Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Tonight I went and saw “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” which came out nine days ago. This movie has been getting a mixed response from critics and audience members, but is it as bad as people have been making it out to be? Well, like I always do, I went in without reading any of the critics’ review, so I’ll let you know what I thought about it.

“Something old, something new” appears like the defining philosophy when it comes to the third and final trilogy of films taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Matt Brunson said in his review, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and now Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have all cannily placed familiar motifs in new packaging, a mixing and matching that has drawn praise in some quarters while earning vilification in others. Lifelong Star Wars fans have perhaps been more lenient while naysayers have definitely been more critical — those factors clearly come into play with this new picture, which is the least of the three yet still manages to send the series off in a satisfactory manner.”

Spoilers are absolutely forbidden with the “Star Wars” movies, but it appears in the opening scrawl and even some of the marketing, it’s no surprise to find out that Emperor Palpatine, reprised by Ian McDiarmid, somehow has come back alive and wants to reclaim his rule of status among the galaxy’s primary villains. Seeing that something is wrong, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), joined with Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), C-3PO (Anthony Daniela) and BB-8, fly off following a series of clues while General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher, with unused footage from “The Force Awakens”) and R2-D2 stay with the troops. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren, reprised by Adam Driver, continues to follow his own way to galaxy domination.

That’s a scary short synopsis, but the more surprises, the better when it comes to this latest installment. Absolutely, there’s more about the movie that annoys and might even irritate. Brunson noted, “Starting with Palpatine, the dead have a way of returning with absurd frequency — Star Wars has always been about sacrifice as much as anything, but when characters can repeatedly bounce back like video game avatars, it takes away much of the meaning and import.” The amazing tension between Kylo Ren and the easily annoyed General Hux, played by Domhnall Gleeson, has been a complete highlight of this trilogy, and the way where it’s suddenly shortened is very disappointing. Brunson admitted, “While Palpatine is certainly a fan favorite (albeit not a fave of mine), he’s basically the same one-note villain as before — like one of those dolls where you pull the string and it repeats the same five or six phrases, he seems capable of only uttering dialogue along the lines of “Come to the Dark Side” and “Give in to your hate.” And speaking of dialogue, some of the lines placed in the mouths of other characters (courtesy of director J.J. Abrams and Argo Oscar winner Chris Terrio) are awfully clunky, recalling George Lucas’ lesser moments with the prequels.”

However, nitpicks are small compared to the praises of the films. The relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren stays completely complex and quarreled, and this storyline occurs in a completely emotional way. Rey is given some necessary backstory that lets her get some unanswered questions, while Poe Dameron is finally allowed to fully evolve as a character. Besides from a horrible CGI version of a youthful Luke Skywalker, reprised by Mark Hamill, and Leia, the effects are always phenomenal. We also have Lando Calrissian back! Even though he was noticeably MIA in the last two movies that improves his delayed appearance here and Billy Dee Williams is showing he’s really enjoying himself here.

Lando isn’t the film’s only recap from the past. Brunson mentioned, “Since this is (supposedly) the final chapter in the Skywalker saga, there’s a “Greatest Hits” feel to the film, with all manner of past players making cameos: a veteran X-Wing pilot, disembodied Jedi masters, even those infernal Endor furries. And the final shot is perfect, invoking a bit of John Ford mythmaking while bringing the saga full circle in a way that’s immensely fulfilling rather than forced.”

As much as I like this film, which I do, I still prefer and believe that “Return of the Jedi” was the definitive cap on the franchise. The sequel trilogy for me didn’t really satisfy me completely, even though I do like them. The entire second act of this film felt like the final act from “Return of the Jedi” especially the last lines which felt like it was copying what Kate Winslet’s character did in “Titanic.” Still, those entire criticisms aside, it was a nice ending to this series and hopefully they're not planning another trilogy to the main series. Just leave it alone now. If Disney wants to keep making Anthology movies, I would be happy about that, since I hear a lot of origin stories on different characters that I think would be nice to see. I still think everyone should see this movie and see it for themselves. If you want to see how this trilogy closes, see it and judge for yourself if you get disappointed like certain people, or love it like others. I will give this film the benefit of the doubt and award it with a 10+.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”