Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (eighthth-pass)
Cert: 12A / 142 mins / Dir. J.J. Abrams / Trailer Previous reviews:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Okay, rather than harp on about the rights and wrongs of The Emperor again (there's still fuel in that tank, I assure you), it's probably time to write the review I should have several weeks ago and lay some appreciation on the Sequel Trilogy's central character, Rey Skywalker*1. Yes, there's a lot going on throughout all three movies (arguably too much in this last entry), but the one line which cuts directly through everything is the path of Rey. From an intrinsically lonely kid on a dustball planet in the back-end of nowhere to the galaxy's brightest light in a time of darkness, Rey has always been a Skywalker in the truest sense.
The temptation is to think that Rey boring, with her wardrobe as linear as her outlook and character-progression. A Mary Sue. She absolutely isn't. Okay, some of the spin-off material centering around her is dull as a watercolour weekend on Hoth, but the performance of Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker is nothing short of outstanding, and the character undergoes the same trials and pitfalls as Anakin and Luke before her.
SHANTY Rey's emotional growth is a delicate process throughout, discernible at each key stage but still nuanced to the point where we can see the frightened-yet-defiant kid from the desert shanty town. Because of Rey's isolated upbringing (even within the 'community' of junk traders on Jakku), much of the struggle throughout her arc is internalised, Ridley's facial expressions and body language conveying far more than the script. With Rey's background as an abandoned child and also having Palpatine's innate Force-ability, she should be all rights be an absolute psychopath whenever she's pushed out of her comfort-zone, lashing out with reactive bursts of Dark Side energy (hi Akanin).
But like Luke before her, this trilogy is about the hero(ine)'s inner strength, adapting to new surroundings and a tendency to see the best in a situation rather than follow a predetermined path based on primal instinct and DNA. There really is no such thing as 'bad blood' in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, you have to choose to be evil.
FUNKY Three times in three movies, Rey is presented with the worst news for her at that time (leave your home and your chance of being reunited with your parents; your hero Jedi Master doesn't particularly like you and also your parents are total wasters; okay you do have parents but they're dead because wait until your Grandad gets home...), and each time she manages to rise above it, largely through her own force of will.
Rey engages with Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base*2 untrained and unready, knowing that Finn is in danger and this is a battle which can't be put off until another day (at least before the planet starts falling apart). It's the same 'standing up to a bully' ethos she used when rescuing BB-8 on Jakku. And when she arrives on Crait to be reunited with the Resistance, Rey doesn't know what awaits or that Luke Skywalker has had a change of heart, she just knows she has to be with her friends whatever happens. And in the finale where Rey goes to confront the Emperor alone? Well, that was by no means a certain victory. Our girl is just going all-in, knowing that the situation needs to be dealt with one way or another. While she's certainly gung-ho, Rey's intuitive growth in The Force comes from the learning-cycle perpetuated between her and Ben. She'll run fearlessly into each fight knowing she's stronger than before.
MR. DEEDS GOES TO The sequel trilogy may occasionally feel like a Lego model which has been added to by different children, but these are bumps in the road adding to the unpredictability of Rey's journey (from the character's point of view, at least). In terms of our protagonist, the three movies are indeed a cumulative, flowing narrative. Rey moves forward, never back, growing in experience, power and wisdom as she does. But it's still good to feel the sand under your feet once in a while.
Darkness rises and light to meet it.
The greatest teacher, failure is.
Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi.
The path of Rey Skywalker is The Hero's Journey for a new generation. And we haven't even got back to broom-boy, yet...
The Star Wars.
Obvs.
Obvs.
That one's up for debate, but probably not.
As the weeks go on that's looking possible, yes.
Not that I can tell.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
...but if you wanted to go around the houses with it, The Rise Of Skywalker stars Ian McDiarmid, who appeared in 1999's Sleepy Hollow alongside Christopher Lee, who was in 2010's Burke And Hare with Andy Serkis, the actor who played Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age Of Ultron which also starred Paul Bettany, who rocked up in The Young Victoria in the company of Julian Glover, who was in 'The Lovers' episode (part 2 at least) of Trial & Retribution with Guy Henry, who made an appearance in the 2009 TV drama Margaret with... Ian McDiarmid.
*1 Yeah I'm calling her that. Not only did I think it was literallythe case from the beginning, but it's also the identity she choses with the closing words of the trilogy. Define people by who they show themselves to be, man...[ BACK ]
*2 Can we just call it Ilum? It's Ilum. I mean after the Empire's ransacking of the Temple on Jedha for Kyber Crystals to power the Death Star's superlaser in Rogue One, we'd suspected that a weapon with as much power as Starkiller Base would probably need to be built around a planet made from them. And so it proves, the TROSVisual Dictionary confirms that the rubble formerly known as Starkiller Base is also the planet formerly known as Ilum. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
The sandy-haired 4yr old sitting in awe of a Star Destroyer in Robins Cinema, Durham in 1978 couldn't have imagined this moment, or the impact that Star Wars would have on his life in the decades between. Then again, that's the same 4yr old who went to school the next day and wrote about a film he'd seen where Luke Skywalker got kidnapped by Jawas, so objective processing and credible projection was never really his strong suit. With that in mind, here are my initial thoughts on Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. I'm still processing...
CRAM The longest Star Wars film to-date (not that it feels it) has a lot to cram in, and we hit the ground running. Visually and tonally we're 'home' right away, with JJ Abrams well enough versed in the Galaxy Far, Far Away that new locations and characters are introduced on the hoof, with fairly economical exposition.
Abrams strikes a fair balance between his 'safe' TFA and Rian Johnson's more playful follow-up. For the most part, he lands on his own side of the court, but TLJ is never gainsaid or disrespected. And while a few wry digs at previous plot revelations may placate the dissatisfied, I fear TROS has more moments of its own which will cause disquiet. Although I adore the high blood-pressure of others like a facetious vampire, so that's all the better.
ROGERS For obvious reasons, the concerns of the Sequel Trilogy are served first and foremost here, followed by the Original Trilogy then the Prequels. Again none are brushed aside (and there are some lovely small nods to the TV properties), but there's just less to tie up the further back the timeline goes. The screenplay digs its own holes with gusto but manages to claw its way out of most of them with varying levels of gainliness. There are aspects of TROS which the audience are asked to accept at face value. Some of these receive a perfunctory explanation, others I suspect will be the source of novel and comic retcons for years to come. And that's not a bad thing at Blackout Towers, but 'civilian' audiences*1 are less likely to be as understanding.
John Williams is on solid form with the score this time around (it's no secret I've initially struggled with his recent Star Wars outings), being able to pull more freely from the back catalogue as the story requires. Visually it's as flawless as you'd expect*2 with plenty of background details to draw the eye if the viewer is that way inclined. There's also a smattering of nicely-unsettling moments; nothing a 12A audience shouldn't be able to handle, but younger-youngsters may need a reassuring squeeze.
NAGE Abrams' overall characterisation works within the context of Star Wars, which is what you'd expect but there are leaps of faith here. Some returning characters aren't quite as prominent as you'd perhaps imagine, and I must confess that one of these passed me by completely until I noticed performer's name in the credits. But as above, there's a lot of ground to cover here; there are going to be casualties. Speaking of which, yes: there are casualties. See this soon to minimise the chance of spoilers (should go without saying really, but it never hurts to warn). There's nothing during or after the credits (other than Williams' score of course), but you should have guessed that already. Again, it doesn't hurt to have this confirmed.
And as for the ending itself? Mostly satisfying. I think. A bit of Dust In My Eye at one point, but I'd predicted more. As noted above, it's three in the morning and I've been in the cinema for eight and a half hours and I'm still processing a lot of what I've just seen. Don't expect all of your questions to be answered here. And be prepared for some of the answers to be things that you weren't expecting. But despite the marketing-push inferences, we all know this will not be the last Star Wars film. And while it's the final chapter of "The Skywalker Saga", that's not to say the future is a closed book.
Because as a famous doctor once said, "nothing ends. Nothing ever ends..."
The Star Warses.
Obvs.
Obvs.
Difficult to say at this early stage.
I can already spot the moments which the naysayers will latch onto yet I love this unconditionally, so that's possible yes.
Not that I heard.
Help me out, folks.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
...but if you wanted to go around the houses with it, The Rise Of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, who was in 2017's Murder On The Orient Express along with Josh Gad who rocked up in the live-action Beauty And The Beast that featured a candlestick voiced by Ewan McGregor, the same actor who donned a stetson for 2015's Jane Got A Gun alongside Natalie Portman, who appeared in Annihilation with Oscar Isaac, aka the evil purple dude in X-Men: Apocalypse, a movie which had a supporting performance from Rose Byrne who was in 2018's Peter Rabbit, featuring the voice-work of one Daisy Ridley.
You're welcome.
*1 And that is in no way a slight. If you're reading this and you consider (or suspect) yourself a 'civilian' Star Wars fan then be aware that yours is the lion's share of the money this film will take. Disney/Lucasfilm need the casual audience more than the hardcore 'see it ten times' fans, because there are more than ten-times-more of those. But also be aware that parts of TROS will have you scratching your head and asking 'is that how that works now, then?'. And that's fine, because in those moments that's what the hardcore are asking as well. It's just that we'll re-watch the movie nine times to make sure. [ BACK ]
*2 Okay, apart from one moment and we can talk about that another time. Seriously, it's fine. It's not playing on my mind or anything. Look, stop asking me about it, okay? It's fine. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Ah, what more can be said about the Star Wars movie on which everybody has An Opinion? Taking as read the fact that I obviously love it (hence the above string of links) and you, dear reader, probably don't detest it all that much since you're reading a review of the movie two years after its debut, it's worth nothing that The Last Jedi is still an oddity coming as it does in the middle of a trilogy.
NORMAL There are elements of Rian Johnson's movie which would, under the normal run of things, be introduced in the first of three films. This features slow-motion sequences, both in the battle above D'Qar and later in Skoke's throne room. Lucas' approach was closer to documentary-style filmmaking, so that stylistic emphasis wasn't employed. And then the flashbacks. Not the wavy-Force-vision of Anakin Skywalker's nightmares, or even the Force-assisted hallucination of Rey touching the lightsaber under Maz's castle. We get actual flashbacks here from both Luke and Kylo, as they recount their differing versions of Luke's downfall (and what's best is that since these differ so crucially, we know we still haven't seen a definitive, impersonal rendition of that night).
Speaking of The Force, Yoda is solid now. The Force is developing. Or rather, characters' ability to use it. Yoda still has the blue glow around him, but he blocks out the fire as he's silhouetted against it, something that visible Force spirits haven't done until now. This is indicative that the little green fella has not been idle in his downtime, and has advance 'coming back' to the point where the user has physical agency, presumably a technique he goes on to teach Luke after Rey has left to join her friends, enabling his Force-projection for the finale.
Speaking of the finale, Luke dies in this movie. No problem with that at all, obviously, but in the past the wizard/mentor archetype meets the protagonist in the first chapter, introduces them to the Force, then dies by the end. It's Ben Kenobi in A New Hope, Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. It's that step in The Hero's Journey where they're on their own, the teacher having passed on all they can. It's that first step into a larger world, as somebody once said. All of these concepts usually occur in the first part of a Star Wars trilogy, here they turn up in the second.
HOOVER But then...
Not only does Supreme Leader Snoke not survive until the end of the trilogy, he doesn't even make it to the end of this part. We know now that's because his place is taken by Palpatine for the closer, of course, but it's a bold narrative move to take him out so early in the game, yet still have that sequence mean something. This is usually the kind of fight which would occur at the final crescendo, intercut with ground and space battles.
The film's title, 'The Last Jedi' has an air of confrontation, a level of finality which seems more fitting for the conclusion of a three-act story. That's carried over into the film's marketing; whereas the The Force Awakens resurrected the classic yellow-on-black for the logo and publicity material, here it's rendered in a stark, urgent red. While it makes sense to switch up the colours when releasing chapters of the same story in such a close timespan, the usual method would be to use blue for Episode VIII (as they ended up doing for The Rise Of Skywalker), and saving the red for last. Alas not.
And then there's the sign-off. The group-shot on the Falcon is the natural ending point for a Star Wars film. Instead we jump back to the stables on Canto Bight, a callback to the youngsters we met there earlier. And while that final shot brings a tear to my eye every damned time, the whole thing feels like a post-credits stinger that had to be incorporated into the movie because Star Wars Doesn't Do Those. The scene's motif of hope for the future, so evocative of Luke Skywalker watching the binary sunset as a young man, is the kind of Easter egg you'd drop at the close of a trilogy. Or even the close of three trilogies. Instead it appears here. We'll almost certainly see those kids again, but will it be in The Rise Of Skywalker? Well, I'll be able to answer that in a few hours...
I'm a big, big fan of The Last Jedi. Not in spite of its differences from the rest of the Star Wars cinematic saga, but because of them.
This is both the salt-flat and promontory rock-seat that I will die on.
The Star Warses Or not The Star Warses, depending on who you talk to.
If you can, yes.
It is.
For a few of them, it just may be.
That's possible.
Already happened once this month.
There is.
Level 0: This is Star Wars
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
This is a busy time to be a Star Wars fan. There's so much new content being released at the moment that it's east to forget the impact that Episode VII had in 2015. Back in the day (engage OLD MAN MODE) there was a three-year gap between movies, but here we are on the eve of the fifth cinematic entry in four years, halfway through the second season of Resistance and the first of The Mandalorian on the small screen. So the chance to revisit a Star Wars in its natural environment - the cinema - is one to be grasped with both hands.
FRESH The Force Awakens holds up well as a very fresh-faced reintroduction for civilian audiences who hadn't been in the Galaxy Far, Far Away for a decade (or potentially longer). The film is more 'gee-whiz', closer to the Original Trilogy outlook that Lucasfilm were trying to channel for those viewers left unimpressed by The Adventures Of Young Anakin. But even for the seasoned Star Wars fan, TFA was an early sign that they're in familiar territory and that there'll be few unpleasant surprises in store now the franchise is in new hands.
The visual effects, cinematography and lighting are closer to the filmmaking of the Prequel Trilogy*1, with the sound design and score evoking its 1970s/80s predecessors. By JJ's own admission, the film is about recycling the Original Trilogy, either structurally, thematically or just repurposing hardware from the galactic civil war. whether that's redesigning the white armour of the Stormtroopers or converting a felled AT-AT into a scavenger's home, TFA is about skewing nostalgia. Just... not too much. Not yet.
ALBERT But for fans old and new, there's no doubt that the events they're watching are taking place in the Star Wars universe they know, because the creators, cast and crew have such reverence for the source material that they can't help throw their all into making it work.
And yet there are also things we see for the first time, here; TIE Fighters and X-Wings plunging into combat in a planetary atmosphere, a hologram which doesn't seem to emit its own light, blocks out light behind it and even creates shadows as a result. There are also a few neat little twists to stop things becoming too predictable (because when we saw the first trailer's glimpse of the Falcon-chase through the desert, who among us imagined that it wouldn't be Han and Chewie at the controls?).
RODNEY Not only does TFA expand on the cinematic universe beyond Return Of The Jed, it also primes the fandom for new tales on new planets (no matter how familiar they may appear, all of the locations in this movie were new in 2015), essential for managing assumptions with Lucasfilm's projects to follow.
As much as it's difficult not to love The Force Awakens, it's a very safe movie. Designed to reassure the casual cinemagoer that all is right (that's the first line of dialogue, for crying out loud), to shepherd them back into the fold with nostalgia for the classic movies they love, while bringing the aesthetics up-to-date. Disney's plan here was not to take risks. Because as we're about to learn, the last thing people want from their Star Wars is risk*2...
The Star Warses.
If you can, yes.
Going to assume you've already got this by now but yes.
Probably not, to be fair.
Only if you're wrong, obvs.
There is.
Level 0: This is Star Wars.
*1 No matter how much the publicity material delighted in banging on about 'the old ways'. JJ Abrams has gone on record to say that for one shot in the Falcon, they lengthened Harrison Ford's hair with CGI due to scheduling discrepancies. Yes, you read that right. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Well, we did it*1, we made double figures. And as it turns out, my tenth viewing for The Last Jedi appears to have been the final screening at my local cinema. Ending the run this early feels unusually eager on the part of the programme selection team, since a five-week stint for a film of this size is hardly excessive*2, and even I was surprised that there was a fair old audience amassed to watch it. But hey, I don't set up the schedule, and I have to admit to finding something faintly poetic in being there for the first and last showings of a movie I love.
But examinations of the numbers aside, we did it*3. I've watched, absorbed and ruminated upon The Last Jedi enough now for it to no longer be 'the new Star Wars movie. By this point, Rian Johnson's feature is the same familiar, comfort-blanket of other-wordly adventure that I get from all (all) the other entries in the series. I'm still not sold on the Rey From Nowhere idea, and still not exactly a fan of that one particular scene, but I accept their presence and, for the time-being at least, their pertinence to the respective character-arcs. Which is my way of saying that a perfect movie can still contain things which you personally find imperfect. I haven't, and will not be, signing any online petitions to expel the offending toys from my pram.
So, short of me catching the film at some other cinema before it disappears completely (I believe it's still playing in the larger venues in London), this will probably be the last time you'll have me banging on about Episode VIII until the inevitable triple-bill screening before Episode IX. And now I can go back to grumbling about how unexciting all the normal flicks are.
My own internal digestion of The Last Jedi will continue as I read various tie-in publications, and with the bonus material included on the Blu-ray release in March/April*4. Although by then of course, I'll be getting super-hyped for the Han Solo movie which we still (at time of writing) haven't had a trailer for. But I digress...
In closing, all I can really say is that you haven't seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi until you've seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi ten times.
Discuss.
The Star Wars's.
It is.
For me, it's a buyer (already pre-ordered, obvs).
It's high.
It's very high.
Over some points, possibly.
There is.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
*1 I say 'we', I mean 'I'. Obviously. I'd be very surprised if you'd been to see TLJ ten times. Impressed, but surprised. [ BACK ]
*2Taken 2 played for six weeks as I recall, although that seemed to be more because they couldn't find anything else to take up the screens. [ BACK ]
*4 Although as it's already been flash-stickered as "over two hours" worth, that sounds like it'll be about as in-depth as the Rogue One extras. Which is to say, 'fleeting, at best'. For the record, the Phantom Menace DVD in 2001 arrived with 6 hours of bonus material, and the 2011's saga Blu-ray set had over 40. Just saying. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Okay, rather than harp on about the rights and wrongs of The Emperor again (there's still fuel in that tank, I assure you), it's probably time to write the review I should have several weeks ago and lay some appreciation on the Sequel Trilogy's central character, Rey Skywalker*1. Yes, there's a lot going on throughout all three movies (arguably too much in this last entry), but the one line which cuts directly through everything is the path of Rey. From an intrinsically lonely kid on a dustball planet in the back-end of nowhere to the galaxy's brightest light in a time of darkness, Rey has always been a Skywalker in the truest sense.
