People really don’t like endings, do they? It seems like no matter what writers and producers do, fans are never entirely satisfied how a story concludes, whether it plays out on the big screen or the small. Tying up all the loose ends and character arcs that make up a larger narrative is difficult enough; pleasing everyone is flat-out impossible. In the case of the Star Wars franchise, the futility of such an endeavor becomes even more evident. This story began with my parent’s generation and grew to captivate millions of people, generating an audience possibly more diverse than any other. Old school, traditionalist fans watch each new film with a certain set of expectations, and younger fans watch the films with another. So was it surprising that people reacted negatively to the movie that closed out the third and latest trilogy?
I don’t think so.
Now, I’m aware that there has already been talk of future Star Wars films. Disney owns the rights, after all. That the company would milk the Star Wars franchise for all it’s worth is an inevitability. But The Rise of Skywalker definitely represents an end to the story of the Skywalkers and the closing of a significant chapter for the galaxy far, far away. Now, I am no Star Wars super fan, like my Dad, who can recite literally every single line of dialogue from the original three movies. However, I have to say that I found myself content with the majority of the choices the filmmakers made concerning Episode IX. So let’s get into what I liked and what I disliked about The Rise of Skywalker. (Spoilers ahead, duh.)
What I Liked:
Two Words: Adam. Driver.
Oh boy, can that man act. Before seeing the movie, I saw a tweet somewhere pointing out that Adam Driver goes the entire final 45 minutes of the film without speaking a word. I went into the theater understandably worried as a result. Miraculously, it turned out that Driver didn’t even need to talk to convey the raw emotion required to make his performance one of the best I have seen recently. (Although, I would like to point out that Ben does say “ow” after colliding into a massive chain, so technically he does say something.)
While people seem generally unhappy with Ben Solo’s redemption arc and how his story ended, I really don’t see how it could have ended any other way. Yes, his rejection of the dark side happened quickly. But we have to keep in mind that this movie was already over 3 hours long. Ben/Kylo’s inner turmoil wasn’t going to get any more screen time. And, most importantly, the foundations for his redemption had been laid much earlier in his scenes with Rey as far back as The Last Jedi. Ultimately, Ben’s decision to sacrifice his own life for Rey completed his redemptive journey. He loved her, and that love saved him in so many ways. It just wasn’t enough to save his life. If that isn’t enough to convince you that his death was a necessary evil, then we’ll go back to the issue of run time again. Can you imagine how complicated it would have been had he survived? How many more scenes it would have taken to make his reintegration into society plausible? Ben may have made up for some of his actions, but his change of heart doesn’t erase his body count.
Anyway, the Kylo-Rey relationship was by far one of my favorite aspects of this final Skywalker trilogy; Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley’s performances played an integral role in my interest in the movies at all. The ending to their story proved no different, and if I re-watch this movie, it will be for that scene.
The Action Sequences
Okay, I just want to start out by saying that the whole passing the lightsaber over the shoulder trick between Rey and Ben at the end of the film might be one of the coolest moments I have ever seen. Granted, any action sequence involving glowing laser swords surpasses a certain inherent awesomeness threshold, but I found The Rise of Skywalker’s final battle scene particularly compelling. The interweaving of conflicts on three equally high-octane fronts in the form of Ben’s fight with the Knights of Ren, Rey’s struggle against Palpatine, and the space battle overhead generated a fast-paced, and high-stakes montage that kept even my action movie-adverse mother engaged. The action remained unpredictable and emotionally charged throughout. In my opinion, the complexity and interest value of the hand-to-hand combat choreography in this scene and others surpassed that seen in previous Star Wars movies.
Speaking of other scenes, Ben and Rey’s duel on the wreckage of the second Death Star also deserves praise. Not only was the setting both visually stunning and symbolic, but the feats of Force-boosted agility exhibited by the two highly skilled combatants remained incredible without going over the top. The same could be said regarding Rey’s flip over Kylo’s TIE fighter, a snippet from the trailer that I wasn’t convinced I would like. To keep this short, this girl is a HUGE sucker for a good fight scene, and this movie checked all my boxes several times over.
Modernization
As a prime specimen of the sci-fi/fantasy genera and a franchise steeped in tradition, it would have been more than easy for Star Wars writers to stick to their guns, so to speak, when it came to diversifying their films. Instead, the movies have evolved with the times. The newest trilogy features notably more female roles, for example, as well as a significant uptick in racial diversity in its casting. Both developments present a promising trend. The celebrations at the end of The Rise of Skywalker also include the briefest snippet of two women kissing: an inclusion that seems more of a gratuitous afterthought than anything. While the effort to improve racial, gender, and romantic representation in a blockbuster film such as this one is great news, there obviously remains much progress to be made.
What I Didn’t Like:
Cheesy Dialogue
Look, I am a critic at heart, and this is something that has always irked me about the Star Wars films. Just when the plot and characters start to capture my interest, someone inevitably opens their mouth and says something so unnecessary, obvious, or otherwise cringeworthy that I can’t keep the wince off my face. Actions can speak louder than words in the realm of character building. That doesn’t stop unfortunate dialogue from making my efforts to identify with a character feel like a one-step-forward-two-steps-back sort of proposition.
The best example of this I can think of in The Rise of Skywalker is when Admiral Hux blurts out of nowhere, “I’m the spy,” outing himself as the informant the Resistance had been relying on through the first portion of the film. Maybe scriptwriters intended for Hux’s blunt delivery to be funny. Instead, I found the reveal to be incredibly anticlimactic. It felt almost like someone had written “insert I’m the spy line here” in the script and either been too lazy or forgotten to remove it. I never found Hux to be all that interesting of a character. But this line singlehandedly rendered the whole spy storyline, which seemed pretty significant at the beginning of the story, completely irrelevant. Hux’s death felt even more rushed and meaningless as a result.
I know that a universe populated by droids, Yoda, and the Jedi Order and driven by fanservice isn’t likely to spawn the most original dialogue. After all, something would be amiss if every conversation didn’t end with some variation of “may the Force be with you.” But sometimes it seems to me that a little more originality couldn’t hurt.
That Final, Final Scene
Honestly, The Rise of Skywalker was doing so well right up until the very last moments of the film. I genuinely wanted to rate this movie at an 8, (a surprise, given my previous ambivalence toward the Star Wars franchise). It’s definitely not a good sign when a five-second snippet of a three hour phenomenon can completely obliterate my mental rating, but that’s how much I disliked Rey’s adoption of Skywalker as her surname. I understand that it was meant to be a symbolic means of honoring the family with whom Rey identified as well as a callback to the film’s title. But I found the entire conversation with the old woman a completely unnecessary, unsatisfactory end to Rey’s journey for self-realization.
Earlier in the movie, Rey said something like, “My name is Rey. Just Rey.” I thought this was a particularly powerful statement for several reasons. First, Rey has spent all three movies of the trilogy searching for an identity via her parents. The Last Jedi ended with Rey’s realization that her parents had been junk scrappers, essentially insignificant in the scheme of the greater destiny of the galaxy. After finding out that her parents sought out this life of obscurity in order to escape Rey’s grandfather Palpatine, Rey could have refused to assume any surname in order to honor the anonymity of her mother and father, who presumably gave up their lives to protect her.
Second, the Star Wars universe has always placed great emphasis on children emerging from the shadows of their parents’ actions and proving their own worth. From this perspective, Rey separating herself from the atrocities associated with the Palpatine name and immediately grouping herself with the Skywalkers, who have their own murky history, makes no sense. Even if it was intended as a means by which to honor the Skywalkers and continue the positive aspects of their legacy. If Rey proved anything with her victory over Palpatine it was that she is her own person. Why throw that away, even with the best of intentions?
If she had to take a new last name, couldn’t Rey have chosen Solo? I admit that this decision would have presented similar issues, but if she and Ben had as close of an emotional connection as the movies seemed to suggest, wouldn’t this have made more sense? Couldn’t Rey have used that moment to honor Han, her foster father figure, or Ben, the boy who loved and gave up his life for her? (Especially knowing that no other living person in the galaxy at that point knew about or would have been interested in recognizing Ben’s sacrifice.)
Just my opinion, but I felt that this final interaction could have been handled better.
So What’s the Verdict?
Overall, The Rise of Skywalker successfully closed the door on the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. I particularly enjoyed the final installment’s cinematography, action sequences, and outstanding cast performances. The film would have scored a higher rating if not for several letdowns that I felt disrupted the overall flow and messages of the movie.
That being said, I would give The Rise of Skywalker a 7/10.