Ever since its inception in 1977, Star Wars has had a massive impact on pop-culture, with a plethora of iconic characters, scores, locations, etc. After being on a hiatus for a decade, Star Wars returned to the big screen, thanks to Disney’s pricey acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Force Awakens and Rogue One were both lauded by critics and fans alike and made over a billion dollars each, with the former cracking the $2 billion mark. The Last Jedi was a critical success but was met with mixed audience reviews. Solo (remember that movie?) was a box office disaster, despite mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audience alike. And now, the supposed grand finale to the 9-film Skywalker saga has released everywhere in the world and — it’s a mixed bag…

The problem with this new trilogy is the lack of coherent vision. JJ Abrams did a terrific job in starting the new Disney-Star Wars films with Force Awakens. Then, Rian Johnson came along and made some bold decisions to shift the trajectory and subvert the franchise tropes in The Last Jedi but because of how divisive it ended up being, Disney decided to re-hire JJ to conclude the trilogy and the Skywalker saga as a whole. By the end of the Rise of Skywalker, it was abundantly clear that Kathleen Kennedy (head honcho at Lucasfilm) failed at properly shepherding the new series of films and actually having a plan. 

Positives 

Just like in the Last Jedi, the dynamic between Rey and Kylo is by far the most interesting aspect of the film. Sans an out-of-nowhere moment at the end of the film, the ‘will-they won’t-they’ is as compelling as it was in the last film, and both actors clearly showcase their acting chops in those scenes. Furthermore, they engage in a lot more ‘force-time’ (a play on Face-time) in this film and I gotta say, the filmmakers cleverly utilize that particular Force trick throughout the film. Adam Driver continues his latest string of terrific performances and once again, commands the screen with his presence as Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Daisy Ridley is once again the heart of this trilogy, mixed with a touch of darkness as teased in the trailers.

In this chapter, we also got a lot more scenes with Rey, Poe, and Finn and I really enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic between them. After all, the 3 were mostly separated and sent on random sidequests in the Last Jedi. Even though Poe doesn’t have a whole lot to do (more on that later), his character is way more likable in this episode and does a convincing job showing his struggles to live up the legacy of General Leia. In addition, he gets some scene-stealing scenes with his former friend/lover (?), Zorii (played by Keri Russell). A spin-off film, please!

Courtesy of Disney/Lucasfilm

Negatives

This movie emphasizes plot over character, which often makes it feel bloated. As a result, it’s hard to care much for the characters, when not enough time is spent in fleshing them out. However, the biggest culprit is the exorbitant amount of fan-service, lacking any emotional connection whatsoever. Imagine if the third-act, action-heavy section of Avengers: Endgame neither had the character-driven moments in the first 2 acts nor the prior movies to actually develop the characters. When Captain America summons Thor’s hammer or yells “Avengers Assemble” or the heroes charge into the battle, we can’t help but cheer and cry with excitement! This is because the filmmakers actually showed the heroes at their nadir, which makes those fan-service moments emotionally resonant. In Rise of Skywalker, there are similar moments that are meant to elicit Endgame-level reactions but aside from a handful of cheers, the theatre was eerily quiet… When even the most hardcore of hardcore Star Wars fans are pretty silent during an Opening Night-1st screening of a Star Wars film, you know there’s a problem.

Speaking of characters, Finn and Poe are once again relegated to secondary roles and don’t have much to do. Finn’s Stormtrooper-turned-Rebel turn is only briefly referenced in the film but is largely ignored, which is frustrating because there’s a lot of story and conflict that could’ve been mined there.

Courtesy of Disney/Lucasfilm

This image perfectly encapsulates the film’s grandiose aspirations! It has more spectacle and bigger-action set-pieces but somehow feels smaller compared to the final battle of the other episodic films. Also, none of the action scenes are as intense or thrilling as the ‘Throne Room Battle‘ in The Last Jedi or ‘Rey vs Kylo‘ fight in The Force Awakens. It’s essentially an inordinate amount of VFX-generated Rebel ships engaged in dogfights with the Imperial fleet, with no tension or excitement.

As shown in the trailers, Palpatine is back and despite us wondering how he survived the end of Return of the Jedi, the filmmakers never answer that question, which renders Vader’s sacrifice (spoiler alert?) pointless. In addition, this movie retcons many *major* aspects of The Last Jedi, which adds to the feeling of disjointedness throughout the trilogy. Why does Rey have to be related to somebody?… Her being a “nobody” is far more compelling and makes her character more relatable, as opposed to being related to another strong force-user. Where Rian Johnson tried to subvert expectations and take the characters away from all the Skywalker baggage, JJ fully embraces the past and arguably doubles down by the end of the film. Again, extremely poor-planning on Kennedy’s part! Much to my chagrin, this film also has a painful tendency to immediately backtrack on moments that signify any form of stakes (deaths of people/droids), which I can only guess is to play safe and not piss off any more viewers?

Rating – Mild Recommendation

Despite a couple of amazing moments (Rey vs/and Kylo, the increased screentime with the new trinity), The Rise of Skywalker is a massive disappointment. Too much fan-service, without any emotional or dramatic weight, isn’t worth much when not earned. If you want more action, spectacle, and nostalgia in your Star Wars appetite, then this film will most definitely satiate your desires. However, I hoped for a more bolder story and character decisions, a la The Last Jedi, rather than once again playing it safe and unfortunately, Rise of Skywalker would rather ride on the coattails of its (superior) predecessors than charting its own path.