Getting right to the point, the actual ending of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a satisfying conclusion. Now, how we get there over almost two-and-a-half-hours is an interesting bag.
There is a decent amount to appreciate in J.J. Abrams’ end of the trilogy, that he commenced back in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Yes, there is a lot of fan service—like a ton, and that sometimes can get in the way of some actual forward dramatic momentum and plot movement. I can see why The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson recently said that “approaching any creative process with [making fandoms happy] would be a mistake that would lead to probably the exact opposite result.” I suspect Johnson hadn’t seen Rise of Skywalker when he made the statement. It was more of a warning shot quote. Now, did Abrams deliver fan service to the point where it blurred the joyous factor for the audience?
That’s complicated.
Since this is a spoiler-free review, there will be little in terms of plot details. What can be said is that Abrams has adequately taken the baton from Johnson (who gave us a riskier, more robust return to the galaxy far, far away than was presented with The Force Awakens). I very much enjoyed Abrams’ first Star Wars movie, but at the end of the day, it sure felt a whole lot like A New Hope. It was Johnson with his sequel to Abrams’ Episode 7 that truly shook things up. He took chances. He decimated a character who we were led to believe was the Geppetto to Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. Johnson also orchestrated what I believe is one of the more epic single person battle sequences in the entire nine-film series (when Kylo and Luke go mano-a-mano—with a few military folks joining in of course).
Picking up almost immediately after the close of Episode 8, we catch up with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), General Organa (Carrie Fisher), Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), BB8 and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) in various locales across the galaxy trying to figure out their next move after the events of The Last Jedi. The story is slow to get going, but by the time we hit the 45-minute mark, Abrams has orchestrated what proves to be a relentless barrage of action sequences, thrills and even a few chills. Yes, there are even a few moments that will find yourself getting a little misty-eyed. Must admit that I even teared a bit when the whole thing was over. But that probably more has to do with the fact that this film is the true end of the Skywalker Saga and everything we’ve gone through over four decades. That’s a lot of emotional investment. To witness it fade to black, that’s some powerful internally driven emotion.
That’s part of the problem with this new trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, I dig the new characters and think the fresh generation is solidly created. It’s just that there is nowhere near the emotive connection to them as was achieved by the actors and actresses inhabiting the characters in Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Han Solo (Harrison Ford), then Princess Leia (Fisher), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Ben Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) and the whole lot firmly pulled at our heartstrings from the first film. We got to know them through the final flick in that trilogy. They had evolved into complex, full-bodied, three-dimensional intergalactic characters. Over the course of the last three films, there has been a bevy of beautiful action sequences that will send the pulse higher, but not as deep of a connection between what is happening onscreen and our collective hearts. Therefore, when the end does arrive, the wistfulness comes from a place of nostalgia and firm connection with every single one of those characters.
The new batch were cast impeccably. Cannot imagine anyone else playing any single one of these parts, nor would I want to. Ridley brings to life Rey in such a way that millions upon millions of little girls (and boys) are drawn to her, what with her fierceness and stellar moral code that drives her. The bromance between Poe and Finn is honestly the best aspect of their characters’ journey and Isaac and Boyega brilliantly bring that to life. Yet, after Finn was introduced to us in The Force Awakens, the ball was kind of dropped on filling in more about this former Stormtrooper than the basics that were presented in Episode 7. Same could be said for Isaac’s Poe. Those are just two examples, but you get the idea that there was something missing.
I think that over the course of the first two movies in Abrams’ trilogy, it seemed not that important. Or, it would be something that added to the running time, so exposition and backstory was slighted. I know what you’re probably saying. This is the guy always nit-picks scripts and directors who do too much exposition and now you’re saying that Star Wars 7, 8 and 9 are sorely missing them? Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. It becomes glaringly real, specifically, as things get wrapped up and that lack of a poignant connection makes the finale of a nine-picture saga feel a tad empty.
Ridley is something else and her character is given the most attention, script-wise, from The Force Awakens through The Rise of Skywalker. It shows, especially in those final moments. She truly is the one who’s universe this epic story orbits. As such, there is a stirring feeling of pride and valor that emanates from audience to screen. What, with her challenging life that she had to endure since her parents abandoned for safety. She was forced her to grow up continually wondering who they were, where they were and what would they think of their little girl. In the hands of Ridley, it’s been a rich trip through her tale. An actress of lesser mettle would have failed to connect viewers and move us enthusiastically.
Abrams was an interesting choice to be director from the get-go. After rebooting Star Trek, much was made about him, essentially, creatively controlling two of the biggest Hollywood sci-fi franchises on earth. Whatever he decided were the ways of the Force, it was going to be the ways of the Force throughout—right up to the “has to be” epic conclusion. After all, Disney (who bought Lucasfilm in 2012) had made it clear that the Skywalker saga was going to be a nine-picture tale. After that, the world of Star Wars would embark on entirely new directions, far, far away from the Hamill character and his wide-spanning shadow.
What he achieved with his Star Wars trilogy must be addressed. Abrams’ flicks were never going to possess the resonance that was achieved by Lucas with his first three films. That’s not a bad thing. It’s like a dog chasing its tail. You’re never going to live up to what that pop culture seismic arrival was that began in 1977. But what Abrams did do was manage to stay in his lane and never take too many risks (unlike Johnson and that highly debatable middle chapter). Should we have expected anything less from the filmmaker? No, in hindsight, absolutely not. Did he present us a trilogy that will be easily forgotten? I don’t believe so. But it has been an extremely divisive journey since it began in 2015.
Many who loathed the first Abrams film, found what Johnson did invigorating. Others, who loved what Abrams did, despised what Johnson presented and even went so far as to say the filmmaker had ruined the entire franchise. Of course, he didn’t do that. Looking back over these three films, each has their place. Each makes the others better … it’s true! I firmly believe that Johnson forced Abrams to dig deeper and to deliver something with a lot more mettle than the New Hope rehash he crafted with The Force Awakens. As such, there is much that occurs in The Rise of Skywalker that elevated what was laid out in The Force Awakens.
Further proof of the lack of connection between audience and new trilogy characters is the arrival of Keri Russell’s Zorii Bliss. I’m not sure, exactly, what her purpose was—even if The Americans actress is as compelling as ever. There’s a bit of a flirty exchange between her and Poe that seems woven through the script to pay lip service to those who believe that Abrams has crafted a Star Wars landscape where love and even flirting are at a minimum. She’s a phenomenal actress, working at the top of her game. What she was given to embody via the script was more two-dimensional than that new droid, D-0 (voiced by Abrams).
Abrams co-wrote the script with Chris Terrio, one of the writers from Justice League. As a whole it is serviceable. There’s lots to enjoy from a Star Wars fanatic point of view. Just don’t dig too deeply under the surface. It’s like cinematic cotton candy. It’s delicious when you first enjoy it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not every motion picture needs to knock you out with its prose.
Hoping to get a little more substance with my Star Wars, after what Johnson gave us, was probably too much to expect. What was received, instead, was something viscerally visually pleasing with a small slide of emotive enlightenment. Films with resonance firmly thread their characters with layered richness. Despite everything they go through, that much remains constant.
For what it’s worth, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, if taken for what Lucas intended his films to be from the get-go—geared towards children—then Abrams’ latest film did its job. After all, there should be a little kid firmly in each one of us. With Star Wars, for a few hours, every once in a while, we get to be young again. That much … is priceless.
Film Grade: B