It’s been a while.
If you’ve been following my work for any length of time, you’re probably aware of the fact that I had to take a break from the Star Wars franchise since the incredible train crash that was The Last Jedi. While I recently came around on Luke’s storyline, that entire film is such a mess that I wondered how JJ Abrams could possibly salvage the whole trilogy.
With this in mind, I invested in a Disney+ subscription and saw The Rise Of Skywalker.
It was shockingly fine.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. It plays on Return Of The Jedi, but it’s not a jarring nightmare like the previous movie.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Why Wasn’t The Cast Like This Before?
On some level, I feel that Rey should’ve been forced to grapple with her lineage from the first movie.
While I watched The Rise Of Skywalker, I wondered how the main cast shifted back to an evolved approximation of what they were like during The Force Awakens, but with much more life. After a few moments of thought, I realized that JJ and the cast actually tried to address most of the fan complaints.
Sort of.
Most notably, Daisy Ridley’s portrayal of Rey is far better in this movie because the script didn’t handcuff her emotional range. While our main heroine is still an almost god-like figure, I actually got some sense that she is an actual person instead of some blank slate who is just there to make things float. That has to count for something, and Daisy deserves credit for that.
With that said, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is still the most interesting character in this story. He was given quite a lot to do in the past two movies, and Adam actually tried very hard to give his arc some weight in Rise. And to be honest, his personal conflict makes a ton of sense when one considers that Palpatine’s influence tragically steered him towards the Dark Side.
Speaking of which, Ian McDiarmid is back for one final go as Sheev, and it’s always nice to see him chew the scenery right down to the proverbial bone. Only this time, it’s a bit different. In the first six films, Lucas played on the idea that he was just a delightfully sinister politician before he declared himself Emperor. In this one, Mr. McDiarmid and the creative team turned the character into an Eldritch Abomination who scarfs down all of the ham and cheese in the galaxy… and it’s amazing to watch!
On the other hand, I can see why Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and the other cast members are mildly annoyed with this franchise. Oscar and John were given many of the dumbest plot points in The Last Jedi, and there’s virtually no meat to their roles in this one. They’re just generals who organize a few things and shout “REEEEEEEEEEEEEY!” half the time, which is a damn shame.
The Plot Is Surprisingly Decent.
This particular scene is pretty cool in context.
Say what you will about JJ Abrams, but I think that he’s knows his canon a lot more than most people are willing to admit. That’s a part of the reason why I didn’t completely and utterly mad at The Rise Of Skywalker.
I expected a retread of The Return Of The Jedi, but that’s not exactly what we got. While there are some visual cues and elements from Episode VI, most of the plot is a blended remix of Dark Empire and a few other pieces of the former Expanded Universe. While some out there might chide Lucasfilm for the re-introduction of a reborn Emperor, I can applaud it because it’s different, but not offensively stupid in every way possible.
After all, the franchise has always dealt with questions about temptation, power, and family, and one can see an obvious example of that in the Dark Rey sequence. That little morsel only lasts for about a minute, but it packs a punch because it brings up the universal theme of nature vs. nurture. On top of that, it’s also as a tip of the hat to Jedi Knight: Mysteries Of The Sith!
Cool, huh?
It’s Still Flawed, Though.
It is more than possible to blend story and fan service together.
In my opinion, a cardinal rule of writing is that the audience shouldn’t ask questions other than what the writers want them to ask. For those of you who don’t get what I mean, it’s important to consider that this plays a role in the suspension of disbelief. If the buyer asks way too many questions about the plot, it’s far easier to snap him or her out of the story, which isn’t a good thing by any stretch of the imagination.
The Rise Of Skywalker has these problems, but they don’t interrupt the flow of the story as much as they could have. Consider the following questions:
- If Kylo Ren can seize a necklace from Rey across their Force DM sessions, why not just abduct her?
- If Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell) killed a First Order captain, wouldn’t they just yeet the medallion code from their database?
- Wouldn’t Kylo know where Rey is because she has the dagger in her hand?
- How does Maz (Lupita Nyong’o) know that Leia is going to try to reach Ben?
- Why didn’t Luke help Rey throughout the movie?
As you can see, questions #1, #4, and #5 show us the most glaring issues in the story, but I’ll focus on Luke because his presence is critical to the film’s themes. I know that JJ didn’t want Luke to show up during the final battle, but it would’ve been better if he helped throughout the film.
Why do I say that?
One might chalk Luke’s cameo appearance up to the fact that Leia largely trained Rey, but her adoption of the Skywalker name seems odd under those circumstances. If we consider The Last Jedi, her experiences with Luke were rather unpleasant, and we don’t have any indication that he actually showed up after getting back on the Jedi path. If Luke popped up in a training or advisory role throughout the story, it could’ve cemented his role as a father figure and explained why she’d even think about calling herself his adopted daughter.
Of course, it might have been better if Luke and Leia’s deaths were switched, but the overall principle remains the same. If Mark Hamill is right there, throw some extra coins at his wallet and use him wisely!
Conclusion.
HEY HEEEEEEEEEEY!
The Rise Of Skywalker is not a perfect film, but it’s not that bad when one considers what came before it and the effort that JJ Abrams put in to try to set things right. The characterization is mostly satisfying, the story is decent, and most of its flaws are inoffensive or merely questionable. I don’t think that I would’ve seen it in the theater, but I don’t regret seeing it on Disney+ either.
If you haven’t done so already, consider giving it a watch.
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