Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I can't even put into words how excited I was to see this film. I was sitting at work watching the seconds tick by so that I could rush out of there and make it on time. I'm a relatively new Star Wars fan, but a huge one nonetheless, and this finale was so long awaited! And I know that a lot of people have been waiting, so I'm gonna keep this review as spoiler free as possible.
I wrote this right after seeing the film, and spent the majority of today remembering things and having to add to it, so sorry if this review is a bit all over the place!

The surviving members of the Resistance face off against the First Order for the last time. As these beloved characters come back for one final showdown, they encounter a threat that they never expected to face.

I have mixed feelings about the film, in that I liked it, but there were also things about it that I really didn't like.

For a start, the beginning of the film (and I'm talking the first 40 minutes) were messy. The film was so busy trying to force in everyone's story that it forgot to actually have a story. It was just 40 minutes of uncomfortable scene switching at random points, and the only reason you stuck with it is because you're so familiar with these characters. If you weren't, you would be insanely confused.

I think one of my biggest problems was with the character of Rey (Daisy Ridley). Now, she's never been my favourite character, but I found her a lot easier to tolerate in the first two movies, back when she was this really flawed character who was figuring out who she was and just being introduced to the Force. It was really nice to see the way that her powers progressed in the first two films. But in this one, it was like they switched Rey from 'intermediate' to 'expert' without taking that 'advanced' step in between. She suddenly becomes someone who can take out (insert villainous character here, who can't be spoiled) single-handedly when it doesn't seem like she should be as strong as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), let alone Anakin Skywalker.
It felt like the film just gave her all these powers with no explanation and then used them as a way of explaining how the group gets out of precarious situations.

But in addition to this, Rey just became a lot more selfish this time around. There was a scene in the film near the very beginning where someone tells her that they can't locate her friend's ship, and she doesn't seem to care less. And that seems to set a precedent for the rest of the film, where Rey always felt that bit disconnected from Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac), who remained the best friends that we saw from their first appearance. She wasn't with them that much, and when she was with them she was doing something that put them in danger or thinking of leaving them.

And then we come to Finn, who was another major disappointment. For me, I loved Finn's character in the second film (The Last Jedi) because in the first film (The Force Awakens), his only character trait apart from being a Storm Trooper (which was actually really interesting) was being obsessed with Rey. So it was really disappointing to me in this film that he reverted back to the guy that was obsessed with Rey. They could have done so much with his character, including delving into his backstory (which would have been so interesting because he probably has a more interesting story than Rey), but no. He's Poe's best friend who is obsessed with Rey, and that's it. Not that I particularly wanted this, but he didn't even have the hint of a love interest like in the previous movie.

And then, the character that I haven't mentioned, my favourite character in the trilogy, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Now, I was always on the side of Bendemption (aka, redemption for Ben Solo) and I felt fairly confident that we were going to get that in this third instalment. Now of course I can't spoil whether or not this does happen. But by the time we get to the end of the film, I was disappointed in his arc. Don't get me wrong, some moments were great, but overall taking into account the three movies and everything that Ben started as and has since become, I think he deserved better than what he got.
But another thing about Ben/Kylo that really irked me in this film, and this is the mildest of spoilers, is the helmet. In The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, the helmet was so important because it showed how insecure he was and said a lot about him as a character. But in addition (a bit like Thor's hammer in Ragnarok) when he stopped wearing the helmet, the character changed into someone that really didn't need it. And again, this signalled a lot of growth for the character. So what was the point of making him wear a helmet again? It defeated the point of losing it in the previous movies, and the effect of having that helmet is really pointless when we spent the whole of The Last Jedi staring at his face.

And before I forget them, like the filmmakers clearly did, the background characters who were prevalent in other films had nothing to do here. Whether that's Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) or Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o), characters that were given some sort of importance in the films leading up to this one were underused. I'm not saying that every person in the film should have been a main character, but if they're essentially getting two insignificant lines, why bother? Especially for Rose, whose character was slated in The Last Jedi. It felt like, because people didn't like the way that the character was written in the movie, her whole character was reduced to nothing rather than just writing her better, and that really sucks, especially for the actress who got a lot of hate for the role that she had nothing to do with other than playing it the way that it was written. Plus, this also left a lot up in the air for Rose and Finn - mainly, are they a couple or not?

Before watching, a lot of people involved in the film threw around words like 'hopeful' and 'satisfying' to describe the ending of the film. For me, though, the words I'd use to describe the ending are 'heartbreaking' and 'hopeless'. I can't have hope for something else to happen when I know that this is the end, and it certainly didn't end in the way that I wanted it to. In fact, the ending kind of felt like nothing had changed from the ending of the first film, and that was a real shame because I wanted to feel like the entire world of Star Wars had progressed and changed, and I just didn't.
It also felt really disconnected from the previous movies. Even though they had two different directors, the first and second movies (whatever you thought of them) were clearly connected, even though they were vastly different. This one felt like a whole other thing.

But having said ALL of that, there were obviously things that I liked, maybe even loved. For one, Adam Driver. I say this every time I see him in a film, but he absolutely carried so much of this film. Every actor was great, but for me, he had the hardest job and conveyed everything that I wanted to see from this version of Ben Solo. He's played Ben/Kylo over the three films like he was three different characters and that was something that was so important for a character like this.

One of the things that this entire trilogy has got so right is the connection between Ben/Kylo and Rey, and I'm so happy that they stuck with this for the final movie. It didn't feel as powerful as it did in other movies (mainly because it was no longer a surprise) but it still did a lot for the plot and was the cause of some of the most powerful moments in the film.

It was also visually stunning, which is totally to be expected when you're watching a Star Wars movie. But still, the scenery and the lights and everything really stands out and just makes for such great viewing, particularly on the big screen.

Speaking of the big screen, as I am late to the franchise, this was the first Star Wars film that I've ever seen in the cinema. And even before the film started I knew that the whole experience would be magical. When the 'Star Wars' logo came up and half my screening took pictures of it, I knew that it would be special. And even though I didn't make it to the cinema for any of the other movies, I'm so happy that I could make it for the last one.

There wasn't a point in the film where I felt like 'that felt inauthentic' or 'this character would never do that'. Everything felt real and as realistic as it could for a film like this. Now I know that a lot of people were upset that the film played it safe and didn't push any boundaries, which I agree with, at least our characters were still our characters. And I really appreciated that.

And despite my thoughts about specific characters, when the film decided what story it wanted to tell, it told that story well. When we finally met (insert villainous character here) it was powerful and sinister in equal measure, which is exactly what it was supposed to be. And when sacrifices are made, they pack a punch - though this punch was soon forgotten about, which was another disappointing thing. But the audience felt the punch, and that's the important thing.

Overall, the only thing I can say is to go and see it for yourself before you form an opinion - and take everyone else's opinion (including mine) with a pinch of salt. No one can describe what Star Wars means personally to you or what you'll take away from it.

6.5/10

Lou