Ryan Shoots First: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Here we go again, I feel like I must preface this review by stating where I stand on the current Disney Sequel-verse. I very much enjoy them, feel free to go read my review from The Last Jedi but I believe it is a great movie and defend it regularly. Without making this review an op ed about the current state of Star Wars fandom I believe many people’s nitpicking and issues with these movies would not hold up if they held even the Original Trilogy under the same scrutiny. With that said to all the haters of this new trilogy, those that believe Disney is the worst thing to ever happen to Star Wars and long for the day when Star Wars was a virgin, innocent, entity devoid of merchandising exploits and purely, solely about its superb writing and acting…to them this movie likely will not change a thing. All the hallmarks they hate the most are still there and Rey is still a bad ass flexing on everyone. To everyone else though Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a break-neck adventure, planet hopping around the universe to stop and ancient evil and tie a bow on over 40 years of one of the most beloved properties of all time. So you know easy stuff. 

First off the film feels crammed, the official runtime is 2 hours 21 minutes but this could have easily been 2 hours 40 minutes or pushing 3 hours. It feels like JJ regretting not directing the middle film and now trying to tell two stories in one. It doesn’t ruin the film, but it feels slightly bloated. That said what is all happening is stunningly enjoyable to watch. The color palettes and glamour shots are worth the price of admission and seeing so many new and old locations displayed so beautifully on screen just puts a smile on my face. The visuals for this era of Star Wars and this film specifically feel very much new-age Star Wars. You can feel the Filoni influence as the holocrons and temples all resemble the artifacts and temples we have seen in The Clone Wars and Rebels. I half expected Ashoka herself to be roaming around looking for Ezra. The plot itself is actually pretty straight forward, the Emperor is back and our heroes and villains are in a race to the truth. In that race lies many of the character moments and while it may be better late than never it was fun seeing the core three of Po, Rey and Finn spend more time together in this film than the other two combined especially Rey and Po who have some chemistry and witty back and forth but I can’t help but feel it could have hit better if they spent more time together in the previous films. Still, it is evident that some time has passed as both sides have tried to rebuild in the wake of TLJ and it seems the team has spent some time together off screen. 

So what about the performances? Everyone is pretty much lock step in with what they have been in previous films, Finn and Poe both take on more leadership roles in the Resistance and show a little growth from what they were but the biggest change is Kylo Ren. His character I feel has had the most development over the trilogy from gifted but somewhat spoiled brat, to jaded angry teen to now a certified Badass who is looking to run the galaxy. His character goes through some big changes but Adam Driver sells it off and probably delivers the best display of acting in the series and is my favorite character. Daisy Ridley’s Rey continues to develop and in each film seems a little more comfortable beyond just expanding her power, which I enjoy as a somewhat F U to angry neckbeards. Whatever you feel about the revelations for her in the film she opens some new elements of her character and plays well with Driver building off their chemistry in TLJ. The big question was going to be the return of Palpatine, I wouldn’t call it a spoiler necessarily as his face is on the poster but the question was going to be if he was just a third act mcguffin or full on big bad. I am happy to say Ian McDiarmid has not missed a beat, his delivery and aggressiveness is totally Palps and his menacing constant manipulation of the puppet strings of the galaxy fits with his established character across both previous trilogies and his appearances in Clone Wars and Rebels. His obsession with relics, artifacts and the resurgence of the Sith Empire was not really explored in the OT and was hinted at in the prequels but to see Holocrons and Sith temples with giant statues with him at the center was awesome. Much like Maul, Palpatine has been added to quite a bit in non-movie canon so it was nice to see it validated on screen. That plays into how the films view the Force, not to say it wasn’t mystical before but it is viewed as so much more than just pushing things and pulling things. I love seeing it explored and seeing it used in different ways, an untapped wealth of power and while we see some new uses on screen it all fits into the lore and history of various force uses throughout history, even Baby Yoda… 

The film is going to become a hot bed for hot takes and the checklist of words like “lazy writing” and “Mary Sue” will be regurgitated by those who are just parroting what their favorite YouTuber said but I maintain the film felt Star Wars in both its triumphs and its flaws. If we take off our nostalgia goggles Star Wars has always been Saturday Morning Cereal Space Opera built on the back of merchandising and while we have attached significant pieces of ourselves emotionally to the series it is important to keep that in perspective. The young fans who are adopting this saga we love into the new millennium will love the film and the big moments will hit hard for them. I couldn’t help but notice the younger women sitting next to us that were loving the film and popping for the revelations compared to the guys sitting in front of us, who my wife said “all looked the same” and groaned and moaned not only about every trailer but almost every moment in the film. While JJ seems to throw those jaded fans some bones you will never please them. Perhaps in another 25 years they will come around as it seems they have with the prequels but for now nothing JJ could do was going to bring them around no matter what they tell you. If you find yourself on social media commenting that Disney killed your childhood I can’t promise this will change your mind but if you enjoy Star Wars and want to see a fun Star Wars movie with plenty of nods to the past and bid farewell to our new heroes journeys than The Rise of Skywalker will deliver. May the Force be with you. 

And with me as I check my Twitter mentions.