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When I was 5, I was playing at a friend’s house. They had on this movie called Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. I didn’t watch much of it, but when I returned home, I asked my father about what this Star Wars was. He pulled out some old VHS tapes, and showed me the original trilogy. This was around March of 2005. Two months later, after binge watching all of the films, my parents took me to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in theaters that May.
I say all this to say: I grew up on these movies. They’re are apart of me, and they have inspired me to love movies and desire to learn about the overall process of making movies. I can’t wait until I have kids of my own and get to show them these films. The Rise of Skywalker was a big deal for me, and so many fans alike. This is the culmination of 42 years of Films, TV Shows, and Comics. What started out as a risky production from George Lucas, turned into the biggest pop-culture icon of all time. Lucas gave us Luke Skywalker, one of the coolest heroes in all of movies, Darth Vader, the greatest villain of all time, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and so many more, the list goes on and on. This was going to be the ending of an entire saga, wrapping it up in a way that reflects the spirit of the entirety of Star Wars.
Disney’s trilogy has been nothing less of a controversial topic. The Force Awakens was going to be a film that reinvented the series with fresh characters and a new story, but ended up being a photocopy of A New Hope. Not to say I didn’t like it, I did enjoy it. It just wasn’t what I expected. The Last Jedi was a film I enjoyed a lot. It felt fresh while still honoring the films that came before, and it didn’t fear to veer away from the corporate hand over it. The Rise of Skywalker was a film meant to tie up both this trilogy, and the entire saga, and had a lot to do in the process.
This film felt like it was made to rewrite the supposed ‘mistakes’ of The Last Jedi, and it focused too heavily on that. Things happen in this film that were clearly meant to undo things that happened in the previous film. There is a moment in this film that is put in it just to undo something done, and while it’s treated as small, it’s something that could’ve been a very cool story to watch.
There are a lot of things that don’t make sense. The way certain events unfold don’t feel natural. So much of the film feels rushed and off due to weird pacing. The film doesn’t know when to slow down and embrace these characters and the adventure they’re on. The first hour and fifteen minutes were either too fast or too slow.
The stakes were bland. This is the fight of a lifetime for these characters. Poe even makes a point to say that if they don’t win, it’s all over. They either win here, or the galaxy falls to the Sith. You don’t feel those stakes at all. I’ve never cared so less for the outcome and the characters of a movie until I sat in this one. The first two acts feel like just another Star Wars adventure, and not a movie concluding an entire saga. They don’t set up these stakes until the third act when the action has already begun!
The script felt so lazily written. It wasn’t a horrible story, but it was boring. By no means did I hate it, it just didn’t work for me on a scripted level. The dialogue fell flat a lot and the characters didn’t feel naturally fleshed out.
I just felt like this film could’ve been so much more. It could’ve been something so different, and it just wasn’t.
To be honest with you, if I could put it best, this film, as a Star Wars fan, it broke me.
That’s right, I said it
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker broke me.
Star Wars is supposed to be a beautiful story about Good versus Evil, fighting the good fight, overcoming obstacles, and becoming a hero among all of the tragedies of life. The film tried to be that, but it just couldn’t get there. This film, from the trailers, wore the mask of a Star Wars film that defines the saga and honors the spirit of the films. It was supposed to be a film the truly embraced what Star Wars is supposed to be, and underneath, it was a bland, clunky, and convoluted plot that wasn’t sure what kind of film it wanted to be.
The film had a lot of nostalgia, and while a lot of it was cool, it definitely relied a little too much on it.
There were moments I remember feeling like I was watching two different movies, or at the least a movie that should’ve been two different movies. On one hand you have a film about Kylo Ren discovering his true path, and on the other you have a film about the resistance trying to stop a plot to destroy the galaxy.
Now, I’m aware that all of the films prior to this one have multiple subplots that are separate until they are brought together, but these subplots just didn’t work together well, and ruined the pacing. When they were finally intertwined, it didn’t feel natural and just made the story clunkier than it already was.
I don’t want to continue on what I didn’t like. I actually did enjoy the film.
Visually speaking this is one of the greatest Star Wars films we’ve gotten ever. The action is beautiful, and the third act action wise is phenomenal. There were so many moments where I cheered and became giddy with excitement from what I was seeing on screen. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and say the third act was one of the best third acts in Star Wars.
The lightsaber fights were well choreographed and tremendously acted, especially the final two.
I also want to add this is the best Rey and Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo we’ve gotten in the trilogy. They worked well together and their fights were so fun to watch on screen. Finn and Poe were so interesting and probably one of the best duos since Han and Luke. I know I said I didn’t care about the characters, but, these were some that ended up pulling me in.
There were a lot of great moments in this film. There are three moments that truly hit me as a fan, and made me feel that little Star Wars spirit. I don’t want to spoil who, but there is a death of a character and another character’s reaction is truly one of the most heartbreaking moments of the film.
Overall, I don’t want this to sound like I hated this movie. I didn’t, it’s Star Wars, no matter what I’ll still love it to an extant. But it just didn’t work for me as a film. Is it one of my favorites? Not at all. Is it one of my least favorites? Not at all.
If you loved this film, great. I don’t want to take that from you, I’m glad you loved it. I want to feel that. I want nothing more than to watch this film and love every second of it, but I just didn’t, and it sucks because it just didn’t work for me. That’s what I’ll say. It lacked the spirit of the series and broke me as a fan. What I mean by that is my heart was broken. I wanted something unique and fresh to beautifully complete this saga, and I got a film that felt like something I had seen somewhere else. This film had a boring but clunky plot, but was nevertheless entertaining. I told my buddy if this is the conclusion I have to have, I’ll take it. Do I want something else? Very much so.
My hope lies within projects like The Mandalorian and Disney’s announced Obi-Wan Kenobi project, as well as more unique films being brought to the table now that The Skywalker Saga is complete.
I give Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a 6.5/10.
Written by Tyler Siedell
