Of course my expectations are through the roof. Yes, Rogue One was unbelievably boring and devoid of action, but The Last Jedi (I know, controversial opinion) and Solo were good signs that the people involved still knew what they were doing and could make a great action film. And the best thing is that this looks to be exactly what this is. A brutal, heavy, all out action film. Disney are throwing everything at this one to try and make it stick with fans, which included suggesting Emperor Palpatine was set to play a key role in the teasers, footage of Rey wielding a red lightsaber, huge battles, everything it looked like we could possibly want as fans. Disney have played a blinder at making this look like the ultimate showdown we have been waiting for. Whether they deliver on that promise is yet to be seen, however.
In fact, I was discussing with someone not too long ago about mainstream media and the lack of risk involved in it. They suggested what the impact would be if one of the Avengers films simply ended with Thanos snapping his fingers. He snaps, then it immediately cuts to black, and the credits roll. No after credits scene to wrap everything up or introduce new plot lines. Nothing. It all just end. Just like that. Of course, such a scenario would be highly improbable. At the end of the day, audiences like familiarity, and happy endings is part of that. If you throw the rulebook out the window entirely you leave yourself open to criticisms from diehard fans who will think the arc had not concluded as it should. As a studio, you need to keep the diehard fans whenever you can, because they are the most likely to generate positive buzz.
But just imagine if it had ended like that. No happy ending, no going back in time to save their anyone (or whatever they did in Endgame, I really wasn’t paying attention). How would anyone even respond to that, fans or otherwise? Would anyone even know how to respond? Sure, it will divide the fan base, but it would get people talking. Putting the power in the fan’s hands is sometimes a good thing.
What I'm trying to say is that I’d be very disappointed if the film ends with the book being closed on the Skywalker Saga. We can’t have a closed ending, surely. That being said, I am looking forward to some key questions being answered in this film that were only hinted at in the previous two, Rey’s parents being the key one and how she fits into the greater Skywalker narrative being one of many key questions that needed to be answered in the ninth instalment. My most anticipated film of the year by a mile, and I’m praying that it turns out epic. So, what’s my verdict?
Well, maybe this has to with the fact that I’m writing this at 3:23 am the morning of the film’s release, or maybe it’s got to do with how much of a fan of this franchise I am, or maybe it’s just because the film is so epic it’s hard to take in, but whatever it is, I’m struggling to find a way to properly contextualise everything that goes on in this film, let alone review it after just the one viewing, even as part of a triple bill. But here goes...
This film is great on paper, but it does not feel right, and that might ultimately be why the film falls short of greatness in its execution. It does not feel like an ending. Yes, the film is epic, although painfully predictable at spots, and works well as an exercise in testing the audience’s faith in these characters, it also hits a bizarre middle ground for me in the sense that it raises more questions whilst also operating as a triumphant conclusion to the Skywalker Saga. It’s weird and it doesn't sit well with me. Although, the side characters being disastrously forgettable and Rose being the most inessential character in the whole Star Wars nonology certainly does not help.
If you want an example of a side character narrative that really works, Holdo from The Last Jedi is a great example. She has a breakthrough as much the main characters, only hers is more personal and spiritual than the main characters. Meanwhile, in this film we get a handful of characters I don’t remember the name of fighting and providing some context but doing little else of note. Especially Rose.
And on that note, the film seems almost embarrassed to acknowledge its predecessor. What happened to Rose between then and now given she had been critically injured saving Fin’s life in The Last Jedi but seems completely fine now? What’s up with that?
But that’s enough negative talk. Let's get on with the good stuff. And the first and only place you could really start is with is how this is a grittier, darker instalment in comparison to its measurably tame predecessors. More reliant on low key lighting, huge flashing sequences, and a much darker, duller colour palette than ever before. But you can tell that the film is desperately trying to cultivate any atmosphere it can, using Palpatine's existence within the narrative to anchor a lot of that atmosphere. In a lot of ways, the film is more like The Force Awakens than it is The Last Jedi, but while The Force Awakens borrowed a lot of narrative ideas from what came before, The Rise Of Skywalker plays with our knowledge of the characters that we know from before: namely Emperor Palpatine.
And, however you slice it, The Rise Of Skywalker is a better film than The Force Awakens across the board. The narrative is more ambitious, the lighting and colour is more enticing, the scenes in which Ben and Rey interact, that were already flawless in The Last Jedi, are stunning here too. The scene where Rey fights herself is better than pretty much anything in The Force Awakens hands down. That film just felt so thuddingly conventional, drilling home so many basic narrative points that were already thoroughly explored in the original trilogy, that the film just felt inessential. Decent, but inessential. It felt like the only purpose it really served was to introduce us to a new set of characters, but forgot you still need a story with substance in order to make that interesting. The characters are the only reason anyone will remember that film in a decade or so.
But, with that tangent out of the way, this film comes closer to working, not just because it doesn't feel like a recycling of previous ideas, but also because the stakes are turned up to eleven and then some. Everything from Ben and Rey’s evolving relationship to General Hux being the spy that lit the spark for the Resistance to do what they do in the film (even if his motivations for doing that are tenuously hinted at, at best), to the drama of how Palpatine meets his end (again...). From a visual perspective the film is stunning. There is a sense of unmatched scale to the cinematography, editing and sound that adds to the drama that seems to evaporate by the end.
And the ending of this film was an enormous disappointment for me, and it links back to what I was saying at the start about it not sitting well with me. The last thing Rey does in the film is renounce her past. She is not a Palpatine, she is a Skywalker. This is awkward when you consider Rey’s entire character arc revolves her waiting for her past to come to her. That’s what the whole concept of the tally marks on the wall on Jaku were all about establishing all the way back in The Force Awakens, as well as the ‘mirror scene’ in The Last Jedi. But, when she finally knows her past as clearly as she ever has before, she rejects it: renounces it on the spot. I can see why they did this (it was an easy way to evoke a response from the audience to have her reject her past), but it clunkily attempts to subvert a narrative that has been essential to the previous two films in the trilogy entirely out of the blue, and the fact that this is right at the end of the film, and not a breakthrough that she could have had midway though, which could have made a lot more sense from a storytelling perspective, furthers my point that this is not the way this saga should have ended.
I get grounding your ending in a more emotional breakthrough rather than anything all that epic, but as a send-off to the saga, I thought it was mishandled at best.
Let me put it this way. Imagine of Rey had said Palpatine instead of Skywalker. How epic would that have been. Instead of renouncing her past, accepting it. She had waited long enough for it, after all. Sure, it would have been a risk, but it would have reinforced her narrative, going out on a much more grounded note. And speaking of that, the ending also has this feeling that, end the end of it all, four decades worth of films, nobody really won. Sure, Rey gets to walk away from it all as the hero and Kylo Ren is dead, but it’s also a hollow victory. Luke is dead. Leia is dead. Rey could not turn Ben until it was too late, making Han’s calls to him that it’s not too late in the middle of the film linger as eerie subtext in his dying moments.
And, we mustn't forget, Rey kisses Ben moments before he dies. A touching moment that colours the end. Ben and Rey’s relationship is indeed a story of what could have been: what if Rey took Ben’s hand in the first place and joined him, what if Rey did turn to the dark side as the film was heavy handedly suggesting might be the case, and what if they both had lived, or what if Ben hadn’t gone to confront Palpatine eventually leading to his demise. It’s a frighteningly uneasy way to end the saga, but, even though I don’t like the way it’s presented to the audience through Rey, maybe it is the only way it could have ended.
But, to try and keep this as short as I can (too late), this film is flawed. Very flawed. But what we got was an epic, gritty story that aimed high, and while it fell short of my expectations, I respect this movie whole heartedly. It was not what I necessarily wanted, but it’s what we got. It’s been an emotional ride with Rey, Ben, Fin and Poe, but here’s to whatever comes next. Whenever it comes, you can be sure I’ll be waiting.
7 / 10
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