SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Rise of Skywalker has some Star Wars magic to spare, but its conspicuous lack of impact makes it a deeply flawed trilogy cap, and a less-than-ideal curtain call for both cast and crew.
So here we are: at the end at last. With The Rise of Skywalker, both Disney and Lucasfilm strive to create a beyond spectacular final chapter befitting a series of films nearly 45 years in the making. Seen from that perspective, their failure to succeed is unsurprising. This is less the definitive full stop and more a trailing ellipsis, scrawled in messy handwriting at the end of this sentence. The Star Wars galaxy is cursed, not by the machinations of a seemingly resurrected Emperor Palpatine, but by the near-universal law that, if a trilogy of films is set to flop, it will do so in the third act.
Star Wars is cyclical, and to quote George Lucas: it’s like poetry, it rhymes. Kids in my generation grew up loving the prequels even though they were panned by older fans on release. We didn’t know or even care what they thought, and so as the years passed, they took on cult status. I take it as an indication that whenever the next set of films arrive, history will repeat itself. To the next generation, the whole sequel trilogy will be beloved. But for now, Episode IX is the flawed final act. The galaxy is under threat from the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), who has seemingly returned from the grave with a dire threat: submit or be crushed. Our heroes, including Jedi-in-training Rey (Daisy Ridley), Resistance heroes Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac), and General Leia (Carrie Fisher) are the ones tasked with ending his evil once and for all, with Leia’s lost son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) returning to complicate matters, especially for Rey, with whom he remains bonded through the Force.
The main cast do well, no small feat given that The Rise of Skywalker is best summed up as a “complicated matter”. Ridley shines and Driver delivers his best performance in the whole trilogy. Their story has been central to the sequels, and they give their all to see it resolved. The chemistry between them is such that you begin to question the necessity of having Rey adventure around the galaxy with Finn and Poe in tow; Isaac and Boyega work well as a duo, but putting the trio together is a move that doesn’t pay off. It feels inorganic, and emblematic of a Star Wars film lost in its own process, whose plot decisions feel as though they were chosen by majority vote in an executive committee. Side characters, whether they’re returning like Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose, or newly introduced like Naomi Ackie’s Jannah or Keri Russell’s Zorii Bliss, are sidelined but unfortunately such is a side character’s lot in this sequel trilogy. Richard E. Grant models Allegiant General Pryce after Peter Cushing’s iconic portrayal of Tarkin, but is given little to no room to expand. Tran’s drastically reduced role is a pointed suggestion of oversensitivity to what was being said online.
The central character drama works thanks to the cast, but it’s undercut by the misguided thinking that plot exists independent of our characters, who are largely passive and have to go along with whatever the writers dream up. Episode IX travels at light-speed, introducing plot twists and retcons galore, and only a select few wind up having any impact at all thanks to their messy, offhand execution. Other times, there’s a distinct lack of courage and conviction; all too often, the film makes impressively bold decisions only to roll them back and withdraw ten minutes later. For this final episode, I’d come to expect consolidation and conclusion, rather than flat plot twists and hasty eleventh hour retcons at the hands of people who evidently didn’t know how to follow up on The Last Jedi.
But did I still enjoy it? You bet I did. While watching our characters being tossed around at the whims of the writers, I was still thrilled by the film’s many impressive sequences. Episode IX is the home of several of this trilogy’s most awe-inspiring set pieces; we get beautifully choreographed lightsaber duels, spectacular displays of Force power and little nuggets of fanservice and nods to previous films that, as a fan, I absolutely loved. Whether it’s the special effects or John Williams’ soundtrack, it’s extremely generous with signature Star Wars magic. What detracts from my observation that the film itself is deeply flawed is the fact that, at points, I was both enraptured and deliriously happy. Flawed it may be, but sometimes those flaws didn’t seem so important.
This might not have been the ideal, definitive conclusion it could have been. After all, it seems as though there’s no ignoring the awkward place it leaves the sequel trilogy, or indeed the place it leaves the whole Skywalker Saga as a whole. But, taking into account the set-pieces, the fanservice and the joyous delirium, it didn’t actually leave me with any bad feelings. Make of that what you will.
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