Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. everyone must have memorized it by now. 

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker looks impressive and offers strong performances from Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. However, the Skywalker saga ends with neither a bang nor a whimper. It’s also difficult to say whether it is better on the right side or the wrong side.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Movie Review

A director has a reverie! Although there are many opportunities, the vision becomes a film. And despite dozens of studios declared the film’s low quality on initial screenings, Star Wars became universally popular – sparking one of the utmost film series of all time. 

Now, 42 years and eight films later, the story of Skywalker ends with J. J. Abrams. But contradictory to the title, this last film feels more like approval of Star Wars defeat. When Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ends the series, it’s clear that the passion and creative vision that George Lucas brought to the film was diluted. 

Despite many film flaws, Abrams managed to gather entertaining narratives. Unfortunately, the mistake of The Rise of Skywalker is so apparent which can be avoided. It is frustrating to see that it could be a better film.

Some time has passed since Luke Skywalker sacrificed his life to save the increasingly thinning resistance forces to Kylo Ren and the vengeful First Order. 

The reappearance of an old enemy, the feared Emperor Palpatine rocked the fragile resistance forces further. Armed with Star Destroyers’ armada, Palpatine has enough power to seize the ultimate control of the galaxy. 

After meeting Kylo Ren, the Emperor gives him a new task: Find and kill Rey.

Rey and his friends, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Chewbacca, set out to stop Kylo Ren and the Emperor, to bring harmony back to the galaxy.

Abrams was quite excited about how much information, subplots, and diversions, he tried to wrap into two and a half hours. However, despite being too ambitious, this film does some things very well. 

First, it signifies nostalgia for the original trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker was criticized for serving too many fans’ desires through blatant callbacks to the original trilogy. 

While it’s true that the Disney sequel trilogy is Star Wars for a new generation, and the repetition of the storyline from boring Lucas films will be tiring, filmmakers still have to keep these new films at the charm of the Lucas trilogy that came before them. 

Through the reappearance of the same theme, enemies, and character goals, Episode IX is the first in a series of new Star Wars films that truly feels like a logical continuation of what happened before, while still providing something new for the next generation. 

In addition, watching this film provides a substantial entertainment value. Although the brilliance of a film doesn’t always mean it’s good, Star Wars is always bigger than life, filled with space battles, lightsaber duels, and beautiful environments. 

Skywalker’s awakening is no exception. Setpieces and environments are beautiful to look at, and they put the narrative in a vibrant world. 

The scene that occurred around the Death Star ruins was phenomenal, as it involved the Force relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren. 

Although cinematography sometimes struggles to compensate for action in some of the more crowded scenes, it does an excellent job organizing chaos and keeping the essential things in focus amid the battle noise.

But watching alone isn’t enough to catch the viewer’s attention. Dramatic tension is the key to making adventure films effective. This is where The Rise of Skywalker is the most irregular. 

While the film’s beginning was very effective in building anticipation by showing Palpatine’s return, this tension quickly disappeared when the film consistently showed its reluctance to take risks or commit to its creative decisions. 

The characters are constantly placed on dangerous paths. Still, they always manage to escape, which in turn reduces moments of emotional resonance. This trope happens so often that it’s hard to believe whatever is displayed at the end of the film. 

Without dramatic tension, all action scenes are reduced to little more than glorified light shows, which are disappointing given this scene’s technical impression.

Besides, this film is a waste of many characters that should be very interesting. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced the audience to the Knights of Ren. A group of elite warriors who are Force-sensitive adepts. They were neither Jedi nor Sith. They can be very deadly to Rey and her friends.

However, in The Rise of Skywalker they act as bodyguards who are only slightly glorified with little influence on the story. What a waste.

Rose’s character is also wasted. Rose had a rather large role in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Still, she was rudely intimidated in the social media after its release. Admittedly, her role in The Last Jedi was poorly written. Instead of creating a character arc that was unique and useful to her in The Rise of Skywalker, her character was almost completely erased.

Another waste is Finn. He was The Force Awakens main character. A rogue stormtrooper, the first to use a lightsaber, and an essential member of the Resistance. However, in The Rise of Skywalker, he is only a side character whose only real contribution seems to include him in the middle of a dramatic scene and screams “REY!”

So, what do you think of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker?

If you enjoyed the movie, check out The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Also, the list I did for Star Wars Movies And All The TV Shows In Chronological Order.