đ¨The Rise of Skywalker Detailed Review and Spoilers Aheadđ¨
George Lucas:Â âIf the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box officeâ
The âfairytaleâ we got: A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a curse of pain and death in a family that just went on and on. They were never able to break it and they all die, the end.Â
Well, you did it JJ, you little punkâŚyou ruined 40 years of cinema. A little girl probably around 6-7 years old who was with her grandparents at my theatre literally was crying as we exited. I guess this was the âfun and hopeful endingâ you were speaking of during the press tours. Are you on crack or something, or just sadisticâŚ.why would you promote it like that!? Did you forget Star Wars at its core is a story of hope, light, a fairytale in space for children? They did itâŚthey united Reyloâs and Fanboys through hate.Â
JJ you do realize tragical romances are only tragically romantic if there was romantic buildup? Romeo and Juliet married in secret, Anidala did as well and flirted in the fields. How was this supposed to be satisfying? A five-second beginning, middle, and end. How this went through multiple execs is beyond meâŚ. I would have understood if Reylo was Rianâs creation. BUT JJ LITERALLY was the one who told Rian to go forth with itâŚhe created Reylo so you canât say the last Jedi derailed things on that front. JJ wasnât brave enough for his own vision.
Okay, first things first. The OG trilogy was necessary, the prequels were necessary to set up that Vader did not start off bad. What was necessary about the sequels? They just dismantled everything the Skywalker family worked for. Why did we have to see ALL of our favorite characters die? Was the aim that a villain can only be redeemed through death? How original. Iâm convinced what they were planning for since force awakens was a journey from villain to heroâŚbut instead we got this a 10min redemption resulting in death a la Vader. Why call Adam Driverâs character a âDisney Princeâ?When did Happy endings become so controversial? We go to the movies to feel hope, to escape realityâŚGeorge Lucas understood that. JJâs trilogy is uninspired, bland and contributes nothing to the saga. It had the chance to define generations but no. Literal and utter garbage. Rian made some odd choices but he was bold, unafraid and had the vision. HE knew emotion was at the heart of Star Wars.
WHERE DID THE SKYWALKERS RISE? MORE LIKE RISE OF PALPATINE, HE BLOODY WON
BUT my problem is not with the ending, itâs the bloody entire movie. This movie made me realize that itâs not Reylo that I am a fan of, it was Ben, Leia, Han, Ani, Padme, and all those other characters. Iâm upset because this movie is not my Star Wars: of family, love and above all else hope. This is just a 2.5-hour video game with no emotions.Â
Okay, you will never ever convince me Palpatine was planned the whole time. This whole movie was retcon for the Last Jedi that pissed off the fanboys. Lucas films did not have an outline for the three films and Rian derailed whatever they wanted to doâŚ.except they didnât even tell him what they wanted! This should be a cautionary tale of why you need to plan. Kylo ainât bad, Snoke is goneâŚ.well pull out Palpatine I guess. This whole film is JJâs mad scrambling. Alright, I will humor you, tell me how Palpatine came back when he fell down a shaft and explodedâŚ.not *boom boom because of force*. The force in this movie is not canon George Lucas force, itâs just an easy out whenever JJ wants one.Â
1. Opening Crawl: As soon as I saw this I knew all the leaks were true, I wanted to bolt from the theatre. When I saw them in August I laughed cause it was so ridiculous it couldnât be true. How could Disney let a whole movie leak? The plot seemed like a bad fan-fiction. Actually, fanfics are way more true to lore. Anyway, so Palpatine âannouncesâ that heâs back. Is this the shrewd Chancellor Palpatine we know? Certainly, notâŚwhy in the world would he announce it rather than keep on the DL and just attack. Yo Palps ainât this dumb why would you let them (the resistance) prepare?? Because of plotâŚwell okay.Â
2. Did Last Jedi even happen: this film is the sequel to the force awakens, like TLJ never happenedâŚexcept itâs acting like there was some movie in between that JJ made. Okay, so why is Kylo trying to run Rey over with his tie fighterâŚhe doesnât really want to kill her. Itâs just meaningless action shots. And donât get me started on exposition, the dialogue: âhey look its the Knights of Renâ. Except they do nothing. Cool cool. Kyloâs character goes back to Force awakens era like no development had occurredâŚexcept heâs not even there heâs just messing around not even being a real villain. JJâs specialty is set-up and he does this beautifullyâŚ.but he can not wrap up and follow through.Â
3. Rose Tico: yup last Jedi never happened, she has nothing to do. She and Finn are irrelevant. Finn has reverted to being obsessed with Rey. Cool Cool. I honestly feel so bad for the lovely Kelly Marie Tran. How did you relegate a relatively big character into the sidelines?? Why introduce two new characters this late. Rose could have filmed in for themâŚbut alas we must snub Rian at every turn because thatâs just how petty JJ Abrams is. ( donât get me wrong Jannah was cool)
4. The Rise Of Poe Dameron: Finn has been relegated to a side character who does nothing and just yells âREY!â. It was a great setup, a stormtrooper who was force sensitive but doesnât want his life to be fighting for nothing. You could have explored trauma, the discovery of the light but nope nada. Tell me the point of his character journey. So flat and static.
5. Leia:Â Okay youâre telling me our Princess would give up on her son before he was born, just throw away her lightsaber and accept Benâs fate? Cool alright.
6. Mary Sue Rey: Ahh Rey this girl feels no emotion in this movieâŚjust like the audience. Sure sheâs trained but she can just do stuff with the âforceâ that even Jedi masters canât. Stopping a whole starship, something even Yoda could barely doâŚyup she can do it. Beat Kylo all the time except one, yup she can. Manipulate the force in mind-boggling ways, heal peopleâŚsure Luke couldnât but Rey certainly can. Cause she is the chosen oneâŚhell even Ani wasnât this talented and he had years of training. Poe and Finn have genuine connection, Rey just seems disjointed (totally understandable why)âŚbut if so the ending is even worse. She doesnât even find peace with her friends. Sheâs not realistic and human, like Luke and Leia were.Â
7. Kylo/Ben: I still maintain that he, other than Ani was the most nuanced character in the whole saga. His arc from Force Awakens to Last Jedi had progressed. How great that even someone from the legendary line of skywalker and solo could fall to the dark again. He wasnât flat, he was a tortured boy that was conflicted since the first movie. How great would it have been to see him as a conflicted supreme leader, which was set up in TLJ. But *gasps* a plot of his very own, no can do, this is the nature of JJâs crush on Rey and Daisy.Â
Disney released comics that made us sympathize with him, to see that all along he was manipulated by Snoke, and Palpatine the voices in his head. Neglected by those who were supposed to love him. Adam Driver was cast perfectly, he had almost no lines that werenât related to Reyâs charcater arc. If he were a woman Iâm sure everyone would be offended. That single lineâs delivery âDad-â
Come on Poe had more lines than him, and Driver according to JJ was half of the protagonist. He was pitched an arc opposite that of Darth Vader thatâs why he signed. Man JJ really did do everyone dirty.Â
8. Ben had no lines while redeemed other than âowââŚI am so sorry ADAM that this nasty ass JJ did this to youâŚthis part was 100% improv by Adam, I am willing to bet my life on it. You know why âowâ was brilliant? Cause it meant he felt pain and emotion, he was no longer hiding behind the hardness of Kylo REN. Adamâs performance as Ben left me speechless, he was convincing as Kylo, intimidatingâŚbut as BEN he shines in the way only Soloâs can. The way his eyes become determined once he accepts he must give his life, and he does so happily for the love of his life. His soulmate. Star Wars and JJ never deserved the talent that is Adam Driver.
9. They are supposed to be equals in the force yet they missed the opportunity to fight Snoke together. Tell me how they are equals. He existed only to further Reyâs plotline.Â
Oh and the other Jedi including Anakin whisper and help ReyâŚwhen his own grandson has been asking for help in distress for like 30years. Nice real nice.
10. Finally Reylo: it felt unearned cause there was no buildup, JJ just threw it in for kicks forgetting all the P&P parallels he was shooting for. An afterthought. Driver and Ridleyâs acting saved the day, they had no lines. Adam Driver is truly one of the finest actors. You could see the difference between Ben and Kylo in his subtle gesturesâŚthe sass was pure Han Solo. Â
11. And then the death: I wouldnât even say we won, but at what cost. We won in no way. Had he died fighting I would have understood, but this death was so unnecessary and put in just for the fanboys. Let me say again I would have been okay with death had it been justified. How is this any different than Vader x Luke. JJ can only copy not create. How crazy that you can just bring people back from the deadâŚAnakin is here like, am I joke to you? I could have brought Padme back say what???? What was the point of his whole fall to the dark. Iâm convinced JJ was on crack. Â
12. No Reylo theme song, no across the stars. 5 seconds! And then she moves on from losing her soulmate, half of her soul. She loses it over Chewie but nothing, no emotion not even a second over her other half. Seriously? No one ever knows Ben came backâŚnada. JJ set up Reylo, time and time again he has said that he crafted the story around the romance. He was left scrambling after Last Jedi and this was a last-ditch shock ending.Â
13. Last Jedi told us you donât have to come from a powerful family to be important. THE WHOLE thing was that you could be force-sensitive and be a nobody. Nobodies can become somebody. It inspired me, what a great message to young guys and gals. In the Last Jedi when she wants to see her family all she sees is herself and a shadow (Ben) who joins with her. Please do explain this JJ. And if this granddaughter thing was set up I would have had no problemâŚbut they pulled it from their asses. You can have nothing but mean something. But no pander to the fanboys. In the end, a Palpatine lived and all the skywalkers endedâŚ.and we are supposed to have hope. Palpatine really did win.Â
14. Reyâs biggest fear was ending up in the desert alone, we were told âthe belonging she seeks is ahead not behindâ and âthereâs someone who could still come backâ. They mentioned she felt just as alone with the resistance. Only the other half of her soul understood her. This is truly tragic and sadâŚI am so heartbroken for her. And donât tell me she isnât there to stayâŚthe soundtrack is called âa new homeâ. Enjoy the rest of your days being exactly where you started ReyâŚ.but hey at least you got a droid boo. Iâm convinced this is not the balance JJ envisioned in the first movie. At one point in TFA Rey looks up sees an old woman alone, scavenging in the desert. This rattles her to the core and it starts her journey of wanting a better, different life. I am so sorry Rey. Okay so you may say she has the resistance and her friendsâŚbut letâs consult the last Jedi. In the end when everyone is on the shipâŚRey is surrounded by friends yet looks more alone than ever. No one but Ben, maybe Luke, Leia, and Han understood her pull to the dark.
How sad that these two hopeless souls who had never known a moment of belonging and true love, found it for all but a few seconds.
I will quote:Â âpreventing female characters with strong, compelling narratives from experiencing love, intimacy, and affection is just as regressive as reducing them down to sexual accessories. Assumes that women must choose between a romantic interest and depth of characterâ
Men really can not write good female characters, can they? A woman really canât be a badass and end up with the love of her life
15. The Skywalkerâs and Redemption: How truly truly sad that Han and Leia gave their life for their son who also died at a young age. ALL the Skywalkers and Soloâs have a tragic end. This is not what George Lucas wanted. What a tragic way to end this sagaâŚthey werenât able to break the curse. AND to all those troubled kids out there that lashed out and made terrible mistakes in their youthâŚ.doesnât matter what you do dying is the only way out. You could have exiled him, made him pay in other ways. Nothing can be done to make up for your sins but death, no amount of good means that you can come home. To the young boys that get wrapped up in terror organizations, sorry the only way you can be redeemed is deathâŚdonât bother changing and coming back. They could have exiled him, had him start an academy with Rey for Jedi kids. He could have spent the rest of his days redeeming himself. Why tell us he was literally preyed upon, haunted, and manipulated as a child. Even in a fantasy world, a victim of mental illness and abuse can not catch a break. I am shocked that this is the message Disney sends us. Oh and yeah you can totally take on the Skywalker name for kicksâŚthe disrespect I swear
16. The worst bit is that I am 90% sure there was another ending that was scrapped. There was a promo shot of Jannah in a field, soft lighting, lush planet. It was exactly like P&P. Daisy Ridley said the lasts scene was known to only Her, Jannah on that panel (Driver was away). Convinced Jannah was looking at Rey and Ben starting a new life away from the desert which she and Luke hate so much. Hence the production of âA New Homeâ soundtrack. Hence why the âFarewellâ song played behind Reylo kiss was hopeful. Why Lukeâs soundtrack when he became part of the force was not triumphant. Why the death scene was sudden and cut weird and no sorrow from Rey. CAUSE THEY SCRAPPED THE ORIGINAL ENDING LAST MINUTE. Everyone knows JJ was still editing one month before. He just didnât have the guts, pandered to everyone and yet no one. He was successful in creating a beautifully filmed action-filled movie with none of the heart of Star Wars.
And then she goes and buries Anakinâs saber on freaking TATOOINE. He HATES Sand and Luke wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. Of course, a Palpatine would torture them that way. But nostalgia is the cash cow so. JJ can only generate nostalgia, not create original stories. IF he had any creativity she would have buried it at Padmeâs grave.
The fanboys say âleave the romance for the romance moviesââŚ.have you seen the original trilogy or the prequels? Star Wars has always had hope and romance entwined with it.Â
17. đłď¸âđ REP: JJ promoting the shit out of it when it was a two-second kiss that you could miss if you blinked. Beyond disrespectful.
SO AFTER 40 YEARSâŚPALPATINE WINSâŚHIS BLOODLINE LIVES ON
âŚand people thought the prequels were badÂ
JJ you also said that your goal was for people to come out of the movie feeling more hopeful and happy then they went inâŚyet here I am. My roommate literally had to console me and buy me ice cream. I am just so numb. I am sure the casual fan will enjoy this, as seen from the rotten tomatoes ratings. I think the critics were too generous with this one,Â
Star Wars is very simple at its core, Good vs Bad and Dark vs Light. The kids are expected to understand that a Palpatine being the only one who lives is hopeful? That is the conclusion of three generations of Skywalker sacrificeâŚ
This is how the Skywalkers are rememberedâŚIn Tragedy and Curse??
