Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review
It's really hard to talk about the ending of a story that spanned for over four decades without discussing how this piece of work reacts to the ripples of its legacy and how it will influence the future. These movies are sequels that were developed in the shadow of three of cinema's most iconic and well-regarded fantasy films. Star Wars discourse has struggled with people's impossibly high expectations since the lead up to its prequels. People have put this franchise up on an impossibly high pedestal. If there's one thing that Star Wars fans all know for certain, is that it's getting harder and harder to have an opinion on these movies year after year. The conversations are all over the map and have even become dangerous when it comes to representation and "legacy". There are people who love this movie and people who hate it. There's a lot in between too that's worth discussing between fans. There are a lot of Star Wars viewers that have a nostalgic and personal attachment to these movies. I just happen to not be one of them.
I don't like this movie because its plot points and character decisions felt convoluted and out of no where. I hate how it undercuts Episode 8's finest and most revolutionary moments (with Rose Tico being one of its more obvious casualties). Rise of Skywalker is a movie that tries so hard to please so many but, of course, ends up disappointing many more, at least from the circles of conversations I've observed. It's a jumbled mess from a screenwriting and editing perspective. The return of Palpatine and the things surrounding him make very little sense once one starts to examine them. Although Carrie Fisher's send off and the reactions from her cast mates was the emotional peak for me, the material prior to that moment felt awkward and distracting. But of course, it's the most respectful thing they could've done with Leia given the tragic and untimely circumstances. Her big moment, however, was used beautifully to develop Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and culminates in a well paced and meditatively conflicted arc in what has to be one of Star Wars' most polarizing characters. Yes, I am one of those people who adores Kylo Ren from the very beginning and right to the end. The same could not be said for its villains, side characters, the main players (meta star-crossed lovers Poe and Finn) and Mary "Rey" Sue herself, who- despite being the main person leading the story, has been shrouded in mystery even up to Rise of Skywalker's climax. Sadly, she ends up feeling like a byproduct of half-baked ideas with no singular, well-defined vision and a consequence of generic, tropy, battle manga/anime power escalation nonsense that a lot of people have seen over and over again (think Goku or Naruto but with vaguely defined space wizard powers).
In the end, I think Rise of Skywalker is gonna be what a lot of longtime fans expect. I hate watching something that's so nauseatingly familiar. It's not a movie I enjoyed watching nor will be one I will remember until the next one. And I assure you, there will be a next one and the conversations about it will also be intense and cyclical. I don't ever want to talk about Star Wars ever again after this. Let the past die.