"The Rise of Skywalker" is a Visually Slick, but Rushed Conclusion to the Franchise

By: Keaton Marcus

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60/100 “sweet/sour”

Yes, it’s here, the ninth and final installment (for now) to the epic Skywalker saga, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker". Director J.J Abrams is finally back in the chair to film a conclusion that benefits from its visually slick action, and performances—but is also a stuffy, chaotic and rushed end. It’s truly a dash to the finish line, which is jam-packed with action and storyline, but never truly reaches greatness. Scream your heads off for the nostalgia, stare in awe at the final battle, and cry for the loss of iconic characters, but audiences may not be able to shake off the missed opportunity. Overall, the cinema will be all over the place, negative, mixed, positive, you won’t be able to tell. Abrams did his best, and who was expecting a perfect final. It’s far from the worst installment, but it’s nowhere near the classics. What’s good is that it's just 144 minutes, around forty minutes less than "Avengers: Endgame", not nearly as good, but at least you don't have to sit in a theater for three hours!

Taking place directly after the events of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", Abrams continues to cleverly focus on the three main characters. The gang is back, Rey (another strong outing from Daisy Ridley) is progressing in her training with the force, obeying her new master Princess Leia (the late Carrie Fisher) and getting notably more powerful. Meanwhile Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac as always, stiff-chinned, serious, etc.), Finn (John Boyega nailing every line), Chewie (Joonas Suotamo) and of course, the beloved droid BB-8 attempt to get info on the First Order. Kylo Ren (a superb Adam Driver), now supreme leader, is on a journey to discover the whereabouts of the assumed deceased Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), desperate to destroy him. To a lot of people, the special effects and heavy reliance on fan-service will be enough, but they stuffed way to much for one 2 hour 22 minute film.

Abrams nails a lot of things, and gets farther than expected on course-correcting Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi”. Yes, its true, Abrams got so many things right, yet so many incorrect. It's a film that has the positives fight with the negatives. Ridley and Driver's performances are excellent, and the scope is solid, but it’s also an objectively messy movie. Some of these factors make it worth seeing, but some also deserve a note of the possibility of disappointment. Audiences just can’t go into the theater expecting the best film in the saga, they are going to do it for the excitement of seeing the conclusion. Fans of the controversial “The Last Jedi” will despise this movie, however, if you truly want to see everything in that movie as side-lined as possible, this is for you.

It's more than reasonable to comment that Ridley's Rey and Driver's Ren are the two shining stars of the turbulent movie. Throughout the non-stop action sequences, and eye-candy, we get sufficient moments of intimacy, emotion, and conflict between the carefully constructed two main characters. There's a tremendous light-saber battle near the finale, and the entire arc of Rey combating against the temptations of the dark side is nothing less than stellar. It’s not without its flaws though as we get a sneak peek of the satanic version of her, donning the double-bladed, red saber, and boasting retractable teeth. It’s as silly as it sounds, and frankly unnecessary. Perhaps not what we've been hoping for. However, Ridley and Driver have successfully become the new iconic duo, after Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia.

You already confirmed that the 2015-2019 trilogy boasted some spectacular visual effects, but honestly, you've seen nothing as much of a spectacle as "The Rise of Skywalker". From the gothic, horrifying design of Palpatine's resting hideout, to the classically retro, yet completely modern Resistance vs. First Order fight, cinematographer Daniel Mindel pegs every shot with beautiful attention to detail. There’s something euphoric about it all, but if only the crew knew how to make an airtight final chapter. We all expected that Episode IX wouldn’t please everyone, but they still could have executed it better. What happens to be a recurring issue is the production gets lost in exposition, and as an excuse, the movie bombards viewers with nostalgia. To be fair, the film is not without some great moments, with signature franchise humor popping up frequently. This will be enough for some fans, but for others wanting excellency, binge the best of the franchise at home.

The final opinion is: “The Rise of Skywalker” brings gorgeous visuals and some noteworthy performances to the table, but despite Abrams’ best efforts, it ends a cluttered and rushed final…$TREAM IT

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening: 177.3M

Domestic Total: 515.2M

Worldwide Total: 1.074B