Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Oh how thou art fallen
As I write this, I’m currently in a line to pay for groceries while I ponder on what I just saw.
Yes, the title of this piece gives it away. I just saw the ninth core Star Wars movie and instead of leaving the cinema hall in a state of absolute elation, I feel absolutely nothing.
When I state in a review that a movie is well shot and that the actors do the best with what they’re given, you know that I am not enthusiastic about what I’ve just seen.
What did I witness exactly? I witnessed the end of The Skywalker Saga and I witnessed another third episode in a trilogy fail to live up to the lofty expectations that people had.
It may please the general populace who eat up space dogfights and interesting looking light saber duels but the totality of the effect is hollow (at least for me).
While reviewing this movie, it’s hard not to compare the other Star Wars trilogies; they’ve all had their issues. Some where good, some where great and some where forgettable (I see you The Attack of the Clone).
Which movie stands at the top is purely subjective of course but I expect that this one will stand at the bottom of many a list.
The story kicks off years after The Last Jedi (we aren’t told exactly how long though) and the Rebellion have to take down The First Order once and for all. That’s the basic story.
We get to see more of Rey and Kylo Ren go through a battle of wills and I’ll say that this dynamic is the most interesting thing about this new trilogy.
We see old faces, meet new characters that aren’t all that memorable (for now) and see a Star Wars movie do what it does best with state-of-the-art special effects and epic space battles but I’d trade it all for character buildup which we don’t get much of here.
In the end, I didn’t enjoy this movie. It was all over the place and jumped from location to location without letting us breathe. It doesn’t feel relentless, it just feels tiring and like someone was trying really hard not to piss off the fan-base.
See it because you want to see how it all ends. See it because you like films that provide fan service. See it because you totally disliked The Last Jedi and wanted safe and not new. See it because you’re curious to see what Star Wars is all about. If the above doesn’t apply to you, don’t bother because this film isn’t going to make you a fan.
Final verdict: 4/10
