Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the final episode of the nine-part ‘Skywalker saga.’ Unfortunately, despite some great aspects, it has earned mostly lukewarm reviews.
Many of the characters from the two earlier films The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017) return for this supposed final effort: you have Rey played by Daisy Ridley, Fin by John Boyega etc plus a second posthumous performance by Carrie Fisher as the iconic Princess Leia. Fisher died in 2016 and via old footage and CGI she manages to play a key role in the film.
George Lucas’ creation has come a long way since the first film hit screens in 1977. As part of that journey, Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, leading some to fear the much-loved space opera would become ‘Disneyfied’. A run of Star Wars films (including others outside of the trilogy) followed including this one which, despite flat reviews, will still fill Disney’s coffers.
See a sampling of reviews below.
JUDGMENT
“The film offers a visual splendour unlike anything we have seen in recent times and one can watch it on repeat just for the extraordinary worlds on display. The action sequences involving the lightsabers, the various chases out in space and the final battle scene too take your breath away. But strangely the dramatic talents of its humungous cast lies vastly underutilised. What the film lacks is a big push, a big finale offering emotional catharsis to the viewers but that doesn’t happen.” Devesh Sharma, filmfare.com
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“In the end, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker isn’t a terrible film as much as it’s a soulless one, much like its two predecessors. Overall, many of the newer cast members frankly lack the charm and charisma of the original actors. The writing is also hackneyed and at many times illogical, and the overall product seems like an insincere pander-fest to the politically correct powers that be. Hopefully, this will really, actually mark the end of this worn-out, threadbare franchise and usher in a new wave of unique, interesting, and original ones.” Ian Kane, Epoch Times
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“Director J. J. Abrams shows no interest in cinema’s sacred essence or the supernal quality of image and movement. He goes through plot as a series of action routines — like a TV director, never deepening the characterizations beyond how they might play in terms of popular politics. Abrams’s bland compositions and quick editing prevent any moment from having meaning. This even goes against the MTV generation’s former ability to read into or feel an image, a scene, or a sequence.”Armond White, National Review
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“There’s an almost funereal air of finality to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that turns out to be entirely spurious. This is, it’s true, the last part of a nine-film saga that began way back in 1977, the final instalment in an epic space adventure that started out with Luke and Darth and has since spun off in 20 directions. But – the clue is in the title – it’s only curtains for the extended Skywalker clan: the Star Wars brand will plough on ad infinitum, with TV shows and new films already in the works.” Paul Whitington, Independent Ireland
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“This installment also repudiates what’s best in Star Wars, namely the idiosyncrasies and complexities of George Lucas’s last two prequels, where he flaunted the purpose and the playfulness, the intricate political intrigue and the high-style flourishes, that he had sublimated in decades of cultivating industrial-strength success. Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney, in 2012; now whatever’s left of his worldview has been mined and refined into narrow and simplistic norms. The dyad of Disney (with its sanitized and sanctimonious simplicities) and Abrams (with his scrawnily derivative sensibility, an echo of an echo) has become a Death Star.” Richard Brody, New Yorker
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“Star Wars is a hugely important cultural touchstone to many, but in all honesty this sequel trilogy is a bit of a mess. The Rise of Skywalker is just the latest example of the same, and while it has some fun moments, solid performances and striking imagery, it’s simply too procedural and soulless to be anything more than adequate. Kids, the actual intended audience for this, will likely have a decent time, but for the rest of us, maybe it’s time to accept that Star Wars’ time in the sun is over.” Anthony O’Connor, Filmink
Watch Chris Stuckmann review Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.