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Introduction
The Rise of Skywalker is a bad movie. And not endearingly bad, just bad; in its pure, obligatory, cynical nature. The movie, ironically, feels like it is torn between multiple sides and as a result, feels directionless and pandering to the point where I can no longer excuse any faults that I previously had been too kind about the Disney-Era Star Wars movies. Seeing as my thoughts on this trilogy has changed wildly over time compared to the naive, starry-eyed young Julie, let me quickly explain my current feelings on the first two entries in this modern era.
If you really don’t want to read this, just skip to the stamp in the table of contents, if you really care about spoilers, which I will be doing, so come back once you’ve seen the film.
The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens just seems like an okay movie to me in hindsight. You have to understand that the thrill of a new Star Wars movie had a certain novelty that swept most of the people at the time partially because of how good the initial trailers were. Even some of the most jaded fans thought it was a lot of fun and in a lot of ways it is. I’d say it’s about the same level as that Star Trek reboot that Jar Jar Abrams also directed. It’s slick and quippy but gets weaker the more we think about it because of the directors’ obnoxious reverence to the originals, clearly being considered more important than allowing it to be its own thing.
I think most of us initially forgave the familiarity with the plot, excusing it to be a safe and reasonable approach to bring the series back to a level more in line with the classics. I think I was so desperate with anything that wasn’t the prequels that I got a bit carried away by my affection for the movie, despite saying at the time that I’d only be okay with the timid, crowd-pleasing decisions, as long as the sequels weren’t just nostalgia-fueled of the originals in the same way.
The Last Jedi
It’s a complete mess of a movie from a script perspective in a lot of ways that I simply cannot defend. I only really enjoy the film as a standalone Rian Johnson, guilty-pleasure film. I am actually a fan on some of his works. Knives Out, Looper and episodes of Breaking Bad he directed all prove to be that he isn’t the hack that some people thought he was at the time.
The problems arise when this movie is supposed to be a part of a preexisting saga, and the second of third. It is such an insular, myopic take on the universe that it really feels that it doesn’t belong; especially how cleanly it wraps up in the end.
Rian Johnson is a fairly conceptual director who is obsessed with broad themes and purposely defying expectations with various twists and turns, which is fine when applied to a “whodunit” murder mystery films such as Knives Out, and a standalone, time travel, sci-fi films such as Looper. But it creates a huge divide when he’s single-handedly given the biggest intellectual property of all time. Why did they do that? Why was he not given a Star Wars story or a story that’s easier to ignore?
I think he would’ve been made an excellent choice for a director that would have given a unique style and vision; but it’s his writing choices that have fans more divided than anything. Every moment of brilliance, there is an equally stupid moment to match. There are so many decisions that I find impossible to defend or justify, especially with more time that passes. I just wish that the film was more about Luke, Ray and Kylo because of the other stuff having of little consequence in comparison. Overall, I think that his was one of the more interesting Star Wars to discuss and argue about something on platforms such as Twitter.
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The Film Listed on the Title
For some reason I had hoped that the Rise Of Skywalker would be the connective tissue that would tie everything together and make it a worthwhile journey. However I found the opposite to be the case. It is so appallingly obvious that this is a pathetic, reactionary move that is crawling up at the fans to make any of this story feel worthwhile. For me this film might be J. J Abrams’ worst, if anything, is extremely reminiscent of Star Trek: Into Darkness, which was another nostalgia-fueled remake of a better story which we’ve all watched.
His gimmick is to construct new films in a series but just used the skeleton of the previous films but with a new coat of paint and an infuriating amount of fanservice.
To tell the truth, there was a section in the middle of the movie when it began to win me over; with the band of heroes gallavanting across the galaxy collecting various MacGuffins. Kind of like Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg. They also were attempting to add some characterization to the already bland cast of new characters. However, when you take into account how messy the first act of the film as Rogue One was, the similarly confusing planet-jumping introduction, paired with the obnoxious action finale with so many ships flying and shooting at each other, being blatant overcompensation for the lack of real stakes, character drama and attention, yeah I really liked how the Emperor used funny hyper lightning hands and sent a shockwave that rippled miles into the sky. That wasn’t stupid at all.
I am usually a complete sucker for emotional moments and Star Wars but there was only one point in the movie where I felt any sort of weight. That being when Leia passes away and Chewie cries in utter pain, seeing as he’d been forced to watch every last one of his friends slowly perish around him, and he just came to the realization that he’s completely alone in this galaxy. This was a pretty cheap beat to hit because I only really cared about those characters because of my investment in the originals. Nothing they add applies any real depth or complexity, especially to Poe and Finn. I mean, they both have very little to do for the entire trilogy. What was the point for these characters? There were so one-note! We don’t see Poe become the best pilot; and Finn’s arc was completed by the first movie. I don’t blame the actors because they’re clearly giving it their all, but the material is just familiar, bland and forgettable.
The film also adds so many pointless characters that they don’t particularly feel like they add anything to the story. There are a lot of new characters in the film that are neat on an artistic and pupeteering level; but it feels so transparent in their inclusion for merchandising opportunities. It bugs me that Disney seems to think that the only thing that makes Star Wars what it is, is having crazy puppets everywhere, all the time. Yeah, they look great, but the heart is missing. We’ve seen this trick play out in five different movies and a television show. It’s really not that cute anymore.
The puppets and aliens’ special effects seem to be there more like a shiny distraction over anything with depth. The film has to put up so much exposition and set-up because of where the previous films went off. It is a hilariously packed plot that really picks and chooses what aspects it wants to explore.
There’s so many manic action that I was waiting to be handed a controller so I could play through it myself. So as a result of this utter mania, the plot feels completely unearned and rushed, with the worst instance being that the Emperor is back, which is cloying and manipulative, wasn’t set up at all and really makes no sense. It is relying on an already established character we are all invested in to serve as some dramatic purpose to this retconned and retroactively told story. I have no problem with bringing this character back in some form, but if this was the plan, why wouldn’t you explain or tease any of it in some form from the beginning, in a more satisfying manner?
The reveal that Rey was Palpatine’s granddaughter was a painfully obvious and unearned aspect to me. There is some level of sense to it that does retroactively explains the abilities from the previous two films, but again, that doesn’t feel like it was planned at all; it seemed like it awkwardly retcons large sections of The Last Jedi, making that film even more pointless to this three-part trilogy.
The fanservice in general was especially unlikeable to me. It’s always irritating when recognizable aspects of a franchise is sold for cheap. “oh I know that! *points*”
The worst bit of fanservice that annoyed me the most was when Chewbacca was the only one given a medal. Because remember, he was the only one that wasn’t given a medal in A New Hope. That’s clever. It really doesn’t feel like a grounded universe when they’re effectively referencing Fandom memes in the story.
At least Kylo Ren’s arc is completed and remained the primary aspect of interest. Though it’s a shame that all he boils down to is another Darth Vader-like redemption. Also, Rey is effectively just Luke Skywalker as a woman. She finds out that she is the relative to the baddie, only without the depth and gray area that made the original story dramatic and satisfying. Obviously the “Hero’s Journey” stories are all fairly similar to some degree, but why did the outcome have to be so identical? Is it because you genuinely couldn’t come up with anything better?
Another odd point is when Rey suddenly has the ability to bring people back from the dead? I don’t remember that being established in the universe, and it’s too important for the mechanics of the film to even work, to suddenly bring back the dead. It’s so lazy. It removes any sense of dramatic consequence when you can just undo important character deaths.
Conclusion
So basically, all we have learned from the film is this entire trilogy is a worse remake of the originals, without any of the surprises, charm, subtlety, innovation or depth that made everyone so obsessed about. After the film ended, I couldn’t help but wonder what was the point of it all. It’s such familiar territory at this point that the only way I can justify as the younger generations might get a kick of it, because it isn’t old-looking and janky. It’s full of epic battles and fights, and a camera the flings around everywhere, to get a sense of momentum to keep you distracted long enough so you don’t think about how stupid it is.
What was I talking about?
