I have now seen the final film in the Skywalker saga of Star Wars films. Honestly, I'm pretty bummed it's over and there won't be another. We won't ever see Luke, Han, Leia, or Lando again; at least not played by their respective actors and not in a Star Wars episodic film. However, the final film tied up the saga, but the question is, did it do it well? In my opinion, it did. It answered a bunch of questions, had drama, and kept me entertained throughout. Also, from here on out there will be spoilers, so you have been warned.
I have to admit I read some reviews of The Rise of Skywalker before seeing it, and most of what I saw was pretty negative. One person even called it the "worst Star Wars film". No way is TROS the worst Star Wars film, but it is not without its faults. I want to get these out of the way first. This is not a perfect film, or even excellent. I think this film is going to divide fans for a long time. It currently has a 6.9 rating on IMDB and a 58% score on Rotten Tomatoes. I think it was better than what those scores indicate. But I certainly don't think it was close to perfect.
First off, I had trouble accepting such a light and goodhearted character we've grown to know and love could be descended from someone so despicably evil in Palpatine. It's nothing against what JJ did, but if this was the direction they were going to take, I would've liked a hint of it in "The Last Jedi". Another thing I didn't particularly like was how Rey and Kylo could transport matter. We saw a hint of it in "The Last Jedi" when rainwater from Ahch-To got transported to Kylo's hand far away. Then, in this film, we had a necklace and a lightsaber be transported from Rey to Kylo. I just can't wrap my head around it, and it seems like something that should be in Star Trek, not Star Wars. Also, I've had trouble accepting that Force Ghosts can influence matter as well. We saw Yoda cause a lightning strike in TLJ, and in TROS we saw Luke block a lightsaber from being thrown into a fire, and we saw him levitate his old X-Wing out of the water. They're called "ghosts" for a reason. Heck, if they're going to go that route, they might as well have a Force Ghost army in some Star Wars spin-off TV series or film. They can't be killed, after all. Finally, I just did not like the opening space fight scene in the Millennium Falcon. WAY too many jumpcuts and it was paced WAY too quickly. Too fast-paced of a scene way too early in the film. Every film in the original trilogy started out slow, or at least not that intense so soon. Those were my main four gripes.
Here's what I thought they did well: The handling of Princess Leia. If I had not known, I would've thought they filmed Leia's/Carrie's scenes especially for this film. JJ and Chris did a great job of incorporating what they had of Carrie into this film. And her passing was done very well and tastefully. I hate that she never really got to see her son, but I think had Carrie not passed away, JJ had it mind to have her meet Kylo/Ben, or at least project herself to him so that she could try to turn him back to the light. I think they used Harrison Ford/Han Solo in her place. His scene with Ben mirrored their scene on the bridge in "The Force Awakens", even down to some of the quotes. This time, instead of Kylo going from confused to dark side, he went from confused to light side.
I also liked Kylo/Ben turning back to the light. You could tell he was conflicted and when Rey saved his life after stabbing him, he knew he had to be on her side from that point on. Him going after her on Exegol with as much haste and determination as he had shows he cared about her. And his sacrifice to her, very touching. I was hoping he would be able to survive, because how often do you see a redeemed bad guy character that doesn't die? However, the Skywalker saga had to end and it still technically could continue with Ben still alive. And to be honest, I was a Rey/Ben shipper so their kiss was definitely something I wanted to see.
Now to go over technical aspects. To be expected, visual effects and sound were top-notch. Costumes and makeup were very well done, although I think I noticed Kylo/Ben's scar on his face disappearing, but that could be just it fading over time. I'd be surprised if TROS didn't get an Oscar nomination for something, with their likeliest nomination probably being visual effects. Acting was decent; my favorite was Daisy Ridley as Rey. The writing was less than stellar, but they stayed true to the characters at least. Perhaps the best was John Williams' score, his last time scoring a Star Wars film. I always felt the music perfectly suited the scene at the time.
Hard to say if I enjoyed this more than "The Force Awakens". I know I enjoyed it more than "The Last Jedi". I definitely want to see it again in theaters. I wonder if people's second viewings of TROS will make them like it more or less. Based on how the IMDB rating for this film is going up (It was at 6.8, it's now at 7.0), it seems like people like it more on multiple viewings. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Star Wars fan, and if I say this is a satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga, then it probably is.
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