Possible spoilers ahead!
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” sees the return of J.J. Abrams as the director as he brings an end to the saga of the Skywalker family after nine films. But before the film gets to that, it spends most of its first act on exposition like explaining how Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is still around after he was thrown him down a shaft in Return of the Jedi. The first act of episode 9 also brings us up to speed with Rey (Daisy Ridley) and her main rival Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). We even see what Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the rest of the Resistance have been up to since the events of the Last Jedi.”
On top of that Rise of Skywalker throws in plotlines involving Rey questioning her role as a Jedi, a resistance spy within the First Order, Kylo Ren murdering hundreds of people, and C-3PO annoying everyone near him. It’s a lot of stories packed into the first part of the movie, so much that at times this feels like the middle chapter of a franchise and not the conclusion. But maybe that shouldn’t come as surprising in a movie that wants to fix the problems of its predecessor by overcorrecting and throwing everything it can into one movie.
Some of the plots in Rising of SKywalker is so convoluted that you get the feeling Disney never had a blueprint as to how there three films would play out. Stuff like a fleet of cruisers with planet leveling weapons come out of nowhere, as does a supporting character’s sudden turn to good. There are scenes in this movie that don’t match what we learned in Las Jedi or Force Awakens. I don’t know if Abrams went out of his way to ignore some things, or just decided to do new things. Either way, it told me that there was no plan from A to Z for this trilogy.
As for the main characters, that’s a roller coaster ride. At one point Finn seems to be sensitive to the Force, but this comes out of the blue because I don’t remember it being brought up before. There’s a scene where Finn is dying to tell Rey something, but other than once or twice, it’s never brought up again in any significant way. All I can think of is he was going to tell Rey about his new abilities or he was going to tell her he had feelings for her. That said, this is probably the most Finn has gotten to do in any of his three movies, so that was good to see.
Meanwhile, Poe Cameron is more like the character we met in Force Awakens instead of the hotshot rule breaker we saw in the last movie. For the first time, I felt like Poe git some development. Here he shows he can be a good leader and that he truly cares about the people in the Resistance. Since the adventure takes them all over the galaxy, it gave Poe and the others a chance to run into some old friends like Keri Russell’s Zorro Bliss and new friends like Naomi Ackie’s Jannah. I don’t know about anyone else, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a Poe and Zorri Disney+ series.
I know it sounds like I’m beating up on “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” but the was a lot in the movie I liked. This was the first time Rey, Finn, and Poe went on an adventure together. In their first two films, it was always a combination, but never all three together. Rise of Skywalker finally delivered on what I’ve been wanting to see since 2015, and the results gave Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac the chance to showcase their chemistry and it was awesome to watch. In no time at all the three actors form a family relationship that extends to droids like BB-8, C-3PO, and new addition D-O, who steaks a couple of scenes.
Sadly the trio’s time together comes to halt due to Rey’s conflict with Kylo Ren. But their conflict is pretty damn cool to see unfold. Rey and Kylo have a lightsaber battle in the middle of an ocean that is arguably one of the best battles in the film. I felt like we got to know the characters more too. Yes, we learn about Rey’s backgrounds, but it doesn’t overshadow the growth she and Kylo go through in this movie. I also like the decision Rey comes to in the film’s final scene. It was a good way to wrap up, and I won’t lie, it brought a tear to my eye.
I was one of the few people who liked “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” when it was released two years ago. For once I felt that a Star Wars movie had taken a chance to tell a different story. The execution of it was not great, and some things could have been done in a better way. The Last Jedi isn’t a perfect movie by any means, but I appreciate that the filmmakers attempted something different. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” on the other hand feels safe in comparison. This is not a bad movie at all, there is a lot to live here like good action, character development, and nice humor. There are even some nice nods to long-time fans of the series. But in the end, left the theater feeling like J.J. Abrams made a safe film to send audiences home happy.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” score: B-
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