J.J. Abrams returns to the director’s chair for the last instalment of the new sequel trilogy, The Rise Of Skywalker; a film so convoluted in plot and crammed full to the brim with references to the original trilogy that it leaves the future of the Star Wars film franchise in doubt, dangling precariously off a cliff. Whilst this new trilogy has been divisive, controversial and ultimately lacklustre, I have found myself going to see each one with a diminished sense of excitement which over the last four years has manifested itself into an almost morbid curiosity. Unfortunately for me, the curiosity was not worth it.
Episode IX continues the story of Rey, Finn, Poe and the Resistance in their struggles against the First Order sometime after the events of The Last Jedi. Certain people make a return... the Millennium Falcon shoots some TIE fighters... Carrie Fisher lies under a sheet for some of the story. Honestly I’m struggling here to effectively condense the absolute nonsense that went on in the film into a concise synopsis.
However, before I give my honest opinion on this film, let me take you through some of the positives that I came away from the film with. C3PO has a greatly expanded role in this film as opposed to the last two films and for the first time since Return Of The Jedi, he feels like one of the gang again. Kudos to Anthony Daniels for bringing the character back to life and making his presence felt and one of the more enjoyable aspects of the film. Secondly, there is a great use of practical puppets displaying a vast range of creatures from the small (Babu Frik and D-O especially, you’ll know what I mean when you see them) to the tall. I found myself grinning inanely at some of the new creations, they were that charming. I am a massive fan of practical effects of any kind and if there is one thing that this trilogy has done right, it is the practical effects. You’ll hear from my inner luddite/ Rebecca’s daughter later. Finally the set designs were good as were the cinematography for the most part of course you have that annoying Abrams lens flare from time to time, but luckily it was toned down for this film
Unfortunately the cons outweigh these pros. The story makes no sense, it is devoid of logic or plot. Although I initially put up with the vignettes to-ing and fro-ing from one person to another, believing it to be an attempt to set up the story and get it rolling; it soon became apparent to me that in the writing of this screenplay the writers rolled a die and went with whatever it landed on regardless of whether it made sense or not. Furthermore the dialogue is clumsy and clunky and the delivery from some actors was equally awkward. Daisy Ridley has progressed from a tailor’s mannequin to a shop window dummy, as her wooden performance means that Rey lacks charisma and any chance of a screen presence is drowned out by everything else around her. The scenes which recycled unused Carrie Fisher footage, who of course died three years ago now, seemed out of place and obvious. On top of that a number of references and gimmicks made myself and many others in the screen snigger uncontrollably at the cringy-ness that was projected before us.
While I praised the practical effects, the computer generated imagery and effects looked rough, drawing you away from any realism that was in the scenes. The film leaned towards the whole Marvel thing of big CGI scenes and battles where you as a viewer really couldn’t care less about what is going on on the screen in front of you. I have always been of the opinion that practical models and effects are 100x times better than CGI. I don’t care if it’s obvious that the models and miniatures matted on the screen clip each other. I’ll pick that honest, wholesome, blood sweat and tears craftsmanship over some guy sat at a computer wearing a wrist brace.
This film was always going to be a tough one to make, especially after the backlash of The Last Jedi. For me personally, this trilogy has not been amazing, and I get the feeling that Disney are starting to realise that these films have not really gone the way they had been expecting for them. Their caution is so obviously apparent, I have only seen trailers for The Rise Of Skywalker on Youtube and Facebook, I haven’t seen any trailers or promotional stuff on the television; likewise the toy aisles in supermarkets show no sign of Star Wars, even at this time of year. The anthology series is on hold, the writers for the next trilogy have left, God knows when or if the green light will be given for Rian Johnson’s own trilogy. It’s a somewhat sad reality, but this latest film shows that Star Wars has had its run. Baby Yoda looks cute though? Right?
To conclude, The Rise Of Skywalker is not worth watching. It absconds into the absurd and ridiculous, and it feels more like a Harry Potter/ generic action film at times than Star Wars. You really get the impression that the story was made based upon some cool concept drawings and nothing else. One could argue that these are the ultimate fan made films, but Episode IX in particular lends itself at parts to something you’d find on the internet. It is disappointing, it is underwhelming, it feels lazy, it doesn’t tie all the loose ends which is infuriating. It shows that the characters were underdeveloped and that along with a lack of overarching narrative structure never had any chance of being something great.
Reviewer - Daryl Griffin
on - 18/12/19
Thank's for your nice post.It's my Favorite star wars movie.
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