“The Rise of Skywalker” concludes its trilogy on a weak note and leaves with a lackluster story and lack of grand scale and guidance for itself
Written By: Victor DeBonis
Being a “Star Wars” fan can be complicated at times. One could make the argument that, since “A New Hope” was released in 1977, film changed forever. Since that point, countless filmmakers have been trying to re-capture that wondrous imagination and spectacle that appeared in that movie, and millions of theatergoers still flock to the nearest theaters to see what the newest entries in the franchise are like. That’s not even diving into the dozens of books, video games, TV shows, and such from the Expanded Universe before “The Force Awakens,” where writers and other creative souls have tried their hands at telling their own narratives within that galaxy far, far away. “Star Wars” has won the hearts of millions of fans, myself included, and it will always have my and others’ fondness for the beauty of what it’s accomplished.
Yet, similar to any franchise, there are good entries, such as “The Empire Strikes Back” and “The Last Jedi,” and there are lesser ones, such as Episodes 1 through 3. Sadly but truthfully, the “Star Wars” fandom hasn’t always been kind in the wake of the more divisive movies, and the discussion amongst “Star Wars” fans was especially heated when 2017’s “The Last Jedi” came along. The bitter debate can honestly sometimes reach a point where I sigh a little as I witness how some fandoms can leave some fans treating their beloved property in a cruel way that it doesn’t deserve. Instead of having the previous movie’s director, Rian Johnson, come back, JJ Abrams, who helped kickstart the franchise’s revival after the prequels from around the 2000’s left a foul taste in countless moviegoers’ mouths, returns to the director’s chair for the final installment of the most recent trilogy, “The Rise of Skywalker.”
At the time that I’m writing this, fans will likely have much conversations regarding this film. Questions have popped up about how much of it is following its own path and how much of it is trying to reverse what some fans claimed to have been gravely miscalculated events in “Last Jedi.” This franchise and what it has done for movies means much to me, and I always walk into every film that I see from this series with the benefit of the doubt and a longing to keep an open mind. I did the same here with “Rise of Skywalker.”
So, it’s a bit tougher when I have to say that I didn’t care for this movie much. Some nice scenes happen, and I can’t ignore the ambition of what the film was trying to go for in wrapping up this trilogy in a way that tried to connect to both recent newcomers to the series and those that fell in love with this universe a long time ago. In spite of such efforts, however, the movie somehow forgets to follow a concrete story with its characters heading to places but without carrying the same sense of weight and real urgency that the previous movies placed them in. Aside from a message about trying to make one’s way forward to the next step in a legacy, there’s little depth to this installment in terms of its storytelling and ideas, and many fascinating ideas and themes for the important characters from the previous movie in the trilogy don’t follow through here. This feels less like a grand finale to a trilogy and more like an underwhelming science-fantasy movie with decent action and a few big moments happening here and there without much drive or anything that could help us connect more with the characters and the storylines here.
Visually speaking, Abrams still does well. The space fights with vehicles weaving and firing at neat angles contain the same power and energetic touch as they did in “Force Awakens,” and there are some great shots of caverns and one light-saber fight in the rain that maintain a heavy distance from afar but also hold a grand scale to how massive they look and feel. Nobody can deny Abrams’ talent for showcasing some great action and making a movie look visually appealing. However, after reflecting on some of the director’s past filmography and seeing “Rise,” it made me slowly realize something else about him that holds his work, even the good type, back a bit. Looking back at his past movies, I’ve noticed that Abrams loves to pay good homage to stuff from his past, such as Spielberg’s early blockbusters in “Super 8” and his fondness for “A New Hope” and (obviously) the “Star Wars” franchise in “The Force Awakens,” through how they’re shot and references here and there that are meant to give a sense of familiarity and nostalgia from what came before. At the same time, Abrams has never crafted any films that try to be challenging or different with their narratives and ideas. The stories themselves don’t take that many risks, either, and follow, more or less, down the road that one will expect them to take. The short truth is this: J.J. Abrams is a good man to go to for solid action and visuals, but he’s not a great storyteller.
You especially see quite a bit of all of this here in this movie. There is a number of references to previous “Star Wars” movies, including appearances of specific characters, lines, and so forth. A few of them can work, particularly when it leads to moments that are brief but try to lead to something meaningful. Other moments are shot in a way that feel too much like “nudge-nudge, wink-wink” scenes that are trying too hard to say, “Remember when THIS line was said before?” or “Remember when we went to THIS location?” They don’t come across as very clever or subtle, and most of the familiar characters that are presented in these scenes usually come and go without leaving a heavy impact on the movie itself.
It’s admirable to see Abrams trying to show his love for the franchise and its past with these callbacks. However, there are two things to keep in mind here. One is that, while it’s nice to give references to past stories from a franchise that mean much to you, it’s more significant to further honor your love for it by focusing on telling an interesting story that builds upon what was explored before. The second thing to note is that seeing all of these callbacks and references to so much from this universe’s past doesn’t sit too well following the previous movie’s emphasis on leaving the past behind and moving forward.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Putting aside the references, this story doesn’t take many chances with exploring any deep themes or showing much great character development. A main message that appears later in the movie with Rey consists of having pride for who you are and what you stand for, which is nice but is honestly not a new concept and isn’t explored in a new or interesting fashion. Also, while “The Last Jedi” was, by no means, a cinematic wonder, it, at least, had the courage to touch upon some different and fascinating concepts. It encouraged those from the audience to not obsess over how tasks were accomplished in their own pasts and try to discover new ways of accomplishing them. The movie spoke about not being afraid of what makes you who you are and trying to set a new example. And, when an interesting idea, such as one of these, isn’t completely ignored, a theme from the previous movie is completely reversed, as though the writers were taking too much note into what infuriated several fans rather than trying to develop the story from the groundwork that came before.
This comes across as trying too hard to satisfy fans of the franchise and plays a part in the lack of twists or anything that could make this movie feel different and more emotionally engaging. It’s simply disappointing to see this type of writing occur. A few twists start to happen in the movie that try to trick you into believing that something different and interesting is going to happen, but, a minute later, something happens that completely reverses what happened before, thus giving a routine and predictable feel to a “Star Wars” movie that really shouldn’t be there.
As far as character work goes, nothing appears that different about Poe since the very first time that we saw him. Nothing feels entirely new about Finn since his initial appearance in the trilogy. In “Last Jedi,” Rose Tico was such a determined and lovably feisty character whose motivation for wanting to do good could be felt from miles away. However, in “Rise of Skywalker,” this character possesses shockingly little screen time and presence, and she feels strangely sidelined. Their interactions with each other are fine, but none of them gives you the sense that they’ve grown as warriors or learned anything that new from their arcs in the trilogy.
Without revealing anything important, I’d like to take a little time to talk about Rey’s storyline. Since the first movie, Rey was, for me, the main interest for me in terms of seeing this trilogy. Her journey for wanting to discover more about herself and the power that resides within her was not only a little intriguing but also they type of story that, I’d assume, could inspire quite a few women and girls that go to see these movies. I’m a sucker for a well-told journey story that revolves around a heroine slowly discovering the power and strength within herself and what she could become, and Rey’s storyline always had great potential to develop into something special in that type of vein. Daisy Ridley, as always, works wonders with her character by depicting an emotional honesty and raw intelligence when she guards something with her light saber or quietly listens to the words of a friend or foe.
To this film’s credit, there are some parts about Rey’s storyline here that I do like. Seeing moments of Rey’s powers having grown in strength and what they can do with them is fairly rewarding. Also, there are a few times where we get to see the connections that Rey has made with some people from this universe who are legendary.
Although these scenes are brief, the characters in these scenes do give advice and try to give some idea that Rey has advanced in her arc, even if we, as an audience, don’t feel the impact of her journey or any sense that vast changes have occurred for her as a character and as a hero. In the original trilogy and “The Last Jedi,” Luke Skywalker’s path of developing as a hero and as a stronger person was heavily supported through the sequences of harsh training that he underwent in “Empire,” the choices (both good and bad) that he makes in his story, and the deep isolation and bitterness that was shown in the previous film of the current trilogy. Here, aside from seeing how great Rey has gotten at her powers, I never felt that Rey had undergone as much in terms of development or emotional experiences as a character, and this last chapter in the trilogy especially puts focus on that with her simply going through the motions of the adventure but rarely having moments where I truly felt that she or even her friends was in true danger. Anything bad that does happen to her is an action that you see being hastily reversed, further echoing the idea that the writers were perhaps too scared of doing a drastic change or significantly unexpected turn in the story out of fear of making “Star Wars” fans angry as they were with the previous installment. As a result, most of Rey’s storyline and the rest of the movie doesn’t give nearly the amount of emotional satisfaction or investment that it should. That’s particularly saddening, since it’s the last chapter in a trilogy as well as a saga of movies that has spanned well over 35 years to this point.
Say what you will about “Return of the Jedi,” but, through the events involving him in that movie, you sensed that Luke was putting himself in grave danger, and his story and who he was as a character had shown an added layer of seriousness and tough but clear transformation to who he was now as opposed to who he was way back in “New Hope.” I didn’t feel a hint of that same sense of urgency or deep emotional investment with Rey in this movie or the rest of the trilogy, save for a few moments. She has a few nice moments in this film which would mean more if they felt earned, but they never truly do. That’s really disappointing for what started out as a promising storyline about a heroine with unclear roots who transformed into something grander and more powerful, something that could and probably does mean much to a bunch of female Star Wars fans out there.
There was a heavy sense of mystery and intrigue regarding Rey’s past and parentage, and, in one of the most stunning and disappointing parts, “Rise” makes choices with that storyline that, again, sound like direct responses to criticisms from the previous film instead of following through with a storyline that sounded more interesting and even relatable on a certain level. What we find out about Rey’s roots here undermines quite a few of the themes and ideas from the previous film and shows no consistency or willingness to commit to the unique storytelling from before. All of the relatability, all of the intrigue to Rey’s roots is stripped away. Quite a few parts of this movie are similar in how either the director or screenwriters (Abrmas and Chris Terrio) or, maybe, studio executives from Disney were focusing too much on what angrier fans were saying about the last movie in the main SW filmography were complaining about, and they lost track of developing their own story and characters on their own terms. I wasn’t sure that I’d see the day where a heavily budgeted film from a big franchise would cave in so much to the vitriolic responses of a number of fans displeased with specific events in a story, yet here we are.
Without saying what happens, the ending made me mentally shake my head. A part of me sees what they might’ve been trying to go for with it. However, what we see refuses to take a braver direction by following the opposite route to what could’ve happened here. By taking what one might argue is the safer route, this movie missed a huge opportunity for further developing its character and following up on a pretty important lesson from the other movies, and it puzzles me, causing me to wonder how much Rey has learned on her path, based on this one action alone.
Part of the wonder of the “Star Wars” universe came from marveling at the variety of different planets and worlds to explore. “Rise of Skywalker” doesn’t really take you anywhere new or looking that different from what we’ve seen before. For instance, there’s an awesome light-saber battle (one of the high points of the movie) that takes place in the middle of some violent waves, and it’s shot with an epic sense of scale to it. Yet, we saw a neat-looking location in this universe that took place amidst a stormy sea in “Attack of the Clones.” (For what it’s worth, “Rise of Skywalker” is nowhere near as bad as that or the other prequels in that trilogy.) We explore a land surrounded by desert-like caverns that looks neat but is indistinguishable from the other desert locations that we’ve been introduced to in “Star Wars” movies from the past. There’s little creativity and sense of rugged adventure with stakes in this story, and that shows even more in how little there’s left to explore in this installment of the trilogy.
John Williams’ score remains one of the few bright lights in this tired conclusion. His music bursts with bravado and adventure when it’s not heightening with dread and menace in the more intimidating scenes, and he continues to remind audiences why he’s one of the great composers of movie music. Adam Driver’s presence as Kylo Ren also provides some brief satisfaction in this film. His towering walk and deep, booming voice give a presence every bit as menacing as when we were first introduced to this villain. Even when he’s not saying a word, he fights with blistering purpose, and those tears of his feel genuine when there’s a big moment requiring them. It also helps that, while his arc is still a little questionable in some areas, it feels more believably developed than the arcs of the rest of the main characters.
The rest of the main cast, including John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, do pretty well in terms of acting, which deserves a little bit of additional recognition given how there’s no sense that their characters have truly transformed from who they were at the start. Their chemistry doesn’t even feel that energetic or charming this time around. Ian McDiarmid returns as Palpatine and is delightfully dark and fun to watch as always. However, he, too, comes across as awkward given how he’s presented. I scratch my head a little wondering how he logically got into the position that he’s in. All of these are talented performers who are clearly doing the best they can with the written material that they have, and it’s a shame that they can’t bring more of their A-material when all of them are trapped in such a weightless story.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Anyone who has been waiting for me to say that this is the worst “Star Wars” movie ever made or worse than the prequels is going to be sorely disappointed right now. “Attack of the Clones” possesses a shockingly high level of awful dialogue, tedious action, and frankly boring demeanor that still makes it the worst film with the “Star Wars” title attached to it in my eyes, and not even “Rise of Skywalker” can reach those levels of mediocrity. With that being said, this is undoubtedly one of the most disappointing films in the franchise that I’ve seen. For a series of movies that is familiar with its imagination, great characters, and rich worlds to explore, there was little creativity to the story in this movie and barely any focus on developing these characters or showing how far they’d come within the time span of three films.
There’s little to no emotional weight, characters feel as though they’re mainly heading through the motions of a standard action film without much of a sense of harder stakes involved, and the movie is constantly trying to making amends for several fan’s dissatisfaction with the previous movie when it should’ve been more focused on telling a good story on its own terms. “The Last Jedi” might have been far from a perfect movie, but I admired the deeper themes and newer approach that it was trying to take with its story, thus giving hope that, maybe, whoever would be directing “Rise of Skywalker” would take a few notes from that while making the new film his own creation. I’ll even go as far to say that “Last Jedi” tried to challenge its audience in a way that hadn’t been felt since “The Empire Strikes Back.”
I understand wanting to try to make up for what didn’t sit right with some fans from a previous chapter of a trilogy of a beloved franchise. I sincerely do. Yet, when you try to accomplish that by bombarding people with references and reversing interesting themes and ideas from previous installments through a story that’s nowhere near as engaging or emotionally investing as it should be, especially for a finale, you’re simply doing more damage to your own story.
I give this trilogy, as a whole, a bunch of credit for trying to go back to the roots of what made “Star Wars” fun and entertaining after so many people were understandably disappointed with Lucas’ prequels. I enjoyed several parts of this trilogy, such as Rey’s descent into that mysterious cave in “Last Jedi” and her handling of that lightsaber for the first time, and I will always appreciate what it was trying to do with her arc and the idea of her inspiring others with her journey, developed or not. Yet, for all of its faults, Lucas’ prequel trilogy, at least, had a vision and sense of direction that followed through in its consistency from the first moment of “Phantom Menace” to the last moments of “Revenge of the Sith.”
Looking back on the previous films and seeing how this one ended, I find it obvious that there wasn’t enough of a guide and singular vision to help develop these stories and characters so that we could believe that this journey was meaningful not only to its heroine and the people that she met but for us as an audience. “Star Wars” is one of my favorite film franchises, right next to many of the “Batman” movies.
When you look back and reflect on it, much of what we have in terms of blockbuster entertainment and what filmmakers are trying to do with the form started, in part, with “New Hope” and how people were blown away and further astonished with how “The Empire Strikes Back” pushed its own story and ideas further, thus creating what is to me one of the gold-standard examples of the blockbuster film. The original trilogy’s characters, imaginative worlds, and unique blend of action, heart, and charm resonated with millions of fans and maintained an ever-lasting impact on popular culture that dozens of future artists and filmmakers dream of achieving.
I will always be thankful for it, and it still has a place in my heart. For some fans, the interactions amidst the more toxic people from the fanbase and some disappointment with the choices made in these films is enough for them to not want to return to this franchise. Perhaps, they’ve fallen out of love with it. I can immediately understand those feelings and actions.
I myself have experienced what it’s like to have a character or story or series of stories that was so meaningful to you have something happen in either its writing or fanbase occur in a way that upsets you or angers you and leaves you feeling disillusioned to wonder how it got to where it did, almost to the point that you’re aren’t sure if you want to follow anymore. It hurts, and it can even be heartbreaking if that franchise or movie or show or such means the world to you. As a critic who experiences several shows and movies and writes about them, I’ve experienced that a few times for this year.
This movie is sadly another reminder of this, trying too hard to appeal to fans from a (Let’s be real here.)sometimes conflicted base while also not doing enough with its narrative to remind us what the purpose of its trilogy and its own tale was supposed to accomplish in the grander scheme of things. It’s just one of those movies that feels lost. Yet, we, at least, have other great or enjoyable stories from this film’s universe, and their spirit and what they stand for is what ultimately matters. That’s often what’s most significant: what one particular story means to you and how it affects you in spite of how future tales with its continuing universe or arc turn out.
What does the spirit of the stories or the franchise that matters to you accomplish, and what can you learn from it? How can you try to be a better fan from it? Those are important questions to ask yourselves, including times, such as this, when a movie isn’t performing to its greatest heights and people are debating, once more, over what could’ve improved it or how they might feel about the series following so much discourse from the previous movie in the trilogy and this one.
“The Rise of Skywalker” doesn’t work as a story. It is an ill-fitting way of concluding a trilogy and saga of over 35 years of history. Yet, we can always look ahead and be thankful for those stories that affect us stronger in this universe or what ties to it in some way. It’s uncertain how future movies will turn out, but I try to keep an open mind and keep my hopes up as I can. I will always be thankful for the original trilogy, even “Return of the Jedi” with its shortcomings, and I plan to continue to support works, such as those and what that trilogy inspired.
A highly dissatisfying film, such as this, happens at times, but there are always meaningful stories that stick with us and possibilities as open as the starry skies far above us, skies reminiscent of the imagination possible for a galaxy far, far away that came out of the clear blue a long time ago.
Grade: C-