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The Rise of Skywalker: A Safe Ending to a Long Saga

Posted on by Morgan K
Rey holding a blue lightsaber.

“Nothing is impossible.”

– Leia Organa.

Setbacks plagued the production of The Rise of Skywalker. Director changes, script leaks, and a huge pressure fell on all crew involved. This was the last we would see of these characters—the last chance to end not only a new story, but an old one. The last chance to answer the questions posed by Episode VII. Did it overcome all the obstacles to deliver a satisfying end?

Yes and no.

The Rise of Skywalker has a runtime of 142 minutes. There’s action packed into every single one of those minutes. If we had any downtime to recover from what just happened it’d be fine, but instead we’re whipped away with the characters into some other plot thread.

Speaking of plot threads, there are a lot of them. With so much happening in one movie it’s hard to keep up with all the loose ends, so Episode IX just…doesn’t. Some intriguing plot points lead nowhere, dropped for something else that the story plucks out of thin air. Characters ignore things said in Episode VIII or even earlier in The Rise of Skywalker. Episode VIII in general seems to have been forgotten by this movie. As someone who didn’t exactly enjoy The Last Jedi I didn’t mind, but as someone who likes continuity, I was miffed to say the least.

Without foreshadowing, certain “twists” came out of the blue. We couldn’t have possibly predicted several of the big reveals. Some “sacrifices” merely for dramatic effect get reversed later. I couldn’t shake the belief that certain new characters’ introductions were either for marketing reasons, or to negate the chemistry between characters we already know.

As far as chemistry is concerned, more than one romance comes out of absolutely nowhere.

I’m making it seem like I hated this movie. I actually left the theater feeling pretty good about it.

J.J. Abrams once again plays to the nostalgia of the Star Wars fan, and I ate it up. A cheap tactic to some, but it made me feel like the story was at least tied to the original trilogy, if not to itself. We learn new things about old characters and are visited by some familiar faces—some expected, some not.

The new characters return to their old personalities and are all fast friends now. In fact, they’re constantly hugging each other or touching each other’s shoulders, or at the very least bantering back and forth. It really brought to mind the closeness of the original trio back in the first movies. They even have a similar dynamic. Rey and Finn especially, with no last names or real family, find comfort in one another there.

I praise the visuals often in this trilogy, and I really must again. It seems like they just wanted to cram every bit of concept art into the film because it was all so good. I didn’t even mind. Every shot looks like it belongs on a poster.

The scenes with Carrie Fisher are a nice tribute, both to her and to Leia. I wouldn’t have even noticed they were recycled deleted scenes if I hadn’t already known.

Overall, there was plenty in this film to make the emotional person (or one just very attached to Star Wars) cry—both for joy and for anger. The continuity of it as the last in the sequel trilogy is not good, but as an ending to the Star Wars saga? I found it a fun, nostalgic romp through the Star Wars universe, and I thank Disney for the adventure.

The Last Jedi and Its Middle Child Syndrome

Posted on by Morgan K
Rey looking at the blue lightsaber she's holding.

“This is not going to go the way you think.”

– Luke Skywalker.

The Last Jedi had a big job to do. Director Rian Johnson couldn’t use the nostalgia-heavy themes of its predecessor, nor could he go completely off the rails.

What resulted was Episode VIII, a film that divided critics and audiences in its reception. Did it accomplish what it set out to?

The visuals were good in The Force Awakens, but in The Last Jedi they’re spectacular. Episode VIII takes us to some cool planets with unique concepts and introduces adorable new species of animals. The cinematography’s excellent, from the use of light and shadow to the camera angles. The costumes are just striking enough to be eye-catching without seeming outrageous.

The Last Jedi also makes good use of John Williams’ score. The opening scene with its many Star Destroyers intimidates even more when paired with his aggressive music. The film also knows when to use silence to give a dramatic scene more impact.

But the characters, how are they?

Well…unfortunately, flashy visuals and nice sounds are most of the good I have to say about this one.

In its defense, its three main heroes weren’t very fleshed out yet—we’d only had one movie to get to know them—but they were more like caricatures than people.

The treatment of Poe’s character stood out as the worst of the trio, probably because they made him so obnoxious. He talks back to everyone with barely a consequence to his name. It’s a wonder he gained any position of authority when he constantly questions the orders of Vice Admirals and Generals, or interrupts them with a loud “Cut it, lady!”

Finn’s alternatively brave and cowardly personality remains hard to nail down throughout the film. He draws attention to himself in stealth situations despite decades of military training. He and a new character have important side adventures together that deal with heavy issues, like child slavery and arms dealing, which are played for laughs in poor taste. The film also gives him a ham-fisted romantic encounter, then never mentions it again.

Rey’s character makes a shift from being more like Leia to being more like Luke used to be. This isn’t negative, just subtly different. It makes sense since she took the focus away from Finn. Outside of her growing power in the Force, Episode VIII spares no effort in trying to make her interesting.

Luke Skywalker is a character who sees good in even the darkest of hearts. He rushes in to help those who need it, no matter what. He has strong loyalties. He has the discipline and determination to solve any problem, and accepts help even at the cost of his pride. He’s none of these things in The Last Jedi. His dialogue near the end is supposed to come from a place of character growth, but instead it reads like the new Luke contradicting himself.

Kylo Ren’s character seems solid. He’s the strongest new character in the franchise and has the clearest motivations and backstory, so this comes as no surprise.

Even with all this, the actors were professional and delivered lines as well as they could. The new characters were compelling and some old ones were a pleasant surprise. Some characters die meaningful and even tear-jerking deaths.

The film ends with a little boy looking up hopefully into the stars. Maybe he, like me, was hoping Episode IX wouldn’t be so disappointing.

Revisiting The Force Awakens Over Four Years Later

Posted on by Morgan K
Finn and Rey running from a Stormtrooper.

“These are your first steps…”

— Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It took ten years for that iconic yellow title to light up the big screen again.

In 2015, Disney released Episode VII of the Star Wars saga—Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams. The film grossed over $2 billion worldwide and changed the lives of stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver forever.

Now that the sequel trilogy is complete and the saga has ended (once again), it’s worth going back and revisiting the film that picked up where Luke Skywalker left off.

Like Episode IV did in 1977, Episode VII begins with blaster fire and something mysterious hidden in a cute round droid. From there we’re introduced to our new heroes and villains in a whirlwind of lightning-fast pacing. Each are reminiscent of Star Wars characters we already know and love, but they have twists to them. Poe, Finn, and Rey are a lot like Han, Luke, and Leia respectively. Kylo Ren’s character marries the childish anger of Anakin with the gravity of Darth Vader.

The actors have a chemistry that makes their characters’ near immediate loyalty to each other believable. New characters greet old ones with the wide-eyed respect that one would expect when meeting a legend. We see an older Han and Leia, with priorities different from what we know from their younger selves, but still true to form.

It’s the Resistance versus the First Order now instead of the Rebels rising to fight the Empire. Again, a huge new planet-killing threat (definitely no moon; it’s a space station) points its laser toward anyone who defies it. Again, an angry masked man in black commands a legion of white-clad Stormtroopers and bows to a hologram of his overlord.

We’ve seen this before. But we haven’t seen it done this way. The parallels are obvious, but the film gives a fresh coat of paint to a franchise decades old with new characters and a new story. It sets up the next two films with lots of questions to answer: Who are Rey’s parents? Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? Will Kylo remain in the Darkness, or follow the call to the Light? How is Rey so powerful with no training? Will Finn learn to use a lightsaber? Will Luke train Rey to become the next in a long line of Jedi?

There was nothing that surprised me about The Force Awakens. This isn’t always a bad thing. I found myself at the edge of my seat anyway.

Visually, Star Wars has never looked this good. They made puppets out of many creatures in a callback to the 70’s, but the CGI was stunning when they used that instead. Fights looked just as striking on the ground as they did in the air or up in space. Even background characters wore gorgeous costumes, and the props resembled ones right out of the original trilogy.

The film ends with Rey’s hand outstretched. Our villains have suffered a major defeat but are strong enough to bounce back. The future looks muddy. It’s a great set up for the next two films.