Film Review for the Send-Off That is Rise of Skywalker
By: George Robbins
[usr 4.2]
This film review for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will discuss how the film creates a pretty decent send-off for the main story franchise. First of all, even though it shouldn’t have to be said, massive spoilers ahead. That being said I can move forward with this review. To be fair to some degree, I went into the film with low expectations and enjoyed it a lot. Admittedly, I also didn’t really like “The Last Jedi,” which shaped my opinion going into the film. With this in mind, I came out of the movie theater having enjoyed what I watched. Seriously, if you don’t want spoilers, duck out now.
First off, before spoilers, I have to say that the actors did an excellent job with their performances. The actors, especially the main characters Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo, played by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver respectively. All of the remaining characters play off them and one another very well. Ian McDiarmid makes an incredible return as Palpatine/ Darth Sidious and plays the part as well as he did originally. I thought that the return would be ham-fisted but it stayed entertaining throughout with him as the main villain.
Throughout the film they continually answered questions people had been asking. Rey’s parentage ending up with her being Palpatine’s grand-daughter made me like “The Last Jedi” a bit more. Not just that, but other things like who Snoke really was in the other two films. Palpatine was revealed as the true villain behind all that transpired in the new trilogy. I understand that this isn’t an amazing way to end it, but it made sense. Following the end of Return of the Jedi, we always wondered whether or not that was truly Palpatine’s end, and we got our answer.
There are a few call-backs to the original trilogy, such as a return to the Death Star and a land speeder chase reminiscent of the Endor chase. Not only that, but the send-offs for all of the characters is satisfying. In my opinion, Kylo using his own life to save Rey’s seems fitting for a redemption of the character. Also, the death of Carrie Fisher made us all wonder what they would do with Leia, and her death in the movie makes perfect sense. You can feel the impact of her death both on and off of the screen. Beyond that, the rest of the original trio have proper send-offs as well that impact the story and the audience.
The End of Nostalgia
Overall, with the return of Luke, played by Mark Hamill, as a force ghost, and Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, as a memory work well within the story. They push the plot forward in a productive way that creates a dramatic and incredible ending to the story. That being said, I am by no means saying the film is perfect. I felt as though a lot of things like that were just put in for nostalgia and I can understand that, but I just don’t like things like that. I know that the new trilogy is polarizing, but this movie, to me, is a good send-off to it.
For more information on the movie, click here. For quick information on the cast and run-time of the film, click here.