I had a busy Christmas period so this review is a little late. I watched the film yesterday so I’ve had a little while to mull over what I saw – here are some thoughts.
Firstly, The Rise of Skywalker isn’t terrible. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I enjoyed it. There were moments that were truly emotional and I felt so close to the events that were taking place. The death of Leia hit me hard. If felt like a tribute to Carrie Fisher and it was moving and beautiful. It didn’t make sense within the plot of the film, however, but because of the link to Carrie, I just can’t bring myself to hate it.
Moving on to the overarching plot of the film, I am so glad it is over. We have now seen the three generations of skywalkers fight the dark side and win. Please don’t give us any more of that! We’ve seen it. It’s over. The legacy may well live on in the Star Wars universe, but there is nothing about that storyline that would be interesting or worthwhile in future films. Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, give us something new. A great place to look for inspiration would be The Mandalorian. That show was incredible. If future Star Wars films are anything like that, the majority of fans would be ecstatic.
I’m not going to go into any great detail about individual plots or character developments because, to be honest, the film didn’t do much that is worth exploring in depth. The sith were evil. Palpatine had a granddaughter. Rey fought back and is now a Skywalker. Okay. Summary done.
One thing I can’t help but feel about this trilogy of films, now that it is over, is that it was pointless. This story did not need to be told. I sort of understood the prequels. They showed a time before the Empire, and how it came to be. The prequels delved, however shallowly, into how greed, power, and lies can have awful consequences. This newest trilogy either rehashed old ideas from the originals (and sometimes prequels) or ignored all pretense of having a deeper meaning and just became a dull, pointless action film.
The more I think about it, the more I realise that I might not have actually liked The Rise of Skywalker at all. There is a strong possibility that my opinion has been clouded by the wonderful job the soundtrack did in pulling at my emotions. It was spectacularly made in that regard.
Overall, let’s just say that the story of Skywalker need to be over now. We have all had enough of watching the same film over and over again. Give us something new, or nothing at all.
If I had to give the film a rating, I would say 2.5/5. Two of those stars are for the soundtrack.
I’m interested when people say The Mandalorian is great because I personally think it’s crap, lol. I know opinions are just that, so I don’t think you’re wrong and I’m not seeking to change your opinion, just wondering what you find compelling about it?
Other than that, I agree… I’m so over the “Skywalker” tri-trilogy. There are so many interesting things that can be done with the universe and that is one thing I’ll give The Mandalorian props for trying. People just seem to be too scared to really invest a lot of time and money into something new. I’d love to see a film or series in the timeline of the original trilogy told from the Empire’s point of view. We got a taste of that in the closing episodes of The Mandalorian’s first season in which the Imperial dude is lamenting about how the galaxy was so much more stable and productive under Imperial rule, and now crime runs rampant. THAT could be a good story! Make the universe less black and white. Maybe there WERE good parts of Imperial rule and the rebels aren’t just untouchable good guys.
I wish I could edit… I think calling The Mandalorian “crap” was a bit too strong. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, I just found a lot about it to be kind of lazy.
I’m with you when it comes to letting this story end. Nothing sadder than milking a dead franchise until there’s nothing left but dust! Disney has nearly limitless resources… just make new stuff already!
That story does sound interesting, and perhaps I would appreciate it in a novel or something, but I think for a new film trilogy I would want something completely different. Maybe set far into the past before the republic, with a previous sith…? Their options are limitless.
I have mentioned my feelings on The Mandalorian in two posts so far – you can find them here if you’re interested: https://tommyeturnertalks.com/the-mandalorian-2/
I finished watching the full season recently so I will have a third post up about that later on next week.