2019’s Star Wars IX:
Rise of Skywalker, directed by J.J. Abrams.
Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John
Boyega, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Grant, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall
Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Greg Grunberg, Mark Hamill, Naomi Ackie, Keri
Russell, and Joonas Suotamo.
What is it about?
In the ninth installment of the Star Wars series, we resume
after the events of 2017’s Star Wars VIII:
The Last Jedi. With Emperor Palpatine back in the fold, he seduces Kylo Ren
(Adam Driver) to continue hunting for Rey (Daisy Ridley) in order to finally extinguish
the Rebel Alliance. Rey herself is training to become a Jedi Master, under the
tutelage of General Organa (Carrie Fisher), but through a rebel spy’s crucial
information she heads out with her team of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn
(John Boyega), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and BB-8,
to defeat Kylo Ren and the Emperor. Can the Resistance defeat the Final Order,
once and for all?
Why is it worth seeing?
Rise of Skywalker
represents a bizarre point of the hallowed franchise’s timeline. Representing
11 feature length live action films in total (and countless tie ins), it has
been rumoured that this is the end of the Skywalker generation of the Star Wars blockbuster saga (I’ll believe
it when I see it). But for a film that at least numerically (and in
aspiration sounding) title echoes Return
of the Jedi, it doesn’t feel like a victory, never mind a resounding
triumph. Assuming the good guys don’t all end up dead and evil reigns
forevermore, it’s really something to see something with a built in fan base
with devotion resembling something close to religious fervor come across so
flat. How did we get to this point?
The divisive Last Jedi made a lot of Star Warsshareholders experts
ticket purchasers irate. Blessed with the clairvoyance and creative know-how to
dictate how the movie’s choices should have been executed, Disney listened intently
and hired yes man J.J. Abrams to helm the next project, with him, Chris Terrio,
Derek Connolly, and the later mutually fired Colin Trevorrow creating the
story, and Abrams and Terrio writing the screenplay. While the characters sound
perfectly fine, engaging in light hearted back and forth while rocketing across
the galaxy and clashing light sabres, its story underlines the following: the
last movie was a mulligan, and we’re going to do this again. It’s a awkward way
to conclude a franchise/trilogy/theme park extravaganza.
Back, is Kylo Ren’s helmet. Smashed to bits in the last film, it’s reassembled here. The wearing of the helmet is not insignificant, in terms of merely keeping the wind off Ren’s face when rocketing across space with his top down. It’s a metaphor, for how much producer Kathleen Kennedy desperately wants to return to the fan service of 2015’s The Force Awakens, itself a copy and paste of 1977’s New Hope (the one that got this whole “galaxy far, far away” business all started). But Ren’s decision to destroy his mask in Last Jedi, to emerge out of the shadow of his complicated grandfather, felt like a liberation of him discovering his own unique destiny. To don it again (never mind the awkward scotch tape job), betrays a unique direction, in favour of numbly replicating that which came before. It’s that spirit of Xeroxing, that makes the film’s efforts to explain Rey’s lineage all the less inspired. The series had already deftly introduced Rey as a kind of blank slate, a desert junkyard scavenger with a large heart and latent Force powers, a somebody who came from no one. Her character’s lack of an explanation or actual family, was a unique feature, not a bug, of the story- especially with her spiritual force mate Ben Solo dominating the story’s attention with his own family matters (themselves circular in the Star Wars lore of daddy issues).
The divisive Last Jedi made a lot of Star Wars
Back, is Kylo Ren’s helmet. Smashed to bits in the last film, it’s reassembled here. The wearing of the helmet is not insignificant, in terms of merely keeping the wind off Ren’s face when rocketing across space with his top down. It’s a metaphor, for how much producer Kathleen Kennedy desperately wants to return to the fan service of 2015’s The Force Awakens, itself a copy and paste of 1977’s New Hope (the one that got this whole “galaxy far, far away” business all started). But Ren’s decision to destroy his mask in Last Jedi, to emerge out of the shadow of his complicated grandfather, felt like a liberation of him discovering his own unique destiny. To don it again (never mind the awkward scotch tape job), betrays a unique direction, in favour of numbly replicating that which came before. It’s that spirit of Xeroxing, that makes the film’s efforts to explain Rey’s lineage all the less inspired. The series had already deftly introduced Rey as a kind of blank slate, a desert junkyard scavenger with a large heart and latent Force powers, a somebody who came from no one. Her character’s lack of an explanation or actual family, was a unique feature, not a bug, of the story- especially with her spiritual force mate Ben Solo dominating the story’s attention with his own family matters (themselves circular in the Star Wars lore of daddy issues).
At least Rey features prominently in the proceedings- there
are 2 great characters from The Last Jedi
shoved firmly in the background here, again with meat cleaver levels of course
correcting nuance. In particular, one is left behind to do homework on the
rebel base, a fate more deserving of Jar-Jar Binks, while the crew jaunts about
the universe meeting people to replace her. One of those people has connections
to flyboy Poe, further discomforting the story in the conclusive stage of the
trilogy when we already knew him to be a certain way as depicted in the last
films.
There are positives to be found. Daisy Riley and Adam Driver remain dynamic and fulfilling characters, with Driver a strong candidate for best Star Wars villain ever, depicting an unhinged and complicated dude who’s soul may be beyond saving, but is dynamic enough that you never stop hoping he’ll come around. The gang’s banter, as they planet hop in search of Macguffins and on rescue missions, is pleasant. And it’s never as antagonizing as listening to lectures about midichlorians, or Hayden Christensen’s thoughts about sand. But Rise of Skywalker exemplifies a larger problem in the Star Wars cinematic universe- that there is just nothing left to milk out of the Skywalker franchise cow. The awkward footage of dearly deceased Carrie Fisher (patched together from outtakes from The Force Awakens), only reinforces the point. There’s a reason that the pop culture zeitgeist is far more attuned to The Mandalorian, or especially The Avengers (which wasn’t always the case, if anybody remembers 1999) than the latest “May the Force be with you” event. It just keeps returning to familiar planets, to battles on the wreckage of past movies’ settings, serves up old characters (I saw Wedge for a second!), recycles John Williams’ old iconic scores, and holds auditions for Daft Punk stand ins. The galaxy doesn’t feel very far away when it’s the same old thing, over and over.
There are positives to be found. Daisy Riley and Adam Driver remain dynamic and fulfilling characters, with Driver a strong candidate for best Star Wars villain ever, depicting an unhinged and complicated dude who’s soul may be beyond saving, but is dynamic enough that you never stop hoping he’ll come around. The gang’s banter, as they planet hop in search of Macguffins and on rescue missions, is pleasant. And it’s never as antagonizing as listening to lectures about midichlorians, or Hayden Christensen’s thoughts about sand. But Rise of Skywalker exemplifies a larger problem in the Star Wars cinematic universe- that there is just nothing left to milk out of the Skywalker franchise cow. The awkward footage of dearly deceased Carrie Fisher (patched together from outtakes from The Force Awakens), only reinforces the point. There’s a reason that the pop culture zeitgeist is far more attuned to The Mandalorian, or especially The Avengers (which wasn’t always the case, if anybody remembers 1999) than the latest “May the Force be with you” event. It just keeps returning to familiar planets, to battles on the wreckage of past movies’ settings, serves up old characters (I saw Wedge for a second!), recycles John Williams’ old iconic scores, and holds auditions for Daft Punk stand ins. The galaxy doesn’t feel very far away when it’s the same old thing, over and over.
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