It was time to grab some quick items from the concessions, sit through some not altogether disappointing trailers, and then try not to completely loose it as Lucasfilm flashes across the screen followed by ten all too familiar words; a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
And then, just over two hours later, I was done. Not just done with the movie, but done with a franchise I'd fallen in love with when most kids my age couldn't sit through a TV episode without cartoon characters, much less a feature length film. For literally as long as I can remember, nearly 3 decades, there has always been a part of me that's either been wondering if the rest of the Star Wars films would be made or getting excited about the next Star Wars release. It was surprising to leave that theater and feel some unexplained emptiness, and it took me a while to realize that I've never not had the next Star Wars film to imagine about. There, of course, will be more movies, but I absolutely believe that what I've had for the past few decades just can't be recreated. No franchise has ever captured so much imagination so simply by just calling the first film Episode IV.
That being said, the real question that I had to ask was, "As this is the end, was is a good conclusion?" The simplest answer is certainly yes, but, much like the film itself, it's really not that simple. So, let's break it down a little and find what's really going on.
If you google Star Wars Plot Holes or Problems with Star Wars or What The Last Jedi Did Wrong, you'll find plenty of results. as I was watching Episode IX, several times I got pulled out of the story experience with what essentially amounts to a big flashing sign on the screen saying "PLOT HOLE FIXED, YOU'RE WELCOME". A spoiler free example, in a meeting where the resistance is planning an attack against all the big bad star destroyers, one random resistance member suggests "The Holdo Maneuver". Poe quickly states that the maneuver is one in a million (does it have that probability of working, or are you just trying to preserve it's uniqueness, he never really explains what he means) and then the talk moves on. Those two lines exist for one reason only, to try to fix a mistake from a previous film. They add nothing to the plot or characterization, they're just there for a little heavy handed retconning. And that exchange is far from the only instance of trying to fix issue or problems from it's predecessor. If you don't enjoy this movie, you may consider going so far as to claim that The Last Jedi is at least somewhat responsible for this movies failures as well as it's own. I literally had the thought while I was watching, "I wonder if they had a list of things to address and gave prizes to anyone that could find a way to squeeze a solution into the plot." The last thing I want to be thinking about during a movie is how some producer tried to manipulated their writing team into making their previous films look better. In retrospect they may have done something similar with cameos, because basically every Star Wars character ever is in this film.
The other issue I have with the film (and the whole conclusion trilogy as well) is that the Force keeps getting new powers. I'm pretty sure if you can heal people with the force, Obi-wan would have been working on that while cradling his dying mentor in his arms instead of rashly promising to deny the council and train the kid that, you know, would eventually kill him. In Episode IV, we see the force as a way to sense the world around you. It doesn't do anything one of our normal senses or skills can't do (except, depending on your beliefs, receive communication from those that have died). In the rest of the original trilogy, we expand that to moving things, appearing as force ghosts, and at the very end, we get a brand new force lightning demonstration. The prequels don't add anything substantial to the Force (don't you dare say, "what about midichlorians"). So, we see at least a few generations of Jedi and Sith go their was with no new developments in the force. The force originally was more akin to the spiritual than the magical. It was all powerful, but that didn't mean people could just do anything. The force was a law of nature that could be channeled and worked with, but not manipulated or changed. The new films present it as being able to do just about everything, and do it at will much of the time. You want to take out an entire fleet of ships in one shot, just use the force. You want to bring the dead back to life, just use the force. You want to hang out with someone halfway across the galaxy, just use the force.
Okay, I've got one other point that drew me out of the film, but this one deserves my highest praise rather than criticism. General Lea's scenes were all archive footage. This was, of course, due to the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher and was, in my opinion, one of the best handled sequels starring a deceased former cast member. It, once again, meant some sacrifice of story and character development for the writers, but with what they had to work with, I could not have asked for better. Abrams set the scenes perfectly and the effects team's integration was nearly flawless. Lea's lines are generic and, necessarily, non-specific, but at the end of the day, all I can say is that they did Fisher justice, and her role in the story is not only well done, but moving and meaningful. I would, of course, loved to have seen her do this movie herself, but the team behind Rise of Skywalker absolutely gave us one last turn with Princess Lea that they should be especially proud of.
So, with trying to tie up all the loose ends, drop all the easter eggs, fix all the plot holes, and piece together what they can of Lea's story, there's no denying that Rise of Skywalker is a mess. It's jerky and convoluted at times, and there are SOOOOO many scenes and lines that are clearly just fan service. But, guess what, I'm a fan, so I love it anyways. The biggest critisism of Last Jedi was it alienated fans. Rian Johnson took risks and broke formula and subverted expectations every chance he got. J. J. Abrams was heavily criticized for being too formulaic in Force Awakens, so it made sense, but Last Jedi clearly took it too far. Fortunately, Abrams finds a much better balance this time around and surprises us but maintains familiarity. It's still playing more to the safe side, but it's such a hodgepodge of fan favorite moments from all the previous films that the familiarity doesn't lend itself to predictability or boredom. So, yes, it's a bit of a mess, but it's satisfying and exciting and fun and beautiful and surprising and, above all, a fitting conclusion to an amazing saga.
Now, I think I've spent more time on the negatives than the positives at this point, but the reason is simple, most of the really great stuff about Rise of Skywalker is the stuff that makes all Star Wars movies great. The cinematography, practical effects, and production design are, like all the films, top notch. John Williams' score is everything we always get from the most iconic film composer of all time, but still deserves any praise thrown his way (particularly the musical foreshadowing, which is always cool). I've already mentioned Carrie Fisher's ...performance? I don't know if that's the right word, but the other actors gave good performances as well. A particular shout out goes to Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) who had some his most emotional and most humorous moments in this film, despite having significant roles in all 9 movies. Overall, the film is emotional, visually stunning, and full of more than enough fan service to please any die hard Star Wars fanatic out there.
It almost seems pointless to recommend Rise of Skywalker, as my recommendation is that if you've enjoyed most of the films so far, even if you haven't enjoyed all of them, this is a must watch, particularly for original trilogy fans. If you didn't like the overly formulaic plot of Force Awakens, don't worry, this one is better. If you didn't like the subversion of your expectations in Last Jedi, don't worry, this one fills those holes. If you liked the other two, then you're going to like this one as well. Rise of Skywalker is feeling like my favorite of the trilogy right now, but may change after more viewings, however, it's certainly improved in some of the most important ways, so if you haven't seen it yet by the time you find this post, go see it. It's worth the ticket price, it'll be worth the purchase price when it comes out, it's great for just about any family (there are some frightening scenes and swearing which was disappointing as I have young kids that won't be able to enjoy it at the young age I started watching Star Wars). Rise of Skywalker is a imperfect, but completely enjoyable conclusion to an adventure nearly half a century in the making.
The other issue I have with the film (and the whole conclusion trilogy as well) is that the Force keeps getting new powers. I'm pretty sure if you can heal people with the force, Obi-wan would have been working on that while cradling his dying mentor in his arms instead of rashly promising to deny the council and train the kid that, you know, would eventually kill him. In Episode IV, we see the force as a way to sense the world around you. It doesn't do anything one of our normal senses or skills can't do (except, depending on your beliefs, receive communication from those that have died). In the rest of the original trilogy, we expand that to moving things, appearing as force ghosts, and at the very end, we get a brand new force lightning demonstration. The prequels don't add anything substantial to the Force (don't you dare say, "what about midichlorians"). So, we see at least a few generations of Jedi and Sith go their was with no new developments in the force. The force originally was more akin to the spiritual than the magical. It was all powerful, but that didn't mean people could just do anything. The force was a law of nature that could be channeled and worked with, but not manipulated or changed. The new films present it as being able to do just about everything, and do it at will much of the time. You want to take out an entire fleet of ships in one shot, just use the force. You want to bring the dead back to life, just use the force. You want to hang out with someone halfway across the galaxy, just use the force.
Okay, I've got one other point that drew me out of the film, but this one deserves my highest praise rather than criticism. General Lea's scenes were all archive footage. This was, of course, due to the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher and was, in my opinion, one of the best handled sequels starring a deceased former cast member. It, once again, meant some sacrifice of story and character development for the writers, but with what they had to work with, I could not have asked for better. Abrams set the scenes perfectly and the effects team's integration was nearly flawless. Lea's lines are generic and, necessarily, non-specific, but at the end of the day, all I can say is that they did Fisher justice, and her role in the story is not only well done, but moving and meaningful. I would, of course, loved to have seen her do this movie herself, but the team behind Rise of Skywalker absolutely gave us one last turn with Princess Lea that they should be especially proud of.
So, with trying to tie up all the loose ends, drop all the easter eggs, fix all the plot holes, and piece together what they can of Lea's story, there's no denying that Rise of Skywalker is a mess. It's jerky and convoluted at times, and there are SOOOOO many scenes and lines that are clearly just fan service. But, guess what, I'm a fan, so I love it anyways. The biggest critisism of Last Jedi was it alienated fans. Rian Johnson took risks and broke formula and subverted expectations every chance he got. J. J. Abrams was heavily criticized for being too formulaic in Force Awakens, so it made sense, but Last Jedi clearly took it too far. Fortunately, Abrams finds a much better balance this time around and surprises us but maintains familiarity. It's still playing more to the safe side, but it's such a hodgepodge of fan favorite moments from all the previous films that the familiarity doesn't lend itself to predictability or boredom. So, yes, it's a bit of a mess, but it's satisfying and exciting and fun and beautiful and surprising and, above all, a fitting conclusion to an amazing saga.
Now, I think I've spent more time on the negatives than the positives at this point, but the reason is simple, most of the really great stuff about Rise of Skywalker is the stuff that makes all Star Wars movies great. The cinematography, practical effects, and production design are, like all the films, top notch. John Williams' score is everything we always get from the most iconic film composer of all time, but still deserves any praise thrown his way (particularly the musical foreshadowing, which is always cool). I've already mentioned Carrie Fisher's ...performance? I don't know if that's the right word, but the other actors gave good performances as well. A particular shout out goes to Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) who had some his most emotional and most humorous moments in this film, despite having significant roles in all 9 movies. Overall, the film is emotional, visually stunning, and full of more than enough fan service to please any die hard Star Wars fanatic out there.
It almost seems pointless to recommend Rise of Skywalker, as my recommendation is that if you've enjoyed most of the films so far, even if you haven't enjoyed all of them, this is a must watch, particularly for original trilogy fans. If you didn't like the overly formulaic plot of Force Awakens, don't worry, this one is better. If you didn't like the subversion of your expectations in Last Jedi, don't worry, this one fills those holes. If you liked the other two, then you're going to like this one as well. Rise of Skywalker is feeling like my favorite of the trilogy right now, but may change after more viewings, however, it's certainly improved in some of the most important ways, so if you haven't seen it yet by the time you find this post, go see it. It's worth the ticket price, it'll be worth the purchase price when it comes out, it's great for just about any family (there are some frightening scenes and swearing which was disappointing as I have young kids that won't be able to enjoy it at the young age I started watching Star Wars). Rise of Skywalker is a imperfect, but completely enjoyable conclusion to an adventure nearly half a century in the making.
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