver either. Not a terrible movie, but certainly not the proper conclusion that this mighty franchise deserves.    

Thanks for reading my review of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love.