(screenplay by Chris Terrio & J.J. Abrams / directed by J.J. Abrams)
I am probably the stereotypical STAR WARS fan of a certain age. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is my favorite. I hated Ewoks, well, until I saw Jar Jar Binks and the generally forgettable prequels. Now the little fuzzballs from the moon of Endor seem like intelligent creatures to me.
I enjoyed THE FORCE AWAKENS, even with its similarity to A NEW HOPE, and embraced the possibilities of the next two films. Those possibilities died with THE LAST JEDI. Stupid humor surrounded the return of Luke Skywalker while Chewbacca was shamed for being a carnivore and then a painfully long detour to a Vegas planet, which was ultimately just an excuse to preach against rich people and alien horse racing, bored me to tears. Disney should save its soapbox screenplays for its already tepid one-off STAR WARS films.
Then there is THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. I have seen it twice, once in the theater and once on DVD. I don't know how other fans feel, but I wanted something different than THE LAST JEDI, but I don't think I wanted a remake of RETURN OF THE JEDI.
The nostalgia is so amped up in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER that it makes THE FORCE AWAKENS seem like a fresh sci-fi romp. The Emperor is alive and is still obsessed with conquering the galaxy. This plot twist seemed to come out of nowhere and was done before in a comic book series.
The action is non-stop, but feels slow as molasses, as our heroes valiantly pretend they have memorable character traits and actual chemistry together. They go from one so-called action scene to the next on a scavenger hunt to find the key that will lead them to Emperor Palpatine. C-3PO and Chewbacca make this plot detour tolerable. Once again, the original trilogy characters shine like lightsabers in the underbelly of Cloud City.
Speaking of original characters, (CAUTION: possible SPOILERS in this paragraph) I once inquired to the whereabouts of Lando and Wedge. Well, this film FINALLY gave me an answer and I was thrilled to see them again! Now, I have another question. Would THE RISE OF SKYWALKER have been a different, and perhaps better film if Carrie Fisher had been alive to fully reprise her iconic role of General (Princess) Leia? Tragically, we will never know. Sadly, the best scene in this film, only because it is the only emotionally authentic moment, is when Chewbacca reacts to the news of Leia's death. His howl of pure agony still haunts me.
In conclusion, THE RISE OF SKYWALKER isn't the worst film in this trilogy (or series) but it isn't great. Actually, it's rather tedious until the last 20 minutes or so. I only saw it because I'm OCD about completing a set of films, and supposedly this is the end of the Skywalker saga. Yet, knowing Disney, STAR WARS is far from over, but I'm done. Yes, I've heard THE MANDALORIAN is amazing and Baby (not really) Yoda is super adorable, but I don't subscribe to Disney+ and I really don't give a crap. So, yes, my golden companion, this agony is finally at an end.
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind review.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. My "nice" review of THE LAST JEDI...
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