RATING: B
When we last left Star Wars (not including spin-offs), the franchise had been kind of thrown into a state of flux thanks to the outrageous division between fans over The Last Jedi... to the point where I'm hard-pressed to think of anything non-politics related that has had as much heated debate recently. Some fans (myself included) loved it for trying to do something new with the series, as opposed to The Force Awakens (which I mostly enjoyed as well, for the record). Other fans hated it for seemingly betraying the spirit of prior movies. And still others... actually did love/hate it for political-related reasons. Ugh.
The result was that the SW writers became utterly terrified of angering the fanboys again. Hence part of why JJ Abrams was brought back on. It became clear pretty quick that Episode IX was not going to be in the spirit of TLJ. And it even looked possible that there might be retcons. Or even that this one might avoid its predecessor's existence altogether. Which one can't just do; whether one likes it or not, the movie exists and is part of the canon. You can't just pretend it didn't happen.
But now the end of the "Skywalker Saga" is here. If The Force Awakens felt all too derivative of prior works and The Last Jedi shot in a dramatically different direction, then The Rise of Skywalker tries to hit a happy medium. Essentially, it is more similar to TFA in tone. But it does not ignore TLJ, and even builds impressively off some of the things it brought to the table--while also backing off from other parts. In the case of the former, the Force bond between Rey and Kylo is expanded upon to actually pretty awesome results. In the case of the latter, the only thing that is basically totally retconned is Rose (reduced to side role)... which is hardly upsetting to me even as a TLJ fan. (Although there is also a joke about not throwing a lightsaber away like a toy.)
Also importantly, Rise of Skywalker doesn't feel like too much of a retread. There's not another Death Star. The movie doesn't end with Palpatine electrocuting Rey and her begging Kylo for help, and then him saving her by throwing Palpatine down a reactor shaft again. Yes, Palpatine is back (though in what precise capacity I won't say). Yes, there are certain moments that do feel familiar. Yes, there are certain story elements that are similar to Return of the Jedi. But such elements are gone about differently; as such, there's still a degree of an element of surprise, even if not a large one. And there's nothing as insultingly familiar as Starkiller Base, and all that entailed.
Yes, there are problems. There's a lot that they try to cram into here; perhaps that's the fault of Last Jedi for not ending with a clear sequel hook, given that both sides were pretty decimated by the end of that one. One major plot development early on (you can probably guess which one) is alarmingly hand-waved. It's ultimately done for the sake of trying to bring all three trilogies together, so I guess I can't gripe too much. But it's at times like this where it becomes alarmingly clear that they did not have a proper outline for this movie ready back in 2015 or even 2017.
What's also noteworthy is just how much the movie blatantly tries to pander to the fans--to get certain reactions out of them, and how much it seems to have borrowed from fan forums. Some of that works fine as well. But there are a few points, namely the ending shot, that feel so blatantly pandering that it ends up feeling forced and inauthentic.
The same is to be said for a couple of points that feel like they're trying to emulate Avengers: Endgame, this year's other big mega-franchise-saga conclusion; one of them (a lite "on your left" moment) falls utterly flat due to a lack of emotional payoff. The other works fine enough, but this film is not Endgame, and they shouldn't have tried even for an instant to emulate it.
Still, a lot of this does really work. The story is wrapped up more or less neatly. The three main characters are finally paired together for most of the movie, and considering the lack of time for trio-character-development they've had together, they play off each other pretty well as characters. And if TLJ was lacking in a proper lightsaber battle, TROS makes up for that--not to mention plenty of other fun action scenes.
There's some good new actors/characters as well, such as Keri Russell's rogue type Zorri Bliss and Richard E. Grant's new First Order minion, plus an amusing droid-fixer alien. There's also some various cameos--expected and unexpected--that work quite well. Even if such things are also "pandering to the base," this is a healthier version given that it also works towards bringing the franchise full circle. And as previously described, despite the obvious level of by-the-seat-of-pants writing, some of the plot devices from other movies are built upon or pay off pretty well. (Not *all* of them, mind you. But what they do build upon, they mostly do well with.)
The Rise of Skywalker may not be the spectacular finish that many are likely to hope for. It is a little shaky at times on its way to the finish line, but it does get there and doesn't leave too much disappointment behind in the process. And given that the last movie basically broke the Star Wars fandom and made the writers utterly terrified of angering a ton of people again... the fact that this movie is remotely satisfying is a small miracle. And maybe, just maybe, that is enough this time.
I don't know that I'll look back on the sequel trilogy with as much general fondness as the original trilogy, but I know that I won't have any big issue with revisiting all three movies... even if there are some things that ultimately hold it back from being what it could've been.
