Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (ninth-pass)
Cert: 12A / 142 mins / Dir. J.J. Abrams / Trailer Previous reviews:
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Okay, just a quick jaunt this late in The Rise Of Skywalker's cinematic run to lay some appreciation out for the magnificent Anthony Daniels, the man behind (inside) the golden droid that is See-Threepio.
The character (indeed, the actor) had little more than an incidental role in The Force Awakens and The Rise Of Skywalker, lighting up each of his scenes but coming off as feeling a little shortchanged given the character's previous importance. Daniels has been in this from the very start, of course, braving the heat of the Tunisian sun for Tatooine back in '75. The movies may be labelled The Skywalker Saga, but C-3PO essentially is Star Wars. Certainly a core part of what makes it special.
His was the first line of dialogue in the (release order) story, and Threepio reprises those four words as his last in Episode IX. Okay, this isn't as cool as the circularity of Revenge Of The Sith's Tantive IV callback, but given that LFL later decided the Episode III blockade runner was in fact The Sundered Heart instead, that particular Easter egg has already been retconned into insignificance*1.
But C-3PO turns out to be the most pivotal droid in The Rise Of Skywalker, even upstaging BB-8 in his usefulness (quite the achievement in this trilogy). What's more, he gets many of the film's funniest lines and corny as they may be, the droid's humour is always on-brand*2. He has an endearing lack of self-awareness for one with so much external knowledge, which speaks to anyone who's ever tried to fit in despite being a smartarse.
Threepio's screen-time is still relatively short in Episode IX of course, but the droid that shines twice as bright translates half as long. There'll be more adventures with goldenrod in one form or another, as hinted at by Daniels himself recently. Part of Star Wars' specific charm is its non-linear approach to storytelling across different media, and there's only one guy who can do the voice, the movement, the essence.
So.
Where the hell is my 3¾" red-eyed C-3PO, Hasbro?
The Star Wars.
Obvs.
Obvs.
That one's up for debate, but probably not.
Try me.
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 Anthony Daniels, who was in the 'Best Years Of Your Death' episode of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) with Tom Baker, one of the many Doctors in 2013's 'Day Of The Doctor' special of Doctor Who next to David Tennant, who appears in Good Omens alongside Daniel Mays, who was in The Infiltrator which also featured Jason Isaacs from A Cure For Wellness, a film that had Celia Imrie in it from out of 1990's The World Of Eddie Weary which also starred... Anthony Daniels.
*2 Hey, I'm a massive fan of Attack Of The Clones and even I can't forgive the "this is such a drag" line. Not least because the "I'm quite beside myself" is superb. [ 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, that's better. As is usual, the second viewing of a new Star Wars movie allows for a step back, looking at the bigger picture without fixating on the plot as it unfolds. And I'm very happy to say that The Rise Of Skywalker flows far more smoothly when you know where the river is headed. You can put down the map and enjoy the scenery, so to speak. Too many metaphors for a single paragraph. Not sorry.
REVELATIONS Make no mistake, there is still a lot of story-admin going on here, and yet somehow not enough. That's coupled with a smattering of unnecessary explanations as a sort of scriptwriter's garnish. Huge revelations are dropped into the dialogue with the same dramatic inference as a Rebel technician pointing out that the toner cartridge needs changing, and they're usually accepted in the same straightforward fashion.
We (by which I mean Fandom™) have spent the last four years asking questions, be it where do things come from or where did they disappear to. Star Wars movies have never been about massive ungainly bouts of backstory*1, but we hadn't stopped to think that when our answers did arrive, they'd do so with no further explanation or qualification. More fodder for the novels and comics, and that's fine.
JOB But ultimately there are two films here. There's the Abrams-esque rollicking adventure, in which our planet-hopping heroes solve puzzles, locate artefacts and blast their way out of tight corners. Then there's the more Johnson-esque ponderous study of duty, destiny and the resurgence of the Sith. And while these are both definitely Star Wars™, they don't meet in the middle because even 142 minutes isn't enough time to properly do both ideas justice.
Think of how unbalanced Return Of The Jedi is. All of the interesting stuff happens aboard the second Death Star, with the space and ground battles providing breathing-room for the heavyweight force of wills. But as much fun as the Jabba's palace adventure is*2, when you've seen RotJ a few times it starts to get in the way, knowing there's more important business to be taken care of. One of the hills The Rise Of Skywalker has to climb is that this mismatch is apparent from the beginning, so the viewer quickly has to decide which of the two films they're in the mood for. Most of us want both, but that won't come until later viewings, when it's all bedded in.
BAG We want instant gratification from Star Wars, but that's rarely how the series operates. The first 1977 flick did it, and to a certain degree The Force Awakens was probably closest to replicating that feel-good blast, but even that later work was subject to a quick reappraisal when it became apparent how structurally similar it is to A New Hope and The Phantom Menace.
You want the same movie experience from each new release? Fast & Furious is right there. You want to love Star Wars? I'm afraid it might be a little more work than just sitting down in front of it.
I have spoken.
The Star Wars.
Obvs.
Obvs.
For some it will be high on the CV, yes.
Yup.
Okay, I think there's one when REDACTED falls into the REDACTED at REDACTED.
Need to investigate this, though.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
...but if you wanted to go around the houses with it, The Rise Of Skywalker stars Carrie Fisher of course, who was in 2009's Fanboys along with Ray Park, who performed voicework for the motion-comic of Spartacus: Blood And Sand next to Jaime King, who rocked up in last year's Ocean's Eight alongside Richard Armitage from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a movie which also featured Kiran Shah, who was in 2011's Your Highness with Justin Theroux, who also had a role in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle next to the one and only Carrie Fisher...
*1 Although many would argue that Episodes I-III fit squarely into this bracket; naturally, I'd disagree. [ BACK ]
*2 And as much as even I have grumbled about Snoke buying the farm halfway through the trilogy, let's not forget that the iconic Jabba The Hutt wasn't originally introduced until 13 minutes into the third Star Wars movie, and 25 minutes later he's a smouldering mess of barbecued blubber. That's it. That's Jabba. [ 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, thank the maker for the variation of weekend movie scheduling. Solo is back at my local for (presumably?) one final, off-peak blast before retiring in wait for September's DVD/Blu-ray release. This means I get to take another spin in the Falcon on a satisfyingly huge screen, and shorten the amount of time spent wondering "did I hear that line right? Did Han Solo from out of The Star Wars really say 'crap'?"*1
But the other question, one for which there is no shortcut in answering, is what will be the legacy of Solo? Not the real-world legacy of underwhelming box office performance and the righteous indignation of fanboys web-wide (one suspects those topics are far from being finalised), but how will this movie go on be seen within the narrative framework of Star Wars?
Ron Howard's entry to the canon is unusual for a prequel-type film in that it reveals little in the way of surprises to the audience, and features even fewer ret-cons in the process. As previously noted, the broad sequence of events for Han meeting Chewbacca and rescuing the wookiee from Imperial captors, and for Han winning the Falcon in a game of Sabacc... well, they're largely the same as the Legends continuity. The background faces might change, but the direction of the narrative doesn't.
Arguably one of its main strengths is that a viewer could sit down and watch Solo as their first Star Wars movie, enjoying the movie for the adventure romp that it is without their brain insisting on making connections to other stories throughout. And considering how iconic the 'legacy' characters are in this, that's one hell of an achievement.
But after we'd seen Rogue One for the first time, we knew that we'd never watch the opening ten minutes of A New Hope in the same way again. When Vader steps into the corridor of the Tantive IV after the Stormtroopers have taken care of business, we know that's because the dark lord is still getting his metaphysical breath back*2 from the slaughter at Scarif. And we now have to stifle our laughter when Leia insists she's on a diplomatic mission.
But with a decade between Han standing on the Savareen cliff-edge and then slouching at a table in Chalmun's cantina, what are the moments in the Original Trilogy which suddenly make sense after this new movie?
On the plus-side...
• Well, we can now crack a smile when Han boasts of the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel-run with a record-breaking distance measurement, rather than one of time. Although as above, the explanation for this was pretty much the same in the Legends continuity. The Kasdans could have ret-conned the Kessel-run into some kind of planetary drag-race (fitting, with Ron Howard's previous directorial form), but obviously thought better of stretching the fabric too far.
• While Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew always sold it perfectly anyway, we've now seen the beginnings of a bond between best friends who've been hanging around and getting out of scrapes for ten years. It's not clear in the rebooted timeline whether the 'wookiee life-debt' will come into play (that was always an Expanded Universe thing), but I don't think we've seen the pivotal 'okay, I'm all-in with you now' moment in their relationship during Solo's run-time.
• Now that we know L3-37 is part of the Falcon's droid-brain configuration, listen closely and you'll notice the whirring sound she makes (twisting her head before the jump to Kessel) is the same as the Falcon emits when jumping to Hyperspace in the OT. And while I'd like to say that this explains C-3PO's observation in The Empire Strike Back the the ship has an unusual dialect, I don't think he's referring to L3. While she was certainly abrupt and opinionated, L3-37 is one of the most clear and articulate communicators we've met. I suspect Threepio had been talking to one of the other two droid-brains which collectively navigate the ship.
...but then again...
• Most of Han's cynical personality traits aren't in-place by the end of Solo, and nor should they be. This film is the door-opener to another corner and timeframe of the galaxy, not the singular transformation process by which 17yr old orphan becomes exactly the grumpy pirate we meet on Tatooine. Not designed to follow straight on like Rogue One does, this just means that the character-gap will be more apparent than ever if a viewer watches Solo and ANH in close proximity.
• And because of this length between chapters, the gaps in the old scripts which are now filled tend to be more curiosities (ie the Kessel-run) than events which show the OT in a new light. Because of this (and the various real-world marketing niggles), I suspect this new film will be remembered as the first slightly 'forgettable' Star Wars movie. Not least because a whole load of people haven't yet seen it.
• And because of the lack of narrative punch, I don't think Solo will be revisited too often by casual fans until further entries in the canon make it interesting or necessary to do so (ie another movie featuring Crimson Dawn).
Okay, so…
I don't think it's unfair to say that Solo's legacy will be far greater inside the Galaxy Far, Far Away than outside it. From all the narratively-significant 'new' characters we meet, only Qi-ra and Enfys Nest are left alive to continue the story after the credits roll. And the same thing can be said of Rogue One of course, but the Star Wars publishing schedule is far from linear.
Stories will be retrospectively told about Woody Harrelson's ramshackle pirate gang, about the ongoing war on Mimban, about the Cloud-rider swoop gang, and most pertinently about the rise of Crimson Dawn. And this last thread is a one which will continue into the future of course, with Qi'ra and her boss continuing to be a thorn in the side of everyone, after her promotion.
And let's not forget that we now have a definitive foundation for an in-universe decade's worth of multi-media buddy japes and cantina-stories. And those have already begun, because there's a concept we can't get enough of - a man and his wookiee…
The Star Wars's.
Yes.
Yes, all.
Best? Debatable.
Most memorable? Pehaps…
No, but we'll discuss it at great length.
By which I mean, *I'll* discuss it at great length.
There isn't.
Down with this sort of thing.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
…but if you wanted to go round the houses with it, Solo stars Woody Harrelson, who was of course a regular in Cheers, as was John Ratzenberger, who appeared in 1988's She's Having A Baby which also starred Paul Gleason, a participant in 1993's Loaded Weapon 1 along with Tim Curry, who rocked up in the 2010 comedy Burke And Hare with Michael Smiley, who was in The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman, who appeared in the 2009 documentary Milos Forman: What Doesn't Kill You, as did... Woody Harrelson.
*2 As opposed to his 'actual' breath. We all know he's got a machine which does that for him. [ 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.
What a shoddy Star Wars fan I am. The Solo movie has been in cinemas for five weeks and I've only seen it eight times*1. There are reasons behind this ranging from manic IRL scheduling through to my own enforced laziness (due in no small part to the manic IRL scheduling). But this weekend appears to hold the final screenings at my local (although Monday's new listings will tell), so barring me perhaps being able to catch the film on an as-yet-unplanned jaunt to the capital, this is probably the end of the line for me and the Corellian captain on the big screen*2…
One last pass to catch the things which make me smile. Like Qi'Ra's warning to Han at the spaceport that they could be "sold to Crimson Dawn or the Hutt cartel", the very same organisations which the pair of them go on to work for anyway.
One last pass to catch the things which make my jaw drop. Like cinematographer Bradford Young's 360° tracking shot of Han's stolen speeder during the Corellia docklands chase. Then later, the similar pan-around of the Millennium Falcon as it skids into a crash-landing on Savareen.
One last pass to catch the things I suddenly notice for the first time. Like what appears to be a droid/vehicle made from an AT-AT's leg/chassis framework, moving in the water on Corellia. And the stripped down landspeeder in the factory alley there. And the guy sitting at the card table in the game at the end, wearing a modified X-Wing pilot's helmet. And the dude standing behind Lando in the same game wearing a breastplate from repurposed Snowtrooper armour.
After careful consideration, I think I love every single frame of this film. No caveats, no exceptions. There are parts I'd like expanded, but that doesn't mean I don't love what's there. Bravo Lucasfilm, bravo.
In fact, I only have one question: where the hell is my Therm Scissorpunch 3¾" action figure, Hasbro..?
The Star Wars's.
Yes.
Yes, all.
For some, quite possibly.
No, but I'll insist that you tell me every single thought of yours about it, then I'll critique those as well.
There isn't.
I don't like it. I don't agree with it.
But I accept it..
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
…but if you wanted to go round the houses with it, Solo features Jon Favreau, who rolled up in Disney's John Carter along with Dominic West, who starred in 2010's Centurion along with Riz Ahmed, a player in Channel 4's zombie-drama Dead Set which also starred Andy Nyman, who was in 2007's Death At A Funeral with Alan Tudyk, who has lent his voice to various episodes of Robot Chicken with Seth Green, who appeared in 1995's Notes From The Underground alongside... Jon Favreau
*1 Yeah, I know it seems excessive to normal people, but I caught The Force Awakens eleven times in its initial run, Rogue One for nine screenings and The Last Jedi on ten separate occasions. What was notable watching Solo this time is that my screen held 18 viewers as the BBFC card came up. Which is more than attended the 3D midnight screening on day 0, but there you go… [ BACK ]
*2 Although the blu-ray is pre-ordered, obviously. [ 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.
One of the most satisfying jokes in Solo is Imperial recruitment officer Drawd Munbrin (Andrew Woodall) saying assuringly to his newly approved cadet "Good luck Han Solo, we'll have you flying in no time". We then cut to an exterior battle-scene on another planet - day or night, it's hard to tell - and join who we'll find out is Han Solo, hurtling briefly through the air before unceremoniously landing in a welter of mud, sweat and shrapnel.
And as Han picks himself up, concentration struggling against the noise and confusion which surrounds him, I thought 'is this the first time we've seen this?'. Is this the first time we've seen the unrestrained chaos of actual 'war' in Star Wars?
There have been plenty of battles of course, but they've been relatively short-lived confrontations and with a clear victor at the end. The previous movies' set-pieces tend to show one party arriving on-planet with the intention of destroying the other (Hoth, Endor, Naboo, Geonosis, Scarif, two Death Stars), and are settled (more or less) within the confines of that film. But with Solo we're dropped onto Mimban in the middle of a prolonged onslaught, as Imperial forces struggle to subdue the indigenous resistance fighters of a planet that the Empire are mining to death. There's no easily attainable objective for either side, no shortcuts in the meanwhile, and Han does the sensible thing of getting out while he's still alive. We leave Mimban as we found it, no closer to a conclusion but for the dwindling body-count on both sides.
Even back in the animated Clone Wars series where we dotted around the galaxy's conflict hotspots, the location was acting as a pivotal point in the overall war (or that planet's role in it) or being used as a backdrop while something happened as an aside to it all. The closest we've ever come to witnessing a miserable, protracted assault was Clone Wars Season 4's 'Umbara' story-arc, where the Besalisk Jedi, General Krell, went a bit Colonel Kurtz and the story played out as an homage to Francis Ford Coppola's seminal war film.
But Mimban. The fire, the screaming, the mud of a thoroughly destroyed landscape. The dug-in trenches which look like they've been there long enough to represent an absolute stalemate in the fight for planetary supremacy. The barely-concealed weariness of brittle commanders attempting to organise cynical troopers, personnel flying through the air, AT-ST walkers using those nimble legs to actually leap across the battlefield. All that's missing in the realism stakes is the blood and bad language you'd expect to find there*1.
While video games almost always make for appalling big-screen adaptations, I can't shake the thought that this is what a Star Wars: Battlefront movie could look like. Still at a 12A rating, but with the driving intensity you usually only find when you've got a controller in your hands.
Can we have more of this, please..?
The Star Wars's.
Yes.
Yes, all.
For some, time will tell.
I shouldn't imagine so.
There isn't, and I'll be honest with you, I'm not entirely happy about that. Which I'll admit is something of a small hill to die on, in the current state of Star Wars fandom.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
…but if you wanted to go round the houses with it, Solo features the voice and mo-cap work of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was in 2011's Albert Nobbs with Bronagh Gallagher, who starred in Made In Belfast with Shauna McDonald, who rocked up in 2013's Filth, a movie which also featured Kate Dickie from out of Game Of Thrones, which showcases Gwendoline Christie who appeared in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, along with Celia Imrie, who appeared in the TV series Blandings with... Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
*1 And while the only creatures that appear to actually bleed in the Galaxy Far, Far Away are ANH's aqualish and TESB's wampa, bear in mind that The Last Jedi was the first Star Wars movie to feature the word "bastard" in its script, while Solo adds "butt", "crap" and "arse" to the ongoing lexicon. We'll have Disney up to Inglourious Basterds-levels in no time at all ;)[ 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, just a quick jaunt this late in The Rise Of Skywalker's cinematic run to lay some appreciation out for the magnificent Anthony Daniels, the man behind (inside) the golden droid that is See-Threepio.
