Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)



Movie Title: Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

Year Released: 2019

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 2h 22min

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writer: J.J. Abrams, Chris Terrio

Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Billie Lourd, Greg Grunberg, Harrison Ford, Dominic Monaghan, Shirley Henderson, J.J. Abrams

Review: The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron's (Oscar Isaac) journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker is the final installment (for now) in the infamous Star Wars Skywalker Saga. Arguably one of the most popular, revered, and contentious sagas in the history of film has finally come to an end after hitting big screens for the first time with Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope back in 1977. Of the nine movies in this saga, some are brilliant, others are barely watchable, and Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker falls somewhere in between. I actually found this movie difficult to critique. On one hand, I must admit that I found this film to be incredibly entertaining. I had a smile on my face for a large majority of the movie as I saw beloved characters old and new work together to take down Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) one final time (at least I hope it is the last time, this old dude is like a cat). My issue here is that this film simply doesn't have enough time to address all of the plot holes that had been created by it's predecessor, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi. The downfall of the Star Wars sequel trilogy is that there is an obvious disconnect between J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson in the direction that this trilogy was supposed to go. Characters like Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) were rendered largely useless in terms of their impact on the progression of the story. All four were characters who had a lot of potential, but seemingly fell flat because the directors didn't know what to do with them. Maz is portrayed in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens as someone who has close ties to the force, as well as an established relationship with both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. For whatever reason, this is never elaborated on, and after three movies we are left wondering how the hell this character was so in tune with all of this. Captain Phasma and Supreme Leader Snoke were built up to be these big, bad, terrifying characters. Ultimately, they were none of those things and had little impact on the story. These were characters that I was excited about and had high hopes for, but was ultimately left dissatisfied. Finally, I truly feel for Kelly Marie Tran, as she has caught a lot of undeserved flack from Star Wars fans. The way her character, Rose Tico, was written was nothing short of haphazard.

With all of that said, I loved the re-introduction of Emperor Palpatine to the story. Ian McDiarmid's portrayal of Palpatine over the course of all three trilogies is spectacular. This film had everything quintessentially Star Wars to keep fans new and old excited. Palpatine's presence, coupled with Rey's conflict between light and dark, and Kylo Ren's redemption arc, left me satisfied with how this saga wrapped everything up. I suppose I just wish that the road to get there was a little more cohesive.

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: Billie Lourd wears the very same outfit that her mother, Carrie Fisher, wore in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). The hair style was done to match as well. To many fans this costume is known as "Endor Leia".


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