An Enjoyable and Utter Mess of a Film: Rise of Skywalker Review

If pressed, I feel like it would be fair to say that there are two films that can be labeled as the most controversial films of the decade: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. I feel like it's almost fitting that the latter of these ' sequels be one of the last big films to close out the decade, Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker was released on December 20th, and the critical reception leaves room to be desired, rating it as possibly one of the lowest-rated films of the entire saga. But Here'ns The Thing, despite its critical bashing, the community of Star Wars has rallied behind the film as a favorite of the sequel trilogy, making the tables completely turned from the response to Episode VIII. While critics rated The Last Jedi very highly, the audience response was less than kind and tore the community apart from fans that have been loyal since the beginning, to newer fans with less of an appreciation for the overall expanded universe of the saga. Yesterday, I decided to evaluate this latest and final Entry of the Skywalker saga, and what I found was a story with massive potential which was made very enjoyable through excellent character performances, grandiose fight scenes, and the perfect blend of practical and digital effects that we have seen from this sequel trilogy, but ultimately the flaws in the film's narrative get in the way of it being the epic conclusion that it could have been. Now before I go any further, I do want to give a SPOILER warning, as in order to discuss what I enjoyed and the flaws of the film, I will be pulling direct examples.

There is a lot to unpackage in the Rise of Skywalker, and that is honestly its biggest fault. This movie tries to carry the weight of things that should have already been established in the bridge film of the trilogy in its first acts. This problem literally takes no time to present itself as the opening crawl of Episode IX gives us a massive reveal that should have been a key part of the story that is shown rather than dumped as hollow exposition. The reveal I am talking about is none other than the survival of Palpatine. An event that should have been a pivotal and climactic point of the story that could have served as a major catalyst to set up the conclusion of the film, is instead sprung on us out of nowhere in the opening crawl making the whole thing a cheap way to distract from how the last film ended. Honestly, the majority of this film's problems are a direct result of JJ Abrams having to play damage control on The Last Jedi. Now I enjoyed The Last Jedi, I thought that outside of the horrific Cantobite subplot, the message it was trying to convey of "You don't need to be some heir to a legendary bloodline to be the catalyst for change" was a good one, and well honestly that felt true to Star Wars for me. That being said, it is important to realize that for most fans of Star Wars, The Last Jedi felt like a spit in the face for things they held dear, and while supporters of the sequel trilogy may argue how petty that is, I am on the side of the fans. Despite my feelings toward The Last Jedi, the people who have invested the time and dedication to Star Wars and its expanded universe and lore deserve to have their say, and since they are in no small part the reason the franchise is what it is today, the intention of making things right by JJ Abrams, in my opinion, was the right call. The problem is that unfortunately, Abrams had one movie to make, but needed two. This film's greatest problem is that it tries to be both the bridge and the conclusion of this saga and as a result, both efforts lose weight. Things that we have waited for since Episode VII, like the Knights of Ren (who literally serve as a Sith Boy Band that just stands around looking imposing for 3/4 of the film until they are dispatched like worthless lackeys) are wasted because they don't have the time to dedicate to developing them. With the pacing of the film's first act trying to soft-reboot the series, while also establishing the core narrative to give this film identity, the film becomes clunky and ham-handed. They try to distract from this as much as possible with fan service galore, but ultimately it fails, and no amount of fan service could have fixed this. However, there was an element to the film that provided a saving grace that saves this movie from being a loss and turns it around. 

Now before I get to the ultimate strength of this film, there are some minor things that I feel need to be mentioned. First off, the send-off of Carrie Fisher's Leia was absolutely phenomenal. They could have easily made Leia's death a hollow event that just happens, it would have been the easiest thing to do, and I feel that for most of us, it's what we expected. However, to take recycled footage, and bring Leia back in a way that not only gave her weight but made the final chapter of her story such a pivotal piece of the film was worthy of all the praise it has gotten. The death/ funeral of Leia was one of the few truly magnificent points of the film and it did bring a tear to my eye. Of course, it goes without saying that the visuals of the film are stunning, and Rise of the Skywalker cements, in my opinion, that the sequel trilogy has the best fight choreography of Star Wars. I love lightsaber fights in the sequels, every swing of the saber shows intent and isn't just there for flare and I love it so much. As great as all these things are though, the thing that saves this film from being a loss and turns around an absolute mess of a screenplay is the cast. I have a saying that a great cast with good chemistry can take even the most mundane screenplay and make it something at least worth a watch, and Rise of Skywalker is a testament to that. Just wow, seeing Rise of Skywalker is a huge reminder that this is Abrams' cast, and to see just how well they play off each other in this film, under Abrams' direction, is worth the price of admission alone. There is a scene close to the beginning where we get to see Poe and Rey have their first genuine character interaction in the entire franchise, and they are brilliant. The scene is an exchange where the two are arguing about Poe damaging the Falcon, and Rey damaging BB8 and it plays out like an Abbot and Costello routine. John Boyega gets his chance to shine as Finn, showcasing character growth that should have already been present in episode VIII. Finn no longer feels like an appendage, but an integral piece to the puzzle with genuine purpose and his interactions with every character in the film are golden. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley are the heart of this film, and their dynamic is improved so much under Abrams's direction, and Driver has one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the film (this I will not spoil because it deserves to be experienced, and no it's not the final scene with Rey). The cast of Rise of Skywalker takes this weird and terribly paced screenplay and somehow turns it into Star Wars.  

At the end of the day, Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker is another solid addition to the Skywalker Saga. It's not the ending I would have painted for the franchise personally, but in a year of shittastic finales (I'm looking at you Game of Thrones), it's an ending I will be okay with. It may not have lived up to what it could have been, but what's important to me is that the Rise of the Skywalker,  despite its NUMEROUS faults, is a movie that I feel all fans of Star Wars can enjoy together and that a lot of the bad blood caused by the sequel trilogies can finally be put at rest.