It’s a weird, difficult time to be a Star Wars fan. And it’s become really difficult to even react to or review a Star Wars film. Let alone this one.
There are many reasons for that – some of them not even entirely to do with the films themselves. But The Rise of Skywalker is very much a film existing in – and indeed born out of – this weird and difficult environment that now exists for both creators and fans alike.
As usual when it comes to Star Wars films, I’ve waited a while to write a review for The Rise of Skywalker. That gives me time to take things in a little, process my thoughts and feelings, and not post up a knee-jerk reaction.
I never trust my first reaction when it comes to Star Wars films: but this one in particular is such a complicated entity, evoking such conflicting and uncertain feelings that it seemed wisest to delay. Having now seen the film a few times, I’m still struggling a little to fully or decisively figure out how I feel about The Rise of Skywalker.
It really is that messy, that difficult, a film to get to grips with: I may take months or even years to do so.
And, let’s face it – this isn’t just a Star Wars film. This is the end of the trilogy: and, we’re told, the end of the saga itself. This film is/was a big deal to me: and I don’t think I’ll ever be this invested again – once Disney/Lucasfilm moves beyond the ‘Skywalker Saga’, I feel like my interest-level won’t be as high as it’s been to this point.
So yeah, this film was a big deal to me: just as Revenge of the Sith was back in 2005.
On first viewing, I definitely felt somewhat deflated and unsatisfied. The film moved way too fast, there was too much happening too quickly, too much that didn’t feel right, and there was an unnatural feeling – a feeling even of illegitimacy – to some of what I had spent two-and-a-half hours trying to process.
On second viewing, some of that problem was still there: but I was able to enjoy the movie more and come to terms better with a few things.
I don’t think the case can be made that it offers a better end to the ‘Skywalker Saga’ than we already had in the form of 1983’s Return of the Jedi (or Return of the Jedi and 2005’s Revenge of the Sith combined – which is how I always look at it).
It, like this whole trilogy, is simply too divisive for that – which is unfortunate.
In terms of legacy, this Sequel Trilogy will probably have a troubled and divisive one – some will continue to love it and some will continue to vehemently hate it.
Episode IX was probably never going to be able to fix that. It definitely tries to.
On a personal level, however, I’m entirely open to the possibility that my own view of this film might evolve. I struggled a lot with The Last Jedi when it was released: but I’ve come to really appreciate that film, thanks to repeat viewings and the simple benefit of time.
The Last Jedi, for me, aged very well – to the extent that I now think Rian Johnson’s film is possibly the best entry in this Sequel Trilogy.
But, dealing with the here and now, the most apt word to describe Episode IX is ‘frustrating’. If I had to pick a second word, it would be ‘botched’. And if I had to describe my lingering feeling, it would be as ‘cognitive dissonance’.
Before I go into an actual review of this film, let me state from the outset that J.J was in a difficult creative position with this film. Ending a trilogy that was so poorly planned is a difficult task. Ending a nine-part saga that isn’t yours is even harder – especially when you’re not Mr Lucas. Making any kind of film on this scale – and with this level of toxic fan-base and unceasing online scrutiny – is Herculean.
Trying to finish a story that matters to so many people must feel impossible, especially when you have a vast online community scrutinising or second-guessing your every move – or actively trying to anticipate everything you might do before you even do it.
This is why I entirely sympathised with Rian Johnson’s ‘subvert expectations’ approach in TLJ – because how the hell do you make an interesting or suspenseful film when every possible plot-point or story direction has already been theorised or anticipated by hundreds of YouTube channels and Reddit forums?
So what I’m saying is that J.J was handed a poisoned chalice and a Herculean task. And there was no version of this film – in no reality – that would’ve been met with universal approval or would’ve pleased every section of what is a ridiculously divided fan-base.
There was always going to be a backlash: hell, the ‘backlash’ was going on long before the film was even released, with scores of online commentators or video-makers actively hoping for Episode IX to ‘fail’, calling for boycotts or just saying over and over again that this film was going to be a disaster.
Making a Star Wars film at all is difficult – just ask Lucas, who took so much abuse for the prequels that he gave up and sold Lucasfilm to Disney. And making a Star Wars film in 2019 and in the kind of circumstances that J.J was in… well, it’s even more difficult.
Add to all of THAT the likelihood that J.J probably had Disney execs and committees breathing down his neck too and you have to come to the conclusion that J.J had very little creative wriggle-room.
No one has ever set out to make a bad Star Wars movie.
And I, for my part, have never set out with the intention of hating a Star Wars movie. I love Star Wars, fundamentally. And there has not to date been a Star Wars movie that I’ve completely hated or disliked (the closest would be Solo: A Star Wars Story). There remains more in The Force Awakens that I like than that I dislike; and the same holds true for The Last Jedi.
Whether The Rise of Skywalker proves to be the same remains to be seen – it’ll be a long-term judgement, because initial viewings can be misleading.
And also, given that I do have some serious criticisms – and primarily with the film’s story on a fundamental level – I want to be careful not to come across as though I’m hating the whole movie. So I’m going to start with positives specifically – before I go into a more general review, which will – unfortunately – be more critical.
I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, even with its sometimes rushed pacing. The sense of fun and adventure, the Indiana Jones like feel to the action, and the fun dynamics between the characters, were all a breath of fresh air; especially given the more sober, ominous note that the previous movie finished on.
That’s something J.J Abrams and Chris Terrio got very right: putting Rey, Finn and Poe together and actually giving us a fun ride before things got too dark and ominous. It’s an approach that Lucas also used to great effect in the opening of Revenge of the Sith – have some fun first, before you go dark.
I enjoyed the second half of the film less, as everything pushes towards a finale that was arguably always going to be problematic.
In fact, it has to be said that the difficulties were there from the very start of the film – as much as I did enjoy the antics of that first hour, the opening scene itself (in fact, even the opening text crawl itself) presented me with the thing I was most worried about going into this film: specifically, the elephant in the room – the return of the Emperor Palpatine.
So that issue – good or bad – hung over the whole movie from the very start. And the problem was that, because I couldn’t decide how I felt about Palpatine being brought back from apparent death, I therefore couldn’t settle down for the rest of the film – because Palpatine’s return was established literally from the very start and, of course, we all know we’re ultimately building up to a confrontation with Palpatine for the finale.
When the main plot point of the movie is such a difficult one to know how to feel about, it unfortunately interferes with one’s ability to properly enjoy the rest of the experience.
And that was always going to be the problem with bringing back Palpatine: for a lot of people, the film would live or die according to that decision and how well it was handled.
I’ll come back to Palpatine at the end – as that’s a central facet of the problems with this movie. For now, let me stay with what I view as the positives.
The Palpatine scenes – while possibly problematic for existing at all in the context of the broader saga – are thoroughly compelling and dark. While they may or may not work in terms of the broader saga, they do work very dramatically in terms of just this film on its own. They’re just really good scenes – except for, possibly, the actual final death of Palpatine itself (which isn’t so great).
Meanwhile, some of the Kylo/Rey material, while not as engaging as in The Last Jedi, is still compelling, forming the core of the narrative.
Some of what I do like in this film is the areas in which Abrams does follow-through on story elements introduced in The Last Jedi: chief of all in the Force-bond between Rey and Kylo and their ability to interact outside of the normal boundaries or limitations of space and physics. That was one of the most interesting things introduced in this entire trilogy and it was good to see Episode IX carry that through and make it a central plot point.
Because the groundwork was already laid in TLJ, I had no problems with Rey magically handing the lightsaber to Ben through the Force.
This story goes further and actually puts the Reylo Force-bond into specific terms; calling it a “Force dyad”. It isn’t explained much beyond that, but this is one of those things where some ambiguity and mysteriousness isn’t a problem – we can infer that it relates to the ‘balance’ and the yin-yang and the idea of the Cosmic Force working through Rey and Ben/Kylo.
Crucially, Rey is a well written character in this final chapter and her story is brought to a powerful enough end-point. I think where this film does ultimately succeed and thrive is with Rey and the conclusion to her story or her Hero’s Journey.
I think, ultimately, Rey’s overall arc across these three films does hold up.
I was in love with Rey in TFA: she’s been put through the wringer in the subsequent two films, in a story arc about longing and belonging, identity and finding one’s self. It’s a story, I think, that works. And I like how it ends, with Rey on Tatooine and adopting the Skywalker name – if it wasn’t for the awful-looking Force-Ghosts of Luke and Leia (more on that shortly; but it’s unforgivable to have rendered that visual so poorly), this would be a really powerful ending scene for the trilogy.
On the balance – and given the benefit of some more time – maybe it is.
I like that we see an angrier, more tense Rey than we’ve seen previously. Her impatience early on, her reaction to the knowledge that she is Palpatine’s granddaughter, etc, all felt right. I like that we get to see Rey training early in the film; and I really liked the fact that the whole “Be with me” thing (Rey trying to establish contact with all the past Jedi) was set up very early in the film so that it could be paid off in the finale.
And for that matter, that pay-off – the emergence of all the voices of past Jedi at the end – is something I really, really loved: and was the kind of connective, saga-spanning idea that I really didn’t think Abrams’ film was going to do.
I’m being positive here on Rey’s arc and the conclusion to her story – Kylo/Ben’s is more of a mixed bag, so I’ll circle back around to that.
Also, there’s the revelation about Rey’s lineage – which I’ll also circle back to when I talk about Palpatine.
Finn and Poe are fun and enjoyable to watch, bringing some nice dynamics to the action – though both are, ultimately, fairly expendable, hit-or-miss characters in the overall scheme of things. John Boyega‘s character has probably been the least well developed in this trilogy, which is a shame, given how good a start he got off to in The Force Awakens.
Something more interesting could’ve been done – across a trilogy – with the idea of a defecting Stormtrooper; but it feels like no one knew what to do with Finn after TFA. Again, that’s a shame, as John Boyega could’ve flourished if he’d been given more to chew on.
I also think the omission for the most part of Kelly Marie Tran‘s character in this film is a failing on the part of Terrio and Abrams, especially after the viscious and often racist backlash the actress faced in the wake of TLJ. Rose Tico should’ve been given more to do and been treated with more respect: certainly new characters (like Dominic Monaghan‘s character) should not have been introduced for no reason and at the expense of Rose, when Rose could’ve been saying those lines.
I mean, why introduce random new characters in the final film when you’ve got characters already there from the previous film who could be given more to do? What abut Billie Lourd’s character, Connix? Why not give Carrie Fisher’s daughter a bigger role, instead of bringing in lame new characters?
The omission of Rose feels, unfortunately, like one among many ways in which Abrams and Terrio were playing the fan-service game – pandering to vocal elements of the ‘fan community’ (in this case, particularly toxic elements of said fan community) who’ve been complaining about Kelly Marie Tran for two years. For me, that’s not how you make movies or write stories – you write from conviction and not from perusing YouTube critique videos.
But, still sticking with the positives, as much as this film does Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker a great disservice (again, more on that shortly), where it absolutely doesn’t fail is with Leia and Carrie.
How Leia would be handled in this movie (given the obvious limitations) was always going to be a key question: and I was really happy with the ending Leia gets in The Rise of Skywalker – it’s an area where J.J really knocked it out of the park. All of the Leia/Carrie scenes feel appropriate and poignant. I love that we get to see Leia training Rey and Rey even referring to her as “Master”. I love that we even get a flashback to Luke training Leia – something that didn’t need to be in the film, but that certainly does a service to the on-screen Star Wars canon.
And Leia’s ending – her death scene – is so poignantly done that I really have no complaints. After the crazy ride of TLJ, with Leia’s apparent demise in space and subsequent monumental use of the Force to save herself, this time we get a very quiet, subdued end to Leia’s story, with the former Princess of Alderaan simply laying down and reaching out to her wayward son one last time – an act that proves decisive.
The fact that Artoo Deetoo is the one with Leia when she dies is also just a perfect detail and a perfect image – one that I’m grateful for.
We have to bear in mind that the ‘plan’ – in as much any plan existed for this trilogy – was for this third and final film to be heavily focused on Leia (with the first and second having, respectively, been focused on Han and then Luke): the fact that Carrie was sadly lost to us obviously undermined the existing plan, forcing J.J (and Trevorrow initially) to improvise. J.J’s decision to maintain Carrie/Leia’s prominence in the final film – and to use leftover footage from TFA – was a gamble.
It’s a gamble that’s paid off, at least as far as Leia’s part in this story is concerned: because those scenes work really well and Leia gets an ending I think she deserves.
For me, it’s Rey and it’s Leia who are best served by this movie – and while that doesn’t make up for all the shortcomings of this film, it is nevertheless a very important thing in its favor.
More positives? As much as both Threepio’s and Chewbacca’s fake-out demises were used as cheap and meaningless narrative tricks, both iconic characters at least got really good screen time in this film.
It was good to finally see everyone’s favorite protocol droid get a lot of screen time – and it ends up being Threepio’s best and funniest outing since the Empire Strikes Back. And the moment where Chewie reacts to Leia’s death is also one of the most emotional moments of the film.
I liked Zori Bliss and Babu Frick. I liked the planet Kijimi (?): it was good world-building and felt like an absorbing location.
I didn’t care so much for Jannah – who felt like a character being needlessly sandwiched into the narrative very late in the game. But it was fun seeing Billy Dee Williams back as Lando – though I still think it would’ve been far better to have Lando come back in TLJ (probably at Canto Bight).
I liked the Rey/Kylo duel on the Death Star wreckage and amidst the giant waves – it was very reminiscent of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting on the lava planet, which is a nice echo.
And, visually, this film has lots of stunning-looking sequences: such as that duel amidst the waves or such as the opening sequence on Mustafar and Exegol, or such as the entirety of Rey’s climactic confrontation with Palpatine.
Visually, this film is full of stunning moments.
But, unfortunately, it feels like a lot of the stuff I liked most in this film were the little things – like the Ewok cameo, like Babu Frick, or like the brief shot of the Porgs on Ach-To. While the stuff I had problems with or struggled with are the big things.
And that explains why I can genuinely enjoy watching some of this film, while significantly struggling with it at the same time.
The biggest problem for me, on first viewing especially, is that all of the most important moments – the moments that are meant to be heaviest-hitting or the most emotional or resonant – failed to impact me in the way I wanted them to.
And, for someone who loves Star Wars as much as I always have, this is kind of upsetting… especially here, at the apparent end of the saga.
And I can give a couple of key examples here.
Kylo Ren’s turn to the light (his “Ben-demption”) – something we’ve been building towards for two films – lacks some of the weight it should have, because it feels like it happens very suddenly. It doesn’t feel organic. While I genuinely love that we got the Han Solo moment (and a nice echo of the Han/Kylo scene in The Force Awakens), it felt weird, especially because we’re told it was merely a “memory” of his father that he was experiencing.
Which begs the question of why he never had that “memory” or realisation at any previous or earlier time. You could argue that it was his mother, Leia, reaching out to him through the Force in her final act that did it. But again, why did Leia not do that earlier – years ago even?
Having had some time to think about it, I guess it’s possible that Leia was saving this effort for her final act before death – in which she would somehow use that transition between life and death to expend her final energies in a massive use of the Force.
Maybe Luke’s actions – his projection – at the end of The Last Jedi was what taught Leia how to do this? And maybe Leia’s influence in that moment was what triggered Kylo’s vision of his father?
All of that is possible. Luke does tell Rey that Leia saw the end of her Jedi path coinciding with the death of her son – or something like that. So this probably does make sense. But we shouldn’t have to be clutching at straws like this.
And it does feel abrupt and sudden. And, in all honesty, I felt more in The Last Jedi when Kylo killed Snoke and seemed – for a moment – to be returning to the light. That moment was, dramatically speaking, more effective and more emotional than this moment in The Rise of Skywalker.
In essence, that means I’m saying the double-bluff almost-redemption in the previous film got me more than this actual redemption in The Rise of Skywalker… which is very odd; and unfortunate.
On the same note, the actual final defeat of Palpatine feels very anti-climatic.
Apparently, despite throwing all of his power at her, all Rey needs to do to destroy the undying Emperor once and for all is to use two lightsabers instead of one to block or deflect his Sith lightning back at him. Given that he seems to explode at this point, I’m guessing Palpatine is finally dead for real this time.
I get it on one level – symbolically, that it is Rey using both Luke’s and Leia’s lightsabers together that is what defeats the Emperor: and, symbolically, that’s cool.
But still… as a conclusion to the nine-film saga, it just doesn’t work.
And then, the other key point of this film is the final scene between Rey and Kylo/Ben. Which, again, for me, didn’t work anything like as powerfully as it should have. I’ve always been ambivalent about the whole ‘Reylo’ thing; but I’ve never been particularly opposed to it, though I’ve never particularly wanted it either (for one thing, having the trilogy’s hero fall in love with a murderer seems questionable – and it’s also a questionable message to be putting out to young girls in terms of courting toxic relationships).
But the way this key moment plays out – with Ben using the Force to revive an apparently dead Rey, then a revived Rey passionately kissing Ben, then Ben smiling, then Ben laying down and dying and then vanishing (to become one with the Force) – feels so fast, so rushed, that it loses impact.
Seriously, it all happens so quickly that you’re left feeling like you haven’t registered it at all. I don’t even know if I could say that the kiss was out of place – because if it had all been done in a more measured, nuanced way, the kiss might’ve seemed fitting.
It’s as if this film is moving so fast that it undercuts all of its key moments. There’s no time to feel or process any emotional response. Am I sad that Ben died… or happy that he came back to the light? Am I happy that he and Rey kissed… or sad that they can’t be together?
I have no idea. No idea what I actually feel or what I’m meant to feel.
As the final act of the relationship that has been the core of this trilogy, it’s possible it even hits the right notes – but just hits them too fast and in too slap-dash a manner. Was J.J pandering to the Internet (particularly the obsessive community of mostly girl fans insisting that Rey and Kylo have a sexual union) by throwing in ‘Reylo’ and then also ‘Bendemption’?
Would this story have been better if Ben had lived? Who knows?
Also, it’s problematic how crucial the element of ‘force healing’ is in this story – given that it was only introduced in this story. I know it appears in The Mandalorian too – but that episode of The Mandalorian episode was literally a day or two before The Rise of Skywalker came out. Throwing a new force-power into the mix at the last minute and then have it be crucial to the resolution of the final film is very questionable.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with force-healing as a concept (though it does seem like a total deus-ex-machina), but to have it not feature in any of the previous eight films and then suddenly be all-important in the final film doesn’t really work.
The other two examples are the Luke Skywalker scene (the only Luke Skywalker scene, as it happens) and the final scene of the film.
And while one of my complaints is the very fact that Luke Skywalker only has one scene in the entire film, the actual thing that undercut both these scenes for me is more along nitpicky lines. Specifically, the Force Ghosts looked really bad – just visually.
Which was baffling to me, as it shouldn’t have presented that much of a problem for the filmmakers. In the Luke scene on Ach-To, his Force Ghost just looks way too bright and it was very distracting – especially against a bright/daylight backdrop.
And then, again, in the final scene on Tatooine, when Luke and Leia’s ghosts appear, it should be a beautiful, resonant and impactful moment – but it just looked really bad. It honestly looked like Jesus and the Virgin Mary were appearing to Rey. I couldn’t believe how badly they were rendered – or that Lucasfilm would do such a poor job in such a key, pivotal moment in both the film and the saga.
After some thought, I realised what the problem was: it was that we’ve never seen Force-Ghosts before in daylight conditions. We’ve only ever seen them in night- time environments, where they look fine. In daylight settings, they apparently just don’t render very well.
But someone at Lucasfilm should’ve recognised this and the two scenes should’ve been adjusted or edited: because it’s really distracting.
I’m trying to enjoy that final scene with Rey in the Lars homestead (it should be a poignant and powerful final scene), but all I can keep thinking is how terrible the Force Ghosts look and how much it genuinely looks like a Christian religious painting of Jesus and Mary.
I just don’t get how, in a production on this scale and a with a film this important, we could have relatively little things like that not be done right. The result, unfortunately, is that, whereas I’m always moved by the appearance of Yoda’s, Obi-Wan’s and Anakin’s ghosts at the end of Return of the Jedi, the appearance of Luke and Leia here – which I should be moved by – just made me cringe.
This botched final scene might actually be a perfect reflection of the whole trilogy.
And again, something also just looked and felt off about Luke’s appearance on Ach-To: which, for me, undercut the entire scene – which should’ve been one of the most powerful scenes in the film. And it’s an example of how this film almost got some things right, but so often falls just short of the mark.
Also, shouldn’t Luke have appeared here in the same image he projected of himself at the end of The Last Jedi? You know, the younger Luke with the shorter hair? Wouldn’t that be more poignant – and tie the two films together much better?
Instead, Luke arrives here, looking like a hobo – which, combined with the rendering/lighting problem mentioned earlier, is really distracting.
I absolutely loved the idea of Rey going back to Ach-To (after discovering Palpatine is her grandfather and after almost killing Ben Solo just after Leia’s death) and intending to isolate herself there just as Luke did: this was one of the very best story ideas in the entire film and I thought it could’ve taken the film in a really rich direction.
But it doesn’t. Because it isn’t given any time. It’s just one scene. She decides to go back to Ach-To: and then, in the same scene, she is convinced to leave Ach-To and go to confront the Emperor on Exegol. In a film with better, more natural-feeling, pacing, this would’ve been two or three scenes at least.
At least give us time to experience the island again, and give us time to think that Rey might really stay on the island, and time to feel what she’s feeling… and then have Luke’s ghost appear to give her the pep-talk.
But, like almost everything else in the film, this idea has no time to breathe. Because of the hectic pacing, it’s just touched on for the briefest of moments and then we’re already moving on.
I would love to think that, somewhere out there, there really is a three-hour cut of this movie where the story has time to breathe. Because there are things here that could’ve been so much better if it was paced better.
The Luke scene isn’t great to me. It’s very fan-servicey: weirdly, I feel like I should – in theory – love it. But I just don’t. I like Rey wearing the X-Wing helmet and piloting Luke’s X-Wing into Exegol (it matches up really nicely with those scenes of Rey in The Force Awakens, when we first met her and she was wearing an X-Wing helmet), but Luke doing the Yoda move and raising the X-Wing out of the water (complete with the exact same music from the equivalent scene in Empire Strikes Back) was a truly awful, cheap bit of unimaginative and pandering garbage.
Really awful.
But let’s talk about Luke. I cannot believe that Mark Hamill was only given one scene in this whole film. In a film called ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, a film marketed as “the end of the Skywalker saga”, it baffles me that there’s only one scene with Mark Hamill in it.
I can’t help but feel that Hamill has been short-changed by this trilogy. I was really looking forward to seeing more Luke Skywalker in this final movie.
Just one scene with Rey? A scene that wasn’t even especially good? Shouldn’t Luke have appeared to Kylo and been part of Ben’s return to the light? Didn’t Luke even hint at that at the end of The Last Jedi (with the “see you around, kid” line)?
There should’ve been a scene of Luke appearing to Kylo earlier on in the film – and then you could still have the Han Solo moment later. In fact, this would’ve made the turning of Kylo feel better paced and more sequential. It would’ve also given Luke more presence in the film.
For that matter, Hayden Christensen should’ve been here too – and Anakin should’ve appeared to Kylo. This should’ve played out like a concerted effort by EVERYONE to try to reach out to Ben Solo. Perhaps Luke first. And then Anakin. And then, finally, that combination of Leia and Han Solo (or the memory of Han Solo) that we eventually did get.
Then it would’ve been that the entire family was reaching out one last time to try to save him; and there would’ve been a flow, a sequence, to this redemption.
It also would’ve given both Luke and Anakin something to do in this film – again, a film called ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ and marketed as the “end of the Skywalker saga”.
Further, shouldn’t Luke or Anakin have been more firmly involved with the confrontation against Palpatine?
I know we at least do get something on that front. And here, I’m going to give great credit where it’s due. Because, again, that moment – of the various voices of past Jedi speaking to Rey to urge her to rise up and face Palpatine – is genuinely the most powerful, triumphal moment of the film.
I loved how nicely it was set up earlier on, with Rey seen saying “Be with me” while meditating, but failing to establish that connection: until, finally, at the end, that connection breaks through and Rey hears all of these Jedi.
And it’s wonderful to hear the voices of Anakin and Luke, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, even Ahsoka Tano and even the likes of Luminara and Adi Gallia. I genuinely didn’t think J.J, Lucasfilm or Disney would go that far and genuinely acknowledge those sorts of characters and give them a part to play at the end.
As it happens, I’m a big fan of Master Luminara – and never imagined in a million years that I’d be hearing her voice in this film.
Another big problem with The Rise of Skywalker is that, in all honesty, the big climatic space battle around Exegol was terrible.
Which, for the climax of a trilogy (and indeed, the climax of the whole saga), is kind of baffling. None of the action felt compelling and all of the space combat felt random and disjointed in a way that is very un-Star-Wars. Space horses here and questionable tactics here and McGuffins here, and an overpowered Palpatine firing force-lightning at the ships here, and then Lando showing up with a thousand reinforcements here… and none of it engaged or excited me.
It felt less like a life-or-death, tense battle for the fate of the galaxy, and more like a vague smattering of visuals and references.
Compare this to the climatic space-battle in Return of the Jedi (almost forty years ago) and this doesn’t even come close. Which perhaps demonstrates – again – the problem of trying to simply recreate or relive things from the past when those things from the past are simply unlikely to be topped.
All of this CGI and modern filmmaking technology, and yet the space-battle from 1983 still feels so much more engaging – both visually, emotionally, and story-wise.
Even the recent space-battle sequence from Rogue One (2016) was a lot, lot better than this: partly because, like in Return of the Jedi, there was a much clearer, more focused, sense of what was going on, who was doing what, and what the stakes were.
This one, however, feels like a jarring, nebulous mess.
And something like Lando showing up to save the day, with his thousands of reinforcements, *should* be an emotional or fist-bump moment: but it just isn’t. By the time it happens (and it happens very abruptly), it just feels tired and even cheesy, even down to the dialogue.
Compare that to Lando escaping the exploding Death Star in Return of the Jedi and the difference – emotionally and viscerally – is enormous.
It also really isn’t explained why or how Lando simply going off for fifteen minutes to fetch help resulted in thousands of ships showing up to the battle: when it was made explicit both in The Last Jedi and in this film that hardly anyone was coming to the aid of the Resistance.
What did Lando do while he was off-screen? What did he say? How did he bring back that many people? Were all these people willing to follow Lando Calrissian into battle, but NOT Leia Organa? Because, when Leia put out a desperate, latch-ditch call for help in TLJ, we were told “no one’s coming”.
What could Lando possibly have offered that the sheer NAME of Leia Organa didn’t…? This is especially a relevant question when you consider that this sequence is also easter-egg-heavy: we see one silly shot of Wedge Antilles, for example, and we see the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels. Are they telling us that the likes of Wedge Antilles and Hera Syndulla were NOT willing to come into battle for the sake of Leia Organa (at the end of TLJ and through most of this film), but WERE suddenly willing to come because Lando asked them?
That just doesn’t work. Hey, I love Lando – but that’s not the point.
And what happened to the whole idea – established at the end of TLJ – that Luke Skywalker’s intervention on Crait was going to inspire people all around the galaxy to take up the fight? That was a key theme in TLJ – exemplified by the infamous ‘Broom Boy’ at the end.
And I was hoping we’d see that followed up on – it would’ve made Luke’s story in TLJ all the more powerful and impactful. Instead, as we see in this film, the situation remains unchanged from the end of TLJ – people still aren’t coming to the aid of the Resistance or Leia. Not until Lando – off-screen – somehow magics up thousands of reinforcements.
I like the idea, as said in the film, that these aren’t military reinforcements – “they’re just people”. That’s a potent idea. But it’s a throwaway line; and there’s no real sense of where all these people came from or why they’re only entering the fight at this late stage.
So, unfortunately, the whole climatic space-battle just falls flat: being nowhere near as interesting as what was going on with Rey, Palpatine and Kylo down on Exegol.
And… what was going on with Rey and Palpatine on Exegol?
Well, so we come to it then… the matter of Palpatine.
How well is it handled in The Rise of Skywalker? Well, like everything else, it’s a frustratingly mixed bag. Cinematically and dramatically, it’s handled alright. The scenes are evocative and compelling.
And of course Ian McDiarmid gives his all again, bringing that iconic villain to life again in this new setting and context. Cinematically and viscerally, I enjoyed all of those scenes with the Emperor, especially the opening scene with Kylo and the later presence of all the Sith worshippers (or Sith ghosts?) in the Emperor’s chamber on Exegol.
There was a Satanic Ritual feel to those scenes that was very dark and very compelling.
But… when you’re talking about Star Wars, the “Skywalker Saga”, and a forty-plus-year mythological legacy, it’s not as simple as just whether or not the scenes work cinematically. They have to work in context – and in concert – with preexisting stories and our preexisting understanding.
And on that level, this return of Palpatine is a fail.
As much as we may like this film or want to like this story, we all know – deep in our heart of hearts – that it is very unlikely that the Emperor would’ve survived the events of Return of the Jedi. Not only was he thrown down a reactor shaft, but his location – the second Death Star – was visibly blown to smithereens minutes later. Could he really have had enough time to be safely taken out of the doomed Death Star?
And how did he get out? Who was helping him at that point?
I was having this argument with the person I watched the film with in the cinema – and his position was that it was entirely possible that the Emperor could’ve gotten out. And, you know what? I accept that. I accept that it is – theoretically – possible to forward a theory whereby the Emperor somehow escaped or was rescued from the about-to-explode Death Star and that he was somehow spirited away without the Rebel Fleet noticing or intervening.
It’s possible – but you would have to significantly stretch credulity and credibility to make it work. In other words, it only works if you go out of your way to force it to work – and that’s never a sign of good storytelling.
And the problem is that The Rise of Skywalker’s story itself doesn’t actually offer much in the way of explanation. We’re not told how he survived the events of Return of the Jedi: we’re simply presented with Palpatine in the present and told to accept this situation and move on. There are vague hints towards things like cloning (possibly) or ‘Sith Magic’: but it’s kept ambiguous.
Which you’re either okay with or you’re not. I’m not sure which of those I am.
More importantly than that, there was always the thematic question hanging over this: does the return of the Emperor somehow weaken or invalidate the original story in Lucas’s six films?
Specifically, does it diminish the key role of Anakin Skywalker as the one to kill the Emperor and restore ‘balance’ to the Force? Well, again, frustratingly the answer is probably some ambiguous mix of yes or no. I guess the message is that, yes, Anakin did bring balance to the Force and atone for his crimes – but only to a point and only for a certain amount of time.
But now the Emperor is back again and has to be defeated all over again.
It’s too early to say this with any certainty – but I can’t help but feel Return of the Jedi (and even the prequels, somewhat) are weakened by the events of Rise of Skywalker and specifically bringing back Palpatine. Which was always my fear – in fact, the very first article I wrote when Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm was announced back in 2013 was precisely centered on this fear of the original saga being undermined by stretching the narrative beyond the pre-existing end-point (and that was long before I even imagined they would be bringing back Palpatine for the third film).
And on top of all of that, we then have to ask the question of what the point was of bringing back the Emperor only to kill him off again – and in a way that some people have perceived to have been anti-climactic.
There is simply no convincing argument to be made that the climax to this film – Rey and Kylo Ren working together to defeat Palpatine – is as powerful, interesting or poignant as Luke and Vader having done this already in Return of the Jedi.
And I say this as someone who genuinely likes the characters of Rey and Kylo and who thinks Palpatine is the greatest villain in cinema history.
And none of this is a criticism of the actual scenes themselves or the climax as presented in this film – but rather a problem with the very act of taking the saga narrative beyond its pre-existing end-point… and all the subsequent problems that come with that.
Again, I think the actual scenes themselves are well executed: visually, tonally, and cinematically. I’m just struggling with whether it works in the broader context of the whole saga. And that’s a problem.
And it’s a problem that isn’t aided by the fact we know this was all a product of bad planning. I haven’t believed for a moment that it was “the plan all along” for Palpatine to return as the main villain: Palpatine’s return was a consequence of a trilogy that wasn’t properly or definitively planned from the beginning, leaving the third film – and J.J Abrams – in a difficult situation.
But this ‘Palpatine Problem’ is the epitome of why it’s so hard to properly or fairly review or assess The Rise of Skywalker: because if we assess it simply and solely in terms of this film on its own, I’d have to say it works alrightish, provides sufficient menace, and imparts life into the story and into the plight of the characters.
But… if we assess it in the broader context of the entire saga, that’s where we run into significant problems.
And you could argue that it’s unfair to assess this story in that broader context instead of on its own merit. But Star Wars films do not exist in a vacuum and never have: and, more to the point, it was Disney and Lucasfilm that decided to market this film as the “end of the Skywalker saga” – so they clearly wanted us to look at this film in that broader context of the previous eight films and forty-two years.
Again, it may age better with time.
I like that the line was thrown in from Revenge of the Sith (about the Dark Side being “a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural”) to provide at least some connective tissue between Palpatine seeking to conquer death in the prequels and seemingly having managed to do so here in Episode IX.
And, as I said, there’s definite ambiguity here – maybe put there by Abrams and Terrio on purpose. Such as Palpatine suggesting he really did die in Return of the Jedi and that what we’re seeing now is somehow his reanimated corpse: which is super creepy, and if it was creepiness factor that Abrams was going for, then he achieved it.
But even Palpatine’s plan at this point in the saga isn’t entirely clear. It’s implied – at different points in the movie – that he wants Kylo to kill Rey, or that he wants Rey to receive his essence (ewww) and take his place, or that he wants Rey to kill him, or that he wants to suck the energies out of both Rey and Kylo.
Which is it?
Or did he keep changing his mind? If so, that’s not much of a master plan and it’s very un-Palpatine-like.
I’m also not sure it’s going to work to go back now and view Snoke as a mere clone sent out by Palpatine: I mean, it might – I have to go back and watch the first two films again. But why would a clone grown in a factory have massive Force-powers like Snoke does in TLJ? Can you clone Force-powers?
I mean Snoke was doing some major stuff using the Force in TLJ.
The return of Palpatine also, of course, brings with it another, related revelation: specifically, the longstanding question of who Rey is and what her ‘connections’ are, is finally revealed. She is the granddaughter of the Emperor.
Does that work? Yeah, I guess.
I mean, the whole story is so rushed that it maybe lacks some of the weight it might’ve otherwise had – and would’ve been better as something revealed (or at least hinted at) in the previous film. And again, there’s the inescapable sense that this plot-twist was decided on very late and probably wasn’t the plan all along.
While I think Rian Johnson’s theme of Rey being a nobody is probably more poignant, the idea of the trilogy’s heroine being the grandchild of the saga’s ultimate evil does kind of work dramatically: and the poignancy is instead to be found in Rey rejecting that legacy, refusing to be defined by it, and – in the end – choosing to adopt the name Skywalker instead.
There are things that probably could’ve worked better – but what we’ve got here is passable on its own terms.
That kind of sentiment can in fact be applied to the whole film: on the whole, it probably could be regarded as passable, but it’s useful to have low standards and expectations.
And again, a lot depends on whether you’re willing to accept the film on its own terms or whether you’re stuck on the problem of how well this film works in the broader context of the whole saga.
It’s very difficult to judge or view this film on its own, as if it were a standalone movie – because it isn’t. As the conclusion to a nine-part saga, I think The Rise of Skywalker is a misfiring mess.
What about as a conclusion simply to this trilogy of films? Again, it can be made to work – if you squint the right way and really try.
I said in my pre-TROS video that one of the things this film needed to do was to honour and follow through from The Last Jedi. Does Episode IX follow through enough from The Last Jedi – or do Abrams and Terrio, as many have argued, go out of their way to either ret-con or dismiss Rian Johnson’s middle film?
In the end, it’s a mixture of both. I think the claims that TROS completely abandons Johnson’s story from TLJ are incorrect: Abrams definitely takes key elements set up in TLJ and works with them in his concluding chapter. Chief of these being the Rey/Kylo Force-bond/Skype business, which is expanded upon here quite substantially – and that’s a good thing.
It also follows on from TLJ in a couple of key moments – such as Luke’s warning that Ben’s father would always be with him, which, here, is manifested at the key point where the ‘memory’ of Han appears to Kylo. This proves to be the key to turning Ben back to the light – but, again, it is so abrupt and undeveloped that it kind of doesn’t work anywhere near as powerfully as it could for me.
But there are little things in here that I appreciated, in terms of TLJ follow-through: I liked seeing Porgs again on Ach-To and I really appreciated that we get reference to the Holdo Manueuver – including seeing the Holdo Manueuver actually performed again at the end (near Endor – where we also get the surprising Ewok cameo).
Unfortunately, there are also areas where Episode IX doesn’t work with what was set up in TLJ.
In particular, Luke’s sacrifice in TLJ isn’t made to count for much at all – and this is a really serious misstep. It’s implied in TLJ that Luke’s actions on Crait become legend and become an inspiration around the galaxy. That isn’t reflected in Episode IX at all. Indeed, in Episode IX it’s as if Luke’s actions on Crait never happened: for most of the film, Leia and the Resistance are still alone in their fight (until Lando finds reinforcements at the end).
So that definitely doesn’t resonate at all with TLJ or with Luke’s story: and, as I said before, this film really fails Luke Skywalker in my opinion. It really is baffling to me that a fully available Mark Hamill was so sidelined here, relegated to a bit part in just one scene.
For all those who think TLJ dishonoured Mark Hamill or Luke Skywalker (and I don’t think that at all), TROS in fact does a worse job on them both: managing to both reduce Hamill to a walk-on cameo at the conclusion of the saga, as well as to downplay or undermine any lasting impact of his sacrifice at the end of the last film.
There’s also a sense, often, that Abrams’ and Terrios’ script is either taking pot-shots at TLJ or trying too self-consciously to throw out sweeteners for those parts of the fan-base that hated that movie: the drastic minimisation of Rose Tico, for example, or Luke’s catching the lightsaber on Ach-To. Stuff like this is all a little too self-referential and it serves only to break the fourth wall.
In fairness, Rian Johnson did the same thing a number of times in TLJ, where his script seemed to be trolling TFA, so this simply seems to be a thing that happens now in these films.
I was also disappointed we didn’t really get anything of Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader of the First Order: which, again, was set up in TLJ. I can understand that sheer time constraints probably made J.J push this to one side, but it would’ve been good to see at least the early third of the film showing Kylo as leader in a more substantial way.
I also thought Hux was somewhat thrown away in this film: some of that may be Rian Johnson’s fault for turning the character into a bit of a comedy act in TLJ, leaving J.J with nowhere to take him – but Hux seemed like such a potentially interesting villain in TFA, and here he just gets dealt with almost as an afterthought.
I also can’t be the only one who thinks Palpatine’s ‘broadcast’ should’ve been shown at the beginning of the film instead of referred to in the opening crawl – that could’ve made for a really good scene.
It also surprised me how McGuffin-heavy this film was, with all the reliance on Wayfinders and Sith Daggers and the like. I’m not sure how necessary all of that was or if there was a simpler way to have Rey find her way to Exegol. The Sith dagger business feels like it might’ve been left over from Colin Trevorrow‘s original ideas for the story (based on what we’ve heard about his ‘Duel of the Fates’ script).
It feels messy. And it feels like the first half of the film features a lot of unnecessarily convoluted plot devices, where a simpler path from A to B might’ve been possible: which, in turn, might’ve opened up more space to focus better on things like Kylo’s turn or Rey’s return to Ach-To.
Easter eggs and references are scattered all over the film too, some of them mentioned already. There’s been a lot of talk of too much fan-service; and it does feel a little overdone at times. But then some of it works quite nicely – so it’s hard to critique that too much, except to say that it’s a hit-or-miss business.
It’s curious that, for all the fan service moments, some don’t feel like they go far enough. I mentioned, for example, the voices of the past Jedi speaking to Rey – a great moment, but yet we didn’t get to actually see any Force Ghosts, not even Luke or Anakin. In a similar vein, Kylo’s opening scene on Mustafar – why not show Vader’s castle? Or have Kylo actually in Vader’s castle to begin with. How much more would that resonate?
But, again, that’s me doing the very easy thing of looking at a completed film and noticing all the tweaks I could make to improve it: I acknowledge that actually putting the film together in the first place is a whole different ball-game.
There are, it has to be said, a lot of tweaks I would make to this film – from improving the Force Ghosts visually to inserting a couple more scenes to chart Kylo’s journey from the dark to the light.
But a big thing, thinking about it now, with The Rise of Skywalker is that even multiple tweaks wouldn’t necessarily fix the problematic core of this film for me. Whereas with TFA and TLJ I think a few tweaks would iron out any issues I have with those films, with The Rise of Skywalker, the central question of whether Palpatine should’ve ever been brought back into the narrative means that all the tweaks in the world still leaves you with an underlying problem – if you see it as a problem, that is.
Some people don’t. At the moment, I do.
To bring this to a conclusion now (and I’m sure I’ll be talking about this film more in the near future), what is the defining word on Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker?
I actually don’t have one.
What can be said for now is that it is an awkward, messy end to both this Sequel Trilogy and the Skywalker Saga.
I know it probably comes across as though I have nothing but problems with this film. Which isn’t true. There are things I really like in The Rise of Skywalker – many of which I’ve highlighted already.
It’s just a very awkward film, with too many misfires in key moments. It’s the misfires in those key moments that bug me the most: not just key moments in this film, but what are meant to be key moments in this entire saga – such as Luke’s sole scene in the film or Kylo’s turn to the light, or the appearance of Luke and Leia’s ghosts, etc.
The deficiencies in those key moments make it difficult to love what we’re given here.
In the broader strokes, I think J.J has delivered a conclusion that just about works with this trilogy – again, depending on whether you accept Palpatine or not. But, for the concluding chapter of the saga, ‘just about works’ isn’t exactly what I was looking for.
The key thing, I think, is that the main character who gets a good conclusion – and overall arc – here is Rey. Which, with her being the central hero of the trilogy, is important.
I’m not sure anyone else necessarily gets a great conclusion to their stories here though – accept maybe Leia. Kylo/Ben’s story was botched, in my opinion: and Luke just didn’t work for me.
But I’m not sure how much better J.J could’ve done. For a trilogy that was so poorly planned and had so little definitive road-map, and for a story that – as much as I like The Last Jedi – was left in a slightly awkward place at the end of the last film, you have to ask yourself what the possibilities were and whether anyone else could’ve necessarily made a perfect third film at this point.
I would love to see what George Lucas would’ve done: but that’s all pie in the sky at this point.
Again, I’m avoiding talking about the alleged Colin Trevorrow script leak or the alleged ‘J.J cut’ at this point. Or the rumour that this version of The Rise of Skywalker we saw possibly *wasn’t* the version J.J wanted released. Those are questions for another time.
The Rise of Skywalker is imperfect, to say the least. But it’s often a lot of fun. It does some really nice things. Some really bad things. It thrives here and there: and flounders elsewhere. It comes really close to brilliance in some key places: but backs off and doesn’t get there.
It tries really hard to please as much of its perceived target demographics as possible: but probably alienates as many people as it pleases in the end.
It’s hard to shake the sense that either Disney or Lucasfilm were trying too hard to mollify or ‘win back’ the parts of the fan-base that were unhappy with the previous film. In some ways, maybe that’s laudable: but, in storytelling terms, it’s not the recipe for a cohesive or powerful film. Great, mythic storytelling and filmmaking (that’s supposed to resonate for generations, as Star Wars should) doesn’t do that.
But this is the age we live in now: and The Rise of Skywalker is, for better or worse, the kind of film created by this age we live in. It’s the product of a vicious cycle – or even a vicious circle: partly the filmmakers’ flaws, partly the corporate/company agendas, and partly the environment created by the more cruel parts of the fan-base.
It might not be the film we want or need to ‘end the saga’ – but, in essence, it might be the film that this current fan community deserves.
Whether it’s the conclusion that Star Wars deserves is another matter entirely.
Why RETURN of the JEDI is the ONLY Suitable End-Point for the Star Wars Saga…
You’ve replied. And it seems it has been long time ago. I have not received any notification regarding your responses. I think of those days, the day I wrote these comments. I wonder, I forgot to check the notify box under my comments with excitement by thinking “my hand has recovered and I can write comfortably anymore.” I do not remember.:)
And I respect all your opinions too!
Plus, I hope you, your family and your loved ones are healthy and safe at there!
PS: Now that I saw, it does not show me notify box under the comments in your page design. Is this valid for only extraterrestrials?😁
And that kissing scene between Kylo and Rey. You said, “I don’t even know if I could say that the kiss was out of place –because if it had all been done in a more measured, nuanced way, the kiss might’ve seemed fitting.”
I am aware of now, we are on the same page on this subject.:) When I first read it, I thought you were talking about what happened as of that moments, so the kissing moment. But I guess, you were mentioning through the all movies while sayin “if it had all been done in a more measured, nuanced way,”. I guess I misunderstood you at first. I too think, if they could show us a love like Anakin Padme through all the films, yes it would be really appropriate, and it would touch everyone. This is also what I am saying. Abrams says their kiss as much of sister-brother thing and is comparing this with Luke and Leia kissing. What! As far as I remember Leia kissed Luke, because she wanted to make Han Solo jealous, kind of show off. Kylo Rey kissing was definitely not the brother-sister kiss. Are we blind or are they kidding us? This is completely disrespectful to the audience. They add a scene that they can’t know how to explain it for the adolescent audience who noticed their hormones yet, and then they try to save the situation by making logic defying explanations. What can a real Star Wars audience say on this? This is a disrespect for both Star Wars saga and us.
Another disrespect is that Rey and Kylo constantly resurrection or heal each other in these scenes. They even moved the 7th episode of the Mandalorian one day before the film only for this, you know. We saw baby Yoda can use; but well, were we ready this in movie? If this was the case, then Master Yoda would have walked around in all battle fields, and used his healing power on all jedi. He would have worked like a walking miracle hospital. Nobody would died. Why Qui-Gon died then? So they says to us, “yes, baby Yoda can make, even Kylo and Rey can make, but Master Yoda cannot.” Is that so! This is really like kidding!
There are always things outside the physical rules in the Star Wars universe. This is already what the audience wants to see, like the presence of force. But this situation was in harmony with the characters and events, even if it is out of physical rules. Here we see that it is broken. All ties between characters, events and the using of force are breaking in last sequel. Complete betrayal is in question. Is it too harsh my words? I do not think so. Even Palpatine, who we thought was dead, came back. Just as you mentioned that part with the words begining “More importantly than that, there was always the thematic question hanging over this…” I am asking the similar questions. If Darth Vader, who turned back from dark side and become Anakin in his last moments, killed Palpatine and brought balance to force -even if it was not in the way we hoped-, why is this emperor still around? If he didn’t balance to force, so could not kill the emperor, why Anakin tells Rey “bring back the balance, Rey, as I did.” Even Anakin is not aware of the situation even if he became one with force, he thinks still he brought the balance. Or will we say to him, “But you couldn’t kill him, there was no balance to force, everything was a story, everything you lived was lie, you were fooled, my bro!” What kind of contradiction ball is this? Everything is a vicious circle.
By the way, the real shock for me was not the scene where I learned that Rey was Palpatine’s granddoughter. My thoughts after that I took the derivative shocked me. My conclusion was “Hmm, so Palpatine was rapist!” Think about, my earthling friend, who could be with him with his type? So when looking at the type of Palpatine, that man can only become a father with that way; there is no other possibility; he is sexual deviant. We now have sexual sub themes with this sequel instead of sub-political items in the Star Wars saga. It should be the meaning of keeping up with the times, haha!
Also, Rey is just right at this point; who wants Palpatine as father? Of course that’s not just only reason why she wants to be Skywalker. She wants to make a name herself. For example Kylo was not trying to find a place for himself, in the last minutes they want to show he was looking for love, that could be any kind of love. But as far as I saw last minute, Rey seems to be trying to make name herself. She chose the so-called side, despite his father, become jedi, everyone is happy heyoo; all these are stories. If Rey had been living among us on planet earth in todays, she would probably open an Instagram page by saying “I am the last Skywalker” for getting likes, haha! Okay, I stop kidding.:)
I feel like I could comment more under this title. No, no I am not feeling the force, haha! Because this is a very detailed and good article. You said most of what I wanted to say. Thank you for this article! Plus you are right this is not a positive review, I shouldn’t have made a comment without reading all and without focusing. By the way, perhaps some parts of my comments may sound emotional. I already don’t deny that, I never did. Because I was very disappointed at 7, 8 and 9, if you remember I had mentioned to you before. I have never been able to connect with them. I even want to forget these, for the respect on behalf of Star Wars memory. Also, maybe I will come under this title later, I do not know yet.:)
Yeah, the sudden use of Force Healing annoyed me too, especially because it was made so important to the plot. If they had maybe introduced that idea in the previous film, then it could’ve worked better: but to suddenly introduce it in the final film and then have it happen three times at key moments… yeah, no.
I will comment the other point I disagree with you, as the divided comments, if you don’t mind. Because when think about it, one after the other lines can break integrity.
Here’s the second one; you said, “it’s Rey and it’s Leia who are best served by this movie – and while that doesn’t make up for all the shortcomings of this film, it is nevertheless a very important thing in its favor.”
Of couse Leia is best served, but I don’t think Rey is best served in terms of both acting and character. I think it is necessary to examine the character of Rey for this. Let’s take a look at Rey’s character. She is a main character and also a heroine, a female protagonist. After all, in this last sequel of the story, like before Anakin, she is being given to us as the main element of a story since Force Awakens. As the main character, what Rey’s character gave us from the very first moment, Force Awakens? We follow her as the main hero of the story. We follow her, but while watching her, we cannot get an interaction with how her character is. There is no interaction, but we have data. She is technically skilled, fast grasping, running from there to there, and so on. But none of these are character traits. These are physical features. Now, what would make it difference if I call her for example AI Robot Saly instead of Rey at the beginning of these lines? Nothing, because I only know her physical features.
If we had at least a little bit of the character’s background, kind of if she hadn’t fallen down from the sky, we might have had some intimacy with her. Okay, lets say at first sight we could not get, and we watch her through the movies for getting some clues or learning how Rey character is by thinking “already it doesn’t need to be given to audience immediately, we’ll learn what kind of character she is in the movies somehow”. But this expectation is being also a fiasco, because we could not learn what she likes, what she gets really angry with, what kind of pain or deep emotional wounds she has, what kind of joys she experienced, we do not know. They make the impression that there should be a constant mystery on her. As we do not know her, since Force Awakens, we are asked to be enough with a character that progresses on a goal path by collecting items and mana or forces as same as the computer games.
The worse thing is, in reactive moments, where we can understand which character she has in some scenes, we encounter Daisy Ridley’s dull/senseless or inexact face or body movements. She is so dull in her reactions, even in her smile, she is a pragmatical in her eyes far from sincerity. Her responses are so unsatisfying that it is, as if getting angry is just consist of frowning by bending her face forward and taking her guard. Even if we compare only with the female characters in Star Wars world, not with the whole cinema world, what I mean is better understood. Natalie Portman’s Padme conveyed every emotion to the audience at every moment. Who can forget, for example, the scene which Padme waits for Anakin in the Revenge of the Sith. Wasn’t everyone worried at that minutes? I’m not talking about joy or sadness, I’m talking about worrying; conveying the feeling of worry to the audience is very hard. In other words, the audience was feeling completely what the character portrayed by Natalie Portman felt. Or Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia. She was tiny but confident, rebellious, a character who could bring all people to their knees when she was angry, but could also warm the entire universe while she is laughing or smiling. When Princess Leia smiled, we were smiling in the same way in front of the screen, weren’t we? Now when we look at sequels, what can we say about Daisy Ridley’s Rey in terms of both acting and character? I’m not saying anything on my behalf. I didn’t smile, angry or sad in any moment when Rey so-called felt like that.
Also as I said before, I think that Kylo, Adam Driver shouldered this movie more with his character’s interestingness, background and his acting than Rey, Daisy Ridley. Because I can say a lot for Adam Driver’s Kylo. At first, when we see him, we ask that who is this obsessional character to Darth Vader! He is acting like adolescent Darth Vader. He has constant adolescent and nervous attitudes, even annoying. But this annoying we felt actually shows that he plays the Kylo character well. Who can say that Adam Driver failed in the scene where he killed Han Solo? We see a character who tries to deal with the contradictions and suffering within him. We understand how he suffered with his decison before the application(killing), from his gaze to his facial expression to the voice tone.
Even I bet, if Adam Driver’s Kylo/Ben character was told in more depth, we would have understood and embraced him and wanted to see him more on the screen. For example, in the scene where he killed his father – of course it is effective that Han Solo plays in the scene, but not all applause due to him- I think is the best scene of the Force Awakens. As one of the catchy scenes how Rey grasps mind trick and applies so fast in absurd way, remains like a buzz of fly besides Ben kills his father. This is certainly due to both the actor and the character’s interesting and binding nature.
What I all said for Rey and Kylo on behalf of acting and character is valid for The Rise of Skywalker. While Daisy Ridley acting is hesitant, we see Adam Driver is confident in his acting. Except not being able to adapt to the character, maybe she was also aware and may have thought, “What character did they write for me, how do they expect me to act?” For me, only the crying scenes of her are good. Already she is an actress with a beautiful face, it would be difficult if these scenes are bad in this context.
I don’t know, my friend. I respect your opinion on this. But I like Daisy Ridley’s performances. And I like Rey; even though I acknowledge, as you say, that she hasn’t been well written. I don’t think Natalie Portman gave great performances all the time either: she was awful in Attack of the Clones, in my opinion. But definitely I would agree that Rey is less interesting and less developed than Luke or Anakin were in their trilogies.
It’s been a long break, but my hand has been totally fine for a couple days, my earthling friend. I will go to my comment immediately. First of all, I want to detail the points that I disagree with you. Let’s begin.;)
You said “I liked the Rey/Kylo duel on the Death Star wreckage and amidst the giant waves – it was very reminiscent of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting on the lava planet, which is a nice echo.”
First of all, Obi-Wan Anakin duel on Mustafar was showing how the bond between the two people, who had ties between brotherhood and friendship, broke down. While watching, we were all nervous and excited. We wanted it, still, a part in us wanted that perhaps this fight had the hope of settling Anakin down. We loved Anakin since his childhood. Even though Anakin admitted to the Dark Side, we had not yet accepted him as Darth Vader. Because of that, when he lost his legs and started to burn, we were deeply sorry for Anakin in us. And Obi-Wan’s hope which surrendered to helplessness was reflected in his words at last minutes, “you were my brother Anakin”. Nobody wants to lose a close friend. We, who are the witnesses of their growing friendship bond, we have seen how Obi-Wan has fought for his friend until the last moment, but his effort was inadequate. And we were more sorry for him. Now in this context, when I think about Kylo-Rey duel on Death Star wreckage, did it give me any sad feeling or any other feeling? No, it didn’t. I still don’t know what kind of relationship they have. They are friends, they are lovers, they are siblings, they are workfellow, they are rivals? What? What we know is there are two types, one stuck after the other, and they have a strange bond between them that has never seen in any Star Wars character until this date. In fact, this link is so weird that they can make transferring virtual images and even object sharing, etc. Even they do not need kind of words, “beam me up!”. Sorry Scotty, haha! Let’s be optimistic, and let’s say there is an emotional connection between them even if the movies could not convey it to us. But we do not know how to feel when we watch them, because we cannot embody and name this bond, is this love or hate, envy, or what, we do not know. Shall we rejoice, sad or scared on behalf of Kylo or Rey? This scene is a only a scene of conflit in two people who want capture Wayfinder. So it’s just a scene generally we might want Wayfinder not to pass to the dark side. There is nothing else we can ask for Rey or Kylo themselves in this scene. Plus I think, scenario editors, who are already aware of the lack of emotionality here, added killing Princess Leia inside that moment. Because there is no emotion in this scene. But if a strong character like Leia dies, the audience can feel something.
In Revenge of the Sith, in addition to these feelings that are completely conveyed to the audience, Obi-Wan Anakin duel is technically marvelous. Already what is Star Wars, if we put everything aside? One of the three things that comes to mind when it comes to Star Wars is the lightsaber fight. Already in Star Wars saga, we always have looked forward to see the lightsaber fights. For example, Obi Wan-Qui Gon vs Darth Maul, or Luke vs Darth Vader, or Obi Wan Anakin vs Count Dooku or Obi-Wan Anakin and so on. I can watch all these and other lighsaber fights for hours without getting bored. Technically, they were the scenes that went beyond their times. And the shortest of these scenes starts from at least 2 minutes and lasts up to 4.5-5 minutes. When you watch, you want to take lightsaber in hand and fight after a point.:) Obi-Wan Anakin fight on Mustafar was the same. They both were very fast; they used their lightsabers not only defensively, also agilely for their attack. People’re missing even the speed of the lightsabers, the number of their turns, clashes, while watching. They held the lightsabers professionally in their hands. They created escape points at the right place and at the right time and continued to fight at the risk of lava at the temperature of hundreds of degrees. Mustafar already had a great background. There were two jedi fighting over the lava in the melt at the temperature of hundreds of degrees. That was exciting both psychologically and fear that given by the background.
If we look at Kylo Rey duel, fight scene is already only 1 minute. Sorry, 1 minute plus 4 seconds.:) And we can even count even the lightsabers clashes. I did, 😉 that only 23 seconds last inside the 1.04 minutes. Only 23 seconds, even only 21 times lightsabers contact with each other, we can eaisly count. The other seconds we see their looks and the power using. Already Kylo is using his lightsaber as if he is paladin. But he still uses lightsaber better than Rey. As we already know, if Kylo had not paused for a moment by feeling his mother, Rey would not be able to attack. Rey is so weak in lightsaber fight, she is constantly on defense. She acts like a novice who has no choice but to block the attacks. What happened to our chosen girl? She had been a first rank jedi without even having to take the lessons. Hasn’t she strengthened her strength with two or three courses by Luke? Wasn’t she almost a chosen of the all chosen ones? Kind of Jesus Christ, or Moses, who divided Red Sea in two? What kind of chosen one can barely defend herself? They attributed superior powers to her even more than Yoda! Throughout the movies they will make the girl some kind of almighty power; but yet she will not even be able to make lightsaber fight. That’s all nonsense. On the other side, their lightsaber fight progresses so slowly that you are looking at the rising waves in the background while watching. They are under the influence of strong waves, but no wave is as effective as the effect of lava in Mustafar. There was a double edged life and death struggle in Mustafar, but not in here.
For all these reasons, the duel of Kylo- Rey never reminded me of the duel of Anakin-Obi Wan. I think it was an emulative scene, Kylo-Rey duel. They obviously tried to place some things in some places, but I couldn’t catch anything that would neither technically nor feeling which affects to the audience. Only what I thought was: “They killed Princess Leia, damn it!”
Good to have you back, my friend. You’re right of course that it doesn’t come anywhere close to the quality of the Mustafar Duel. I wasn’t comparing it in terms of impact or quality, just saying that it was reminding me of that or referencing it. For all the reasons you’ve said, the Episode III Duel is a million times greater: plus also John Williams amazing music for that Anakin/Obi-Wan fight.
I’ve read your article, but I think I will read it again later. There are places that I disagree with your criticism. Such as, you said,
“I liked the Rey/Kylo duel on the Death Star wreckage and amidst the giant waves – it was very reminiscent of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting on the lava planet, which is a nice echo.”
For me, Anakin-Obi Wan fighting was legendery, but this Rey-Kylo duel was weak.
Or you said,
“it’s Rey and it’s Leia who are best served by this movie – and while that doesn’t make up for all the shortcomings of this film, it is nevertheless a very important thing in its favor.”
For me, yes Leia it is, but Rey not. Already I didn’t like Daisy Ridley’s acting from the begining. She is not a good player in my eyes. Unlike you, I think that Ren, Adam Driver shouldered this movie more with his character’s interestingness, background and his acting than Rey, Daisy Ridley.
Or you said,
“I don’t even know if I could say that the kiss was out of place – because if it had all been done in a more measured, nuanced way, the kiss might’ve seemed fitting.”
For me, no, in any way, this kiss would not have seemed fitting. I am not a conservative alien, even if everyone makes love or kisses on this planet in everywhere, that could be interesting and fun and I wouldn’t care, hehe 🙂 but for this movie, I will explain later why I said this.
Anyway, the idea I got right now about your critism is because of your loyalty bond to Star Wars, you put your emotions in the foreground, instinctively. And in doing so, you don’t want to betray this bond with bad criticism. Maybe I’m telling you wrong now what I meant. I will tell in details what I meant at next time with all.
Why I always said next time continuously, because I have a health problem in my right hand for last two weeks. Currently in the recovery period. You know how talkative I am about Star Wars. But believe me right now, I was able to write even those lines barely.
As soon as my hand heals, I will re-read your critique and write in detail why I disagree with you, my earthling friend.:)
Already at the moment, I could not read the second half of your article with full focus. Next time I will do it.
Hi my ET friend. I hope you recover well. And I look forward to hearing your longer response. But I think you’re mistaking this review as a positive review of the film: it isn’t really, but completely in the middle – I’m being positive about some stuff and critical of other stuff. But I look forward, as always, to hearing more of your opinion on this movie.
Thank you! And yes, I am aware of this review is in the middle. In the part begining with “Anyway, the idea I got right now about your critism is because of your loyalty bond to Star Wars, you put your emotions in the foreground, instinctively…” I probably expressed wrong my thoughts about your attitude with the heat of my disappointment due to these movies. I will write longer comment when my hand would recover, my earthling friend.:)
“I’m still struggling a little to fully or decisively figure out how I feel about The Rise of Skywalker.
It really is that messy, that difficult, a film to get to grips with: I may take months or even years to do so.”
That pretty much sums up how I feel about the entire trilogy. I’ve gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of it, but have not been able to 100 Percent embrace it. I’m not sure if this trilogy will ever mean as much to me as George’s six movies do.
Yeah, to be definitely enjoyed each of the three films on their own right. But I think Lucas’s visionary spark was what was missing. I was watching Revenge of the Sith the other day – and there’s just no comparison.
Revenge of the Sith is a towering achievement that’s for sure. However, I’m not even sure if Lucas could make a sequel trilogy work. The sequels have one gaping flaw that makes them redundant. When Lucas introduced the concept of the Chosen One and bringing balance to the Force, he brought the story full circle with the events of Return of the Jedi. The only way for there to be a reason for the Sequels to exist is if you knock the Force back out of balance and bring in another character to do the same thing Anakin did. Turns out this is exactly how the Sequels play out.
Beautiful review Master Awan. There is so much we agree on with ROS, especially my satisfaction with Rey’s arc. But I’m still processing it overall myself. I’ve written extensive notes but still refuse to pen my review. I’ll drop by again here in due course to add some more of my thoughts. Again, thanks for another measured review my friend.
Thanks old friend, and I look forward to your review. I think Rey’s arc works – partly because Daisy sells it well. I’m not convinced this was the original arc they had in mind; but J.J has done something I think that has some poignancy to it, at least.
Great review, you make many excellent points. My own initial reaction was mostly positive, while at the same time there were all the “buts” swarming at the back of my mind. I guess my reaction could be summed up like this: considering all (including the haphazard development of the sequel trilogy, as well as Carrie Fisher’s untimely death, which admittedly threw a wrench in the plans of its creators), I think they did a good job wrapping up all the loose plot threads.
So for me it pretty much works as the conclusion of the sequel trilogy, while as the conclusion of the overall saga – not so much. But like I said earlier, I consider the sequels to exist in their own alternate timeline and not as a “real” continuation of George Lucas’ saga (I guess thinking like this was the only way for me to stay sane, more or less 🙂
I think coming from this perspective allowed me to accept the basic premise of this episode, which was Palpatine’s return. But still there’s that feeling of so much missed potential. I would have loved to see at least Anakin’s and Luke’s Force Ghosts appear alongside Rey during the final confrontation with Palpatine. You’re right that Luke in general was given the short shrift in this episode, while Lando’s appearance was really nothing but fanservice, and his arrival with the “cavalry” in the final act pretty much made no sense. The space battle which ensued was just not very interesting, but I admit I was mostly focusing on Rey and Ben at that point. Speaking of Ben, I agree that his redemption felt quite rushed, and perhaps if given more time it could have had the emotional resonance it deserved.
So I think it’s an adequate (but not great) conclusion to an adequate (but not great) trilogy. But it’s probably the only kind of SW movie that could get made in the current environment, as you pointed out. Say what you will about George Lucas (and I have only really had positive things to say about him, but I know many have disagreed), at least he had the courage to realize his own creative vision, while currently Disney/Lucasfilm have been apparently trying to play it safe and to please as much of the fandom as possible, while avoiding any major controversies. And to me that kind of mindset is simply not conducive to creating anything great.
I forgot to mention this, but I agree that the omission of Rose Tico is disappointing. I’ve never understood the backlash against this character. For me, her line from TLJ: “That’s how we’re gonna win, not fighting what we hate, saving what we love” sums up quite well what has always been at the heart of Star Wars.
I agree that Rose’s line sums up Star Wars pretty well. I always thought she had a very Star Warsian character arc in TLJ. However, I can throw the haters a bone. When she was omitted from TROS, I found I did not miss her at all. It left me thinking this character doesn’t really add anything crucial to these movies. Her presence or absence neither makes or breaks either of the movies she appears in (at least for me).
OK, I agree that she is not a crucial character in either of these movies.
Thanks Nariel. I like your alternate timeline approach: whatever works is all good. It’s also fitting, as J.J Abrams did that with Star Trek – literally creating an alternate timeline so that he could tell new stories with Kirk, Spock and co. I’m curious as to whether you’re a fan of the old Star Wars novels and expanded universe. I ask that because people who were really into those books tend to say that that is their ‘true’ post-OT canon and that this Sequel Trilogy is like an alternate history fiction. I myself never really followed the novels, so I don’t have that alternate perspective: for me, I have to accept this trilogy as the real deal.
Good point about the new Star Trek movies – I suppose I do think of the ST along similar lines.
To be honest, I have never been a hardcore follower of the old EU, and most of the novels I have read were actually from the prequel era. But I agree with some basic ideas from the post-ROTJ EU and I have incorporated them into my own headcanon. For example, I like to think that the Republic was slowly rebuilt, not without problems, but it was not completely destroyed just 30 years after the OT. Same with the Jedi Order, I think Luke was able to rebuild it, probably making some changes to avoid becoming too distant and rigid like the old Order. I have always believed that Luke trained Leia as a Jedi (now TROS has rectified that, but it felt to me like a retcon of the previous two movies). I also like the idea of Leia and Han having twin children (twins actually tend to run in families) and their youngest son being named Anakin.
On some level I understand Disney’s decision to decanonize the EU – it was quite a mess from a storytelling perspective and contained some bad ideas as well. But for me, the “original sin” of the ST was undoing the character development our heroes underwent during the OT. This was especially apparent with TFA being essentially a crypto-remake of ANH and setting the galactic playing field back to Rebels vs Empire, just with different names. This is the main reason why I have a problem accepting the ST as a continuation of the OT.
Hi. Very good analysis. Thanks 🙏🏻.
I feel sad today. I liked some scenes ofTROS. But not as a whole and never as The End of the Skywalker’s saga !! By the way, ALL the skywalkers by blood are dead. I can’t. Sorry … Anakin’s/Vader’s and Luke´s made sense for me (I loved TLJ and The prequels) Luke has always been my favorite character. But Ben’s death ??!!!
Just 5min of him ?? A kiss ! And died never to be seen again ????
Kylo Ren/Ben solo is my favorite character from the SQ. Adam Driver was just amazing. For me he is THE LAST SKYWALKER. And not Rey. I can’t. I love Rey. But not her narrative´s arc AT all in TROS !
I feel a bitter taste in my mouth since one month. This is not how a SW film works in fact. I needed hope
I loved GL so much. How does he feel with this ? I´d like to know. I need time now. I need more content post-TROS. WHERE IS BEN’S FORCE GHOST ??
What about the dyad stuff ??? I am not a Reylo trash. But I literally love The dyad.
So finally I think I must wait now.
Thanks for commenting, Claquin. I feel your pain and share your discomfort. I think this film does need time. In terms of Lucas, what baffles me is that for many months if you looked up TROS on IMDB, it said “story by George Lucas”: then some time in October it changed and his name was no longer credited. I still don’t know what happened there. In terms of Luke being your favourite character, I’m curious what you make of Luke in TROS? I didn’t like what they did with Luke at all in this film: and I do like what was done with Luke in TLJ.