Rated PG-13

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDiarmid, Richard Grant, Billy Dee Williams and many more  

In a year filled with several big time series conclusions such as Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, and the eighth season of Game of Thrones, Lucasfilm is continuing the trend with a finale to one of the most iconic series in cinematic history.

Disclaimer: This review will be completely void of spoilers for the film and as a result, the plot summary will be kept to the bare minimum.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the ninth and final installment of Star Wars’ Skywalker Saga and once again puts the spotlight on Rey, along with Finn and Poe Dameron. In the midst of Rey’s training to become a Jedi, Finn and Poe make a shocking discovery that puts the fate of the Resistance into question. To prevent a complete domination from the First Order, led by Palpatine, who has mysteriously returned, Rey, Finn, Poe and the rest of the Resistance begin their final battle for the galaxy.

The Star Wars franchise has been in a bizarre place as it may have started out strong in its return with the financial and critical successes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; however, the mixed reception of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the box-office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and numerous behind-the-scenes issues have left fans questioning the direction of the franchise. In a world where Marvel succeeded and then some with their ten-year run, ending with Avengers: Endgame, it is shocking how Star Wars has not been able to find its footing with the fandom. Even with a strong marketing campaign and a recent boost in admiration for The Mandalorian’s first season, can Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker handle the pressure of uniting fans, while also concluding an iconic nine-movie saga? 

Oddly enough, Skywalker may be flawed to a point that has made it divisive to the movie-going public. Yet, its notable strengths end up making this film a solid conclusion to the Skywalker Saga as a whole.

No matter where people will land on how much the problems bother them with Skywalker, it is hard to deny that this is, at the very least, a fun movie. The primary source of this joy comes from the vision of J.J. Abrams and his dedication to crafting moments of energy and fun in the classic Star Wars vein. A clear example of that would be how every set piece and action scene contains a terrific sense of inventiveness, intensity and spectacle that make them enjoyable in the exact same way that has made audiences flock to Star Wars as a franchise from day one. Again, even if the viewer’s mileage may vary on how they feel about the movie as a whole, all of these aspects make Skywalker worthy of seeing in an IMAX-level theater.

Helping out the classic blockbuster fun that Star Wars has always been praised for is the outstanding sense of camaraderie between the main characters. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Issac have some terrific chemistry that leaps off the screen in both the heat of the moment, and the scenes where the story becomes more personal. This primarily stems from how the bond between the three of them, along with old and new characters such as Chewbacca and Zori, is completely believable, much like it was with the original trio of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Since this is one of the film’s most notable themes, the fact that the camaraderie between Rey, Finn and Poe is extremely strong and heartfelt certainly helps Skywalker to be a rousing success in that regard.

Above all else, what is undoubtedly one of the biggest takeaways of the Skywalker, and the entire sequel trilogy as a whole, is the character and the journey Daisy Ridley took with Rey. Her character has been a recent fan favorite for good reason as this film does excellent work with her entire story over the course of the running time. They make a character who could have been easily been portrayed one-dimensionally kind yet overpowered into someone who feels completely realized in the outstanding characterization of her. It certainly helps that Rey has been quite a lot of quality time to develop in this film, along with the previous two, as Daisy Ridley uses that care and time given to bring this character into an incredibly high stratosphere. Adding on to it is how the theme of Rey’s arc within the story itself is not only good on paper–it was certainly executed to an appreciable degree. Actually, that sentiment goes alongside Skywalker’s other core themes as well and it certainly makes this film one with a lot to like.

Unfortunately, these qualities are tainted by a sea of important issues that sadly demote this movie to a lesser stratosphere. There is no other reason for this dilemma more obvious than how, for a Star Wars movie, the story, plot and structure are all handled in a surprisingly sloppy manner. In the history of Star Wars films, one commonality between all of them is that they are at the very least coherent and comprehensible stories that can be easily understood, no matter how complex they may be. Here, Skywalker instead feels more convoluted and overly confusing due to introducing too many characters, unclear key plot points and devices that seem to be incorporated lacking a sense of rhyme or reason. With this issue in mind, it makes the merits of the story harder to enjoy because the viewer is too lost or downright frustrated by the messy plot. Making matters worse is how the film’s pacing feels oddly too breakneck for its own good, never giving enough time for the story to fully form. On top of that, smaller moments are nearly left out of the spotlight, contributing to the overwhelming feeling of clumsiness.

If the cluttered nature of  Skywalker is not disappointing enough, then fans of Star Wars: The Last Jedi should brace themselves for what this film has to offer for their enjoyment. This film simply does not take anywhere near the amount of bold and appreciable risks as its predecessor, opting for a much safer approach. Even for those who may not have been a fan of those risks Skywalker’s overly safe nature feels like a decision made from laziness; unlike Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where the use of familiar plot elements and visual aesthetics were done with a careful and loving eye. 

Shockingly enough, the clear differences between Star Wars: The Last Jedi are not only present in the style of the creative choices as the choices themselves backtrack on its predecessor even further. A handful of critical plot points from the last film are flat-out retconned in Skywalker with little done to hide it. As a sequel and a conclusion to this trilogy of movies and the entire saga, Skywalker utterly fail in terms of providing a streamlined experience for moviegoers.

Another unfortunate casualty of this distancing act is the character of Kylo Ren having a disappointingly weak role in the film. Adam Driver may have been giving it his all, per usual for the character. Yet, the decisions made with Kylo Ren and where the story led were either poor from the get go or were only implied in cases where they needed to be seen. Granted, while one could argue that Kylo Ren and Rey both took paths that deviated from their excellent ventures of the last two, Rey was at least given the time of day to flourish where Kylo Ren lacked it, in a notion that is representative of Skywalker’s flaws as a whole.

So, in case this lengthy, deep-dive analysis of the film is not enough evidence, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is nowhere near perfect and it is undoubtedly a step down in the rankings of Star Wars movies. However, for as flawed as it may be, the stronger aspects of the film are memorable to the point where calling this a movie that is bad all the way through would be absurd. Even if it does not quite reach a 7/10 rating, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still a satisfying 6.5/10 film with a cinematic experience where the light sides overtakes the dark in the end.

6.5/10