★
The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.
Classification: 12A
a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
One lone phrase in light blue text, a simple yet enticing promise to a whole new world and then in a triumphant flash an orchestra bursts to life in a thundering crescendo that sets minds alight with wonder and awe. A title appears, a title that will change cinema forever, a title that will inspire an entire generation of storytellers and dreamers and take audiences on an adventure that would unknowingly span decades into their lives and the lives of their children. Star Wars is cinema's great mythology, an all-encompassing saga of heroism, adventure and grand ideas crafted through the language of cinema. It was George Lucas' vision but it was brought to life by actors, costumes designers, special effects artists, editors, concept artists and thousands more, every department working through a unified passion driving creativity that only filmmaking can inspire, an entire universe born from the screen.
One film spawned two sequels, a trilogy of adventures between some of cinema's most iconic heroes and villains that are still beloved to this day. Almost twenty years later Lucas returns to his galaxy far far away and delivers his prequels, not as beloved but actually reviled by many for their laborious pacing and flawed filmmaking. It's strange when you think about Star Wars, for a cherished film series most people just seem to hate and argue about most of the time. The prequels suck! Return of the Jedi! isn't good because of the Ewoks! George Lucas raped my childhood! I hate Jar Jar Binks but the lightsabre fights were cool. Then only four years ago after a decade of prequel bashing and call for "real" Star Wars to return, the Walt Disney Company comes to the rescue after buying the franchise for a whopping 4 billion dollars (cue Dr Evil finger gesture) and release the critically and commercially successful Star Wars: The Force Awakens. With an all-star cast of returning heroes and new characters played by fresh faces, that old feeling of the original trilogy was said to have returned, "Star Wars was back" (again).
Despite complaints of the plot similarities to A New Hope, audiences embraced the familiarity, it would seem that Disney had successfully launched themselves another money printing machine. Cramming the space opera into the same mould as its Marvel movie formula, pumping out a sequel or spinoff every year and make an easy billion of ticket sales and merchandise. In hindsight, we should have seen the final result of The Rise of Skywalker coming, as a ceaseless unfulfilled fanbase that would rather be pandered to than challenged becoming the core target of Disney soulless practice of remaking films and profiting from nostalgia, selling adults their childhood memories back. After Rian Johnson's film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a sequel which tore the core of the franchise apart, examining and challenging its legacies and bolstered characters both new and old. It felt like a reckoning as if the film itself had become sentient and was wrestling free from the pitfalls of repetition and dared to go against the wishes of the fans. Fan theories were ignored, nostalgia was pushed aside, expectations were subverted and Luke Skywalker was given a beautiful reflective character arc celebrating his cultural impact rather than a soulless retread of his greatest hits. Johnson had redefined all these new characters as their own beings, allowing the new cast to shed the skin of being the "new this", Kylo Ren was no longer "the new Darth Vader", Rey was no longer the new "Luke". With Han and Luke's passing and the unfortunate real-life departure of Carrie Fisher, the new generation was primed for an adventure of their own, defined by who they were and not what had come before.
Rian Johnson freed Star Wars from the shackles of pandering nostalgia and gave the franchise a clean slate to explore new stories but J.J Abrams happily gave in to the wails of angry fans. Slapping those cuffs back on and immediately kicking this once great franchise back into its small box and forcing it to dance to all the familiar tunes once more. Despite the critical and commercial success of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a vocal community of fans voiced displeasure at the creative choices made in the film particularly in terms of the handling of Force Awakens "mystery boxes" and the characterisation of Luke Skywalker. Only this time it would appear that Rian Johnson was the one who was raping our childhoods, the juvenile complaints ranging from name-calling to racial and sexist abuse towards the film's cast. Regardless of your feelings towards Star Wars, whether you hate prequels, The Last Jedi or prefer Star Trek, this gatekeeping notion that the franchise "belonged" to the fans and that filmmakers weren't allowed to try new ideas is ridiculous. It's fine not to like creative choices such as the decisions made with this latest film but to outright demand filmmakers serve the demands of "fans" leads to the death of creativity, never given an audience what they want, they don't know what they want, give them what they need.
Rather than stay the course and take the opportunity to try something new and challenge their audience, Abrams and Disney concede to these fan complaints, reward this immature behaviour and proceed to put together a pathetic and desperate film to try and recapture their Force Awakens success. The final product feels less like reflective course correction in the wake of feedback but more hopeless insecure pandering to appease the people that will buy the merchandise in bulk. Even though so much of the film plays like an over-eager stepdad trying to bond with his moody teenage stepson in a last-ditch attempt to save the marriage, the disastrous faults of this film are not the property of the fans. This solely belongs to the cowardice of J.J Abrams, Lucasfilm, Disney and the sycophants that enable this creatively bankrupt endeavour to make Star Wars solely a source of revenue to the shareholders. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a regressive, artistically barren, pathetic forced finale to the entire collection of original films, prequels and sequels that dishonours the legacies of the great filmmakers who built the franchise and all those who were inspired by it.
So many moments in The Rise of Skywalker can make you feel physically ill at how blatant Abrams tries to recapture and recreate the good old times. It's just sad that he's not only playing his old bag of tricks from Force Awakens but the entire original trilogy and even other Lucasfilm ventures, there isn't an ounce of original creativity to his direction or script. The film can boast one unique fact about itself however as J.J Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio deliver the worst script a Star Wars movie has ever had, a feat made more impressive in a franchise where The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones exist. Convoluted exposition, tacked on reveals that are in service more to Reddit forum pages than to character development or story, and poor logic to try and fail to string all nine films together. The film is a mess, while some of the strengths of the franchise are ever-present; production design, music, visual effects and cinematography it is all in service to a hapless void of a story that is so desperate to please a fanbase which infamously has never been happy.
The film begins with the return of the series' grand villain Emperor Palpatine, the great Ian McDiarmid returns despite his character being thrown into the reactor core of an exploding Death Star in Return of the Jedi. There is no real attempt to explain why or how he's back only that he is and he is actually the puppet master behind this whole trilogy, it definitely feels like a fully planned story and not something Abrams pulled out of his ass, not at all. Nothing but tragic proof that Abrams doesn't have anything to say with this franchise, no innovation or fresh ideas just bringing back fan favourite characters and moments solely because they are known. Emperor's back, no reason needed, shoehorned in with the grace of cramming a watermelon through a mailbox, it doesn't shake things up in the slightest and with his inclusion makes this entire galaxy feel just a little bit smaller. The first of many disappointing turns of the Rise of Skywalker retconning The Last Jedi and making this whole endeavour feel like the most pathetic fan film but hey at least your Snoke theory got confirmed, so it was all worth it!
Horrible dialogue and exposition just make all of the convoluted plotting unbearable as every character is regressed back to what they were. Kylo Ren now serving another omnipotent evil master even being forced to wear his now repaired helmet, which he destroyed in the previous film as a symbolic attempt to break free from his past. Nope! glue that thing back together and pretend your Darth Vader again, Poe Dameron, Oscar Issac's hot-headed brash leader who learned humility and the importance of teamwork has all of his character development stripped away just be a Han Solo clone again and god the treatment of the original characters is so diminishing, you feel embarrassed for ever liking these films. Everyone must be what is recognisable, no deviation, no development, your character is defined only by its relation to what is established. The entire film is an abominable parade of "REMEMBER THIS!" as Abrams' mystery box bullshit is nothing more than a shallow attempt on his part and also the fans of wanting their Empire moment again. Most franchises' live in the shadow of one great film, the sole story that everyone loves and movie executives are so desperate to recreate, they will destroy everything to recapture that zeitgeist moment where their brand was at its peak. For Star Wars that moment is The Empire Strikes Back and more specifically the moment when cinema's greatest villain delivered the twist ending that shocked audiences around the world. Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father and because of that sole plot point, every sequel film has been flurried with speculation on who Rey's related to, who Finn's related to, how every conceivable thread of storyline could be funnelled back into the original films.
Abrams wants that Vader reveal moment so desperately that none of the twists or climaxes in the film are motivated by an unstoppable need to tell a compelling story but rather that shallow vanity of wanting to do what worked again and claiming it as your own. The Last Jedi essentially discarding the need for every character to be connected to legacy, Rey did not need to be Luke's daughter or Jar Jar Bink's cousin-in-law to be a worthwhile interesting character. So the fact that the entire film has her agency tied back into the original heroes and villains of the saga is such a slap in the face to the actors and the audience. Disney and Abrams will not allow Star Wars to evolve, Rey doesn't get a corner of this galaxy to call her own, she has to stand in Leia, Luke, and Han's shadow and now with the return of Palpatine his as well.
No satisfaction comes from The Rise of Skywalker's reveals or storytelling and its made all the more unbearable as Abrams and Terrio don't even to attempt to explain why any of this is happening, just a bland loud mishmash Return of the Jedi ripoff. With no reasonable or logical explanation, Palpatine has a massive army of planet-destroying ships in a secret Sith planet that will take over the galaxy; the master plan of the whole trilogy (and apparently saga) and its the most mediocre, committee-driven plot of once again the resistance must fight and defeat the empire. Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, C-3PO and BB-8 all get on the Millenium Falcon to find the MacGuffin needed to stop him, I'm sure Disney and the fans are glad to see this ensemble finally all together but the majority of the banter between the three humans is strenuous at best. Poe and Rey clashing as Alphas, Finn with a secret for Rey that is never resolved (he probably loves her but the audience just like the film is never given a moment to care) however Chewie and the droids are as always delightful. The first act and most of the second can feel like a Saturday morning cartoon, here's the gang on a wacky standalone adventure, the film never captures the weight and gravitas of being the grand epic finale to this series. So when the story then tries to do so, mostly by ripping off Return of the Jedi's last act, Abrams is left unable to construct any worthwhile narrative cohesion within his own film or to the whole franchise. There is no choice to this film, no singular vision, no voice making decisions to enrich story or character, every moment of The Rise of Skywalker feels like it went through twenty different departments to maximise brand appeal. Merchandising, marketing, fan outreach, all sharp edges have been sanded off and the safest product has been put forth.
So much of the film can be frustrating but there are brief glimmers of enjoyment that don't salvage the film but provide solace during the difficult experience of surviving the screenplay. The characters will unfortunately completely devolved are still wonderfully portrayed by the talented cast, no actor is permanently damaged by The Rise of Skywalker as Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Issac do their best to sell this disappointing finale. Driver and Ridley's performances are the strongest with the characters unique force bond carrying over and continuing Rey and Kylo's fascinating dynamic. Their ability to cross between their realities, interacting with one another through the force allows Abrams to put together some well-edited visual sequences. Although both their storylines evolve in a way which feels completely forced and unnatural, clearly a process of needing to get to A to B but not wanting to do any of the work, especially Kylo Ren as his characterisation goes through harsh narrative whiplash no matter how hard Driver tries to sell it. Anthony Daniels as C-3PO owns the first act of the film, the delightful droid getting plenty of fun moments as the film puts the new team to work. Although the character is given a derivative repetitive emotionally manipulative moment to try and give the film depth, Daniels as ever is able to communicate so much through the iconic gold armour.
Due to the prequels overabundant use of green screens and CGI, the sequel trilogy's continuing commitment to real locations and practical effects continues to dazzle in The Rise of Skywalker. Beautiful vistas of alien worlds, fascinating creatures and cultures and the cinematography from Dan Mindel seamlessly transport you into this visually vibrant world. The production design teams, costumiers, creature designers and puppeteers do incredible work with new robots such as D-O or creatures like Babu Frik. If the internet weren't ablaze in worshipping at the altar of Baby Yoda from the Star Wars web series The Mandalorian, I'm sure Babu Frik would have a similar following as the small alien mechanic is one of those few additions that can spice up the mediocrity. John Williams once again delivers a bombastic musical score, his work on Star Wars is nothing short of legendary but his score along with Ridley and Driver, seem to be the only real pillars holding the film up against the crushing weight of the lacklustre finale. The film wants to be epic, legendary, unforgettable all those things Star Wars has been at its best and worst but with The Rise of Skywalker, it's nothing but a shell, an empty imitation of manufactured emotion that panders to the most uninspired ideas, never wanting the audience to think outside the box Disney has placed them in.
The rest of the cast are either glorified cameos, just echos of their characters old and new especially Billy Dee Williams and Ian McDiarmid. The return of Lando Calrissian and Emperor Palpatine are a disappointment, they just feel like husks unable to convey an ounce of their character's signature charisma good or evil due to the hackneyed nature of the characterisation. The Rise of Skywalker has them appear solely because the audience will recognise them not because it was an organic development in the story just another embarrassing insecurity on the part of the film. Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o are given nothing to do, they are just there as living ornaments for the respective headquarters of the good and bad guys. Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico is disgustingly given the Jar Jar treatment and is completely sidelined in this film, another placating gesture from Abrams to the Last Jedi haters. The new characters to this film are completely underdeveloped and wildly inconsistent except for Babu Frik, seriously he's great. In order for people to stop thinking Poe and Finn are attracted to one another, they are both given love interests who are mainly just expository machines for the respective planets, the gang has to visit. Keri Russell and Naomi Ackie aren't given to work with beyond looking like part of the new toyline, Russell's character looking like a space-age Rocketeer who after threatening to kill Poe for betraying her in one scene, immediately forgives him and helps him escape in the next almost as if she wasn't a fully dimensional character but instead just an aesthetically pleasing action figure the audience doesn't have to think about. You can't let your female characters have agency or self-worth in a Star Wars film just ask Kelly Marie Tran! They have to be cool looking, sexy badasses who have flirtatious banter with the male leads, so you the viewer can fantasise that you too are a badass space hero. Naomi Ackie just seems to be a visual ripoff of the Horizon Zero Dawn videogame, representative of most of the film, surface-level visuals with no deeper meaning or threadbare nuance stapled on to give the Wookipedia articles writers something to spruce up the lore.
Now let's get into one of the most upsetting and yet avoidable pieces of The Rise of Skywalker, as mentioned before Carrie Fisher who portrayed the tenacious and fierce Princess Leia passed away in 2016. Fortunately, her scenes for The Last Jedi were completed and was able to have one last scene with Mark Hamill but with The Rise of Skywalker instead of respecting of the reality of the situation, Abrams commits to unsettling digital necromancy. Leia shouldn't be in this movie, she isn't in this movie, it's not deleted scenes repurposed into a new story but a manipulated CGI avatar that makes you feel physically ill. They didn't have to do this, open the film with her funeral and actually honour what her character meant to this universe and our own. It is a disgustingly perfect representation of the film's soulless nature, as Abrams and Disney try and milk out fan nostalgia and Fisher sympathy once again. The Rise of Skywalker is the last film with Carrie Fisher, a tribute to her legacy and character! Princess Leia lives on forever! and it is the case as Fisher will live on forever as these ghouls will just continue to remake her image time and time again to service the fantasies of fans unable to let these stories end or evolve. If The Force Awakens focused on Han Solo and The Last Jedi focused on Luke Skywalker, it would seem obvious that the plan was to have this film focus on Leia, specifically her connection to her son Kylo Ren. Abrams and co. don't seem to want to deviate from this plan and do everything they can to shoehorn this upsetting apparition into the main plot and coerce everything around to adhere to this disrespectful tactic. Carrie Fisher deserved far better than this.
We all did, that's the most upsetting part to The Rise of Skywalker is that Star Wars deserved so much more than this. It is a poor finale to this trilogy and an abysmal ending to this "Skywalker Saga". Yes they are films intended for children about space wizards, laser swords and bumbling robots but these films were always a place of creativity and ingenuity, this last instalment does none of this. Innovation has been cast aside for what is safe and what can be remembered by the fans and its clear Disney doesn't want to be anything new, a studio which is happy to sell back your nostalgia, piece by piece. People watched Star Wars and it would change their lives, Jame Cameron watched the first film in 1977, quit his job and went on to make The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic and Avatar, now one of the most successful filmmakers of all time. It was an experience that would change you, your imagination would never not be filled with tales of Jedi, Rebels and the Force. This film fails to make this galaxy and this franchise universal to everyone, to gift Star Wars to a new generation and have the saga have that same resounding effect. Audiences are left alienated by this cumbersome, pandering mess that is so desperate to give the "fans" what they want.
Because Disney doesn't care whether the audience likes it or not, they don't care about that, they need the obsessive, the vitriolic, the exasperating fans who in their blind fanaticism will continue to buy Star Wars products no matter what. Remember this, Remember that, your fandom is defined by how many toys you own, costumes you wear, the fact you know the serial number of the droid who gave Darth Vader an inhaler and not by how the film envokes emotion and inspiration within you. It's the validation of safety, there is no courage to The Rise of Skywalker and it's desperate and pathetic to see a franchise which literally began the age of the blockbuster film deliver this ignorant, creatively bereft embarrassment devoid of genuine awe and power.
Director: #JJAbrams
Cast: #CarrieFisher, #MarkHamill, #AdamDriver, #DaisyRidley, #JohnBoyega, #OscarIsaac, #AnthonyDaniels, #NaomiAckie, #DomhnallGleeson, #RichardEGrant, #LupitaNyongo, #KeriRussell, #JoonasSuotamo, #KellyMarieTran, #IanMcDiarmid, #BillyDeeWilliams
Release Date: December 19th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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