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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Movie Review

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a 2019 space opera film directed by J. J. Abrams and starring Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. It’s a solid, but messy conclusion to this trilogy.

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“Long have I waited and now,

your coming together is your undoing“

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Coming into The Rise of Skywalker, I’d had extremely low expectations. I personally liked ‘The Force Awakens’ quite a bit, but I do acknowledge it is such a lazy entry in the series that cashes in on nostalgia hugely. I am definitely ‘The Last Jedi’ guy myself. I find that movie to be a hidden gem, and a future masterpiece of Star Wars films.

Naturally, being more a fan of that film, I knew this one was going to retcon most of its fresh, new ideas in favor of appealing to the weakest, loudest franchise fans. And they did just that, but I lowered my expectations so low that I ended up really enjoying this film despite it being so immensely problematic. There is a lesson to be had here – never have big expectations, quite the opposite as that can lead to a pleasant surprise.

Let’s first talk about each and every character, and there I will touch upon the major twists and plot points of which there are many as this movie is crowded and very messy. So here we go. I actually really like Ray throughout this trilogy, she’s just as good, if not better than Luke himself, and she serves as a fine, though overpowered protagonist. Daisy Ridley did a great job in this installment, especially in her very well executed action sequences.

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Her being a Palpatine, his granddaughter to be precise, was problematic. At least she isn’t a Skywalker, but she did become one in name only in that terribly cheesy, stupid last scene which I hated. Overall, I am mixed with this one. On the one hand, they decided to retcon both of its predecessors annoyingly so as her being a nobody was a great, refreshing development. But on the other hand, it did lead to some cool fights, and that very memorable final showdown with the emperor.

Speaking of Palpatine, I actually really liked what they did with him here. I did not find it a disservice to Anakin or anything, quite the contrary as he was a badass villain once again here. I do realize with his plan and how he assembled his army that it all seemed very stupid, but I do not care about that kind of action or military stuff so I didn’t mind it. I also realize with the life energy and getting back to life, they changed the canon significantly. But as a casual fan, I loved how powerful he was, and that whole final fight with him was great in my opinion. They done him well here, at least for me.

As for Kylo Ren, I also really liked him. He’s a great character whom I ultimately really liked in this trilogy, and of course Adam Driver is very good in the role. Yes, he became good here which was to be expected, and yes, the Reylo shippers can rejoice now, but I actually loved their chemistry throughout the trilogy, it was intense and powerful so it made sense to me. It felt like a soap opera, but an undeniably entertaining one. Their scenes together are all the best parts of this whole film.

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So yes, I like these main characters and the villain, but that meant that all others suffered as a result of lesser focus, development and screen time. I hated the ghost apparitions of Luke, Leia and also that Han Solo stupid scene. The movie serves as a good conclusion to all the nine movies, but a weak conclusion to this particular trilogy because of all that excessive nostalgia.

Finn and Poe both share solid chemistry, and their bromance is excellent. But again they did not get much to do, and both are relegated to the most tedious military, flying and combat action scenes which always personally bore me. The new female characters are thoroughly unnecessary and underdeveloped, and how they used Rose in such small capacity frustrated me to no end as I loved her in the previous movie. That choice was problematic on so many levels.

As for all of the robots, yes, they are childish, the film is very child-oriented for sure. But most SW movies are like that so I am fine with it. What I appreciated is the humor in those scenes which is actually excellent. It just might be the funniest entry in the whole franchise, and one of the most entertaining as well.

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Yes, The Rise of Skywalker is a lot of fun. It is briskly paced and rushed, but that was the problem with the previous movies which did not get much done so this one had a lot on its plate. Still, the movie is very enjoyable because the action is very strong, and not that overwhelming actually, and the adventure elements are actually fantastic with the highlight being that underground tunnel with the snake.

The whole first half of the movie was a very appealing, classic Star Wars action-adventure material. I loved how fun this film was, and I loved its humor as well as all of the lightsaber battles. The Kylo/Ray scenes are electrifying and the two steal the show from all the others very easily. The movie is also very well scored and with great special effects, and some very memorable imagery throughout. I just wish it was less corporate-manufactured to please the fans, and more original in terms of storytelling.

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Coming into The Rise of Skywalker, I’d had very low expectations, so I ended up really liking the film, and finding it solid overall. There lies a great lesson for everyone – always hold your expectations on the lower end of the spectrum as otherwise the movie-going experience can turn out to be very disappointing. As a fan of its predecessor, the fact that they decided to retcon all of its great ideas really bothered me, but still I found its major twist solid, and all of the lightsaber battles in this movie are excellent too. The film’s supporting characters are a total waste of time, but Palpatine is excellent, and all of Ray/Kylo scenes are scene-stealers how electrifying they are. It’s a hugely entertaining film with some actually very strong humor and adventure elements, but it shrank the universe so badly with some very unfortunate, cheesy and stupid decisions to appeal to the dumbest SW fans out there.