Friday, 27 December 2019

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

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Watch the trailer
Written by: Chris Terrio & J.J. Abrams (screenplay by),  Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow and Chris Terrio & J.J. Abrams (story by),  George Lucas (based on characters created by) 
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Kelly Marie Tran
Rated: PG-13

Plot
After an evil Sith lord mysteriously returns, the Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.

Verdict
The final movie in the concluding trilogy totaling nine movies. I kept hoping the movie would do something that would really make me like it. The first two acts are muddled with boring dialog and numerous contrivances. The third act is great, the penultimate battles between the First Order, the Resistance, Rey and the evil Sith. I'm ultimately left wondering what this concluding trilogy was really about. Whatever it is, it missed the mark. The original trilogy was Luke choosing good, the prequel trilogy was Anakin choosing the dark side. This trilogy toys with lineage, but this movie seems divorced from The Last Jedi, ignoring plot points. The trilogy as a whole isn't cohesive. It's difficult to recommend not seeing this movie as the saga as a whole is a pop culture touchstone, but I'm left wanting so much more from this movie.
It depends.

Review
All spoilers will be concealed at the end of this review.

This really made me appreciate The Last Jedi more, and I had more than a few issues with that. I wonder if it will look better on the second watch after having watched IX. The Last Jedi certainly seems better in retrospect now.

I had mixed feelings coming into this, but upon first hearing the music and seeing the opening text crawl I was energized. After that I kept hoping the movie would do something to win me over after the muddled beginning. It feels like this opens somewhere in the second act. It's a muddled opening showing us Kylo Ren fighting the world,  Poe and Finn on an espionage mission, and Rey training.
This movie is too steeped in nostalgia while also resistant to doing something unique, daring, or even challenging. Those notions were something I appreciated in The Last Jedi.  Any risks this movie takes our quickly voided when the movie returns to status quo a scene or two later. It really cheapens the effect and any expectations I had of real consequences. There is so much contrivance and boring dialog. The Last Jedi had plenty of contrivance too. Events seem to happen because the plot requires it, not due to a logical progression of ever escalating war between Rebels and the Alliance.
I really liked the last third, the big battle, but even the wrap up to this is a bit mixed. I'm left wondering what this conclusion trilogy is even about, other than ending the thread of evil that spans all nine movies.
I love Poe and Finn's chemistry. The movie touches upon uniting everyone to defeat evil, but that seems secondary to the Skywalker legacy.

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