‘Rise of Skywalker’ a fitting but rushed end to new trilogy
“The Rise of Skywalker” is good, yet rushed.
The new trilogy of “Star
Wars” has come to an end. “The Rise of Skywalker” throws everything at the wall in an attempt to correct its course while bringing an end to an era.
After the events of “The Last Jedi,” the Resistance is on its last legs while the First Order is primed to envelop the galaxy in darkness. Things get weird right at the beginning when Kylo Ren meets Emperor Palpatine. From there, it’s a race to eliminate Palpatine and destroy the new Sith fleet at his command. Ian McDiarmid is phenomenal as the immortal Emperor, making his performance a highlight despite the limited screen time.
The cast is great across the board, with McDiarmid and Adam Driver standing out above the others. “Star Wars” needs good performances and characters at the heart of its stories whether it’s for movies, shows or games. While the cast does their job well, it still feels like something is missing. Whether it’s the writing or the plot, they don’t connect as well as they should.
The biggest problem this movie has is that it moves a mile a minute from start to finish. It felt like the writers were trying to jam two movies worth of plot and progression into one. JJ Abrams clearly didn’t like the mess left at his doorstep by “The Last Jedi,” and in trying to conclude things the way he wants, he ends up making a mad dash to the finish line. The fact that Palpatine is introduced in the first few minutes and sets up the whole plot in the same scene is evidence of that.
Even though a lot of this movie feels like a dump of ideas, it still manages to capture some of that “Star Wars” charm that fans want. Watching Rey, Finn and the other heroes traveling around as they try to save the galaxy has its moments of fun and adventure. The problem is that the fast pace makes it so that things have to keep moving, even during emotional scenes. There are moments that needed more setup and room to breathe, but the plot demanded that things go to the next scene. It makes everything harder to appreciate.
Many of the resolutions and twists feel rushed and overly convenient. Palpatine has a massive fleet out of nowhere, Rey is discovering force powers from thin air, the entire crux of this movie isn’t the result of a carefully planned trilogy. While this does feel like a “Star Wars” movie, it feels like one that was sped up and ignores details. I would still say it’s better than “The Last Jedi”, but that’s empty praise to the ears of many fans.
Different people want different things out of “Star Wars.” A lot of fans have turned on this new era and it’s unlikely that this conclusion will satisfy them. At this point, a “Star Wars” movie that’s just decent won’t cut it. If the crew that handled this was in charge of “The Last Jedi,” then maybe this ending wouldn’t have felt so rushed. Despite its issues, this movie does enough with its visuals and characters to earn three stars out of five.