Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a solid closing to a 42-year story that must sacrifice its thematic choices in the process.
The newest and final installment in the Skywalker story has arrived and with it brings an array of controversy that is not foreign to Star Wars. Rey, Finn, Poe, Leia, and the whole gang are back for one final mission to bring down the first order in the new film directed by J.J. Abrams. The final story in the new trilogy that started in 2015 with Abram’s The Force Awakens and continued by Rían Johnson’s 2017 movie, The Last Jedi was met with a mixed critical reception and has once again left the fandom of Star Wars polarized.
There is a lot of things that The Rise of Skywalker does right, but the picture is far from being perfect. The first twenty minutes of the film are very rushed and feel out of place with the overall film. They feel like an epilogue to what could have been Abrams’ Episode VIII. Once the action and story really start to flesh itself out, you are once again reminded about what makes Star Wars a cultural phenomenon.
The movie has heart, laughs, and tear-jerking moments that made this man transport back to age 6 when I fell in love with a galaxy far far away. Sadly, there are character choices and some dialogue that does not land as well I thought it could have that makes this my least favorite in the new trilogy. Underneath the chaos of a movie that is just good, there is a movie that can grow on you with multiple rewatches.
Go watch The Rise of Skywalker in theaters and may the force be with you, always.
Grade: C+, 4/5, or 7.5/10
The Nerd Corps 