THE RISE OF SKYWALKER opens in hyperdrive and keeps on going! This is the ultimate E-Ticket Ride for excitement, entertainment, and enjoyment!
Picking up where we left off at the end of “The Last Jedi”, Luke Skywalker is gone. Han Solo has been gone since “The Force Awakens” when felled by the light saber of his son Ben aka Kylo Ren. The only hero still standing from George Lucas’ “Star Wars” original trilogy is our beloved Princess, General Leia Organa, who is rallying the Resistance aided by Poe Dameron, Finn, Rey, and Chewbacca, along with a few assorted droids whom we have come to know and love. Poe and Finn are off fighting galactic battles while Rey is honing her Jedi skills under Leia’s watchful eye (in very much the same way we saw Luke do under the tutelage of Yoda). But Rey seeks something that disrupts her own Force. She still seeks to know who she is.
Having killed Snoke, Kylo Ren is now Supreme Leader of the First Order. Or is he? Ren learns that there is indeed a greater force, a force once thought gone but is still alive – Palpatine. Having battled and succumbed to the strength of the power of the Dark Side so much so as to kill his own father in order to become Supreme Leader, Ren intends to hold onto his power and will do anything to eliminate any threats to that power, including facing Palpatine. But Palpatine, in hiding on Exogol, has other plans for Kylo Ren and the galaxy.
Helmed by J.J. Abrams and written by Abrams and Chris Terrio, Abrams reins in this story, stepping back from the idealogic expansion Rian Johnson introduced with “The Last Jedi”, bringing it more in line with the cinematic mythos of what we all know and love most about “Star Wars” for the past 42 years. And it’s in capturing those elements that Abrams wraps up the trilogy of trilogies, taking us back in time on a ride filled with touchstones to the past, taking us on a travelogue of the galaxy revisiting old haunts and paying homage with little nods reminding us of where it all began and how far it has come.
But at the core and heart of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is the friendship, the camaraderie, the determination and sticktuitiveness, the hope and the belief in that hope that is resonant in any galaxy, at any time. And the bulk of that heart and emotional gravitas falls on the shoulders of Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. Their energy, the internal conflicts of Rey and Kylo Ren, their emotional and moral ambivalence, is what courses through the film’s cinematic veins as each searches to find their true self. Actions and reactions stem from their own quests. The internalized emotion Ridley and Driver each brings to the forefront is riveting, heartfelt, powerful, driving the film forward. This is the best performance of Ridley’s career and Driver isn’t too far behind.
Adding to that mix is John Boyega’s Finn. Boyega gives Finn an earnestness and sense of purpose and belonging through choice and free will that is a stronghold in the emotional structure of the film. Free will and choice are powerful emotional elements within this story and carry the film deep into the third act. Oscar Isaac easily slips back into his Han Solo-like performance as Poe Dameron. Flippant at times, but always loyal to his friends, to Leia, and to the Resistance, Isaac adds lighter notes to the darker and more somber tones of what’s at stake in these final hours.
Joyfully, after three films together, the triumvirate of Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac have truly captured the magic that was Fisher, Hamill, and Ford, not only with the whip-smart dialogue delivery but in their presence and cohesiveness with their individual strengths powerfully combining as “one”.
I don’t know where Abrams was going with the story before Carrie Fisher’s passing, but resurrecting unused footage from “The Force Awakens” and inserting it appropriately within this story construct is beautifully done with a fitting ending for Fisher and Leia.
Joonas Suotamo is back as the lovable “walking carpet” Chewbacca and delivers one of the most emotional moments in the film. Kelly Marie Tran, although noticeably underused as uber-mechanical engineer Rose Tico, is also back with earnestness and energy. Don’t miss another wonderful voicing of Maz Kenata by Lupita Nyong’o (although I miss seeing Maz peering out of her magnifying goggles). Dominic Monaghan proves to be a sarcastic scene-stealer as Beaumont. Billie Lourd is also on hand as Lieutenant Connix making for some beautiful and poignant scenes with her mother, Carrie Fisher, as Leia. And what can one even say about Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker at this point but that it’s fitting and proper to see Luke in this final film.
Not to be missed is Richard E. Grant as First Order General Pryde and with fun moments, Domhnall Gleason evokes some real laughs as First Order General Hux.
Returning for the first time since “Return of the Jedi” is Billy Dee Williams reprising his role as General Lando Calrissian and as comes as no surprise to anyone, it is a thrill to see this caped-crusader piloting the Millenium Falcon and evoking one-liners reminiscent of his old friend Han. (“I’ve got a bad feeling about this!”) Ian McDiarmid also resurrects as Emperor Palpatine and doesn’t miss a beat of evil intonation. Special attention must be paid to Anthony Daniels, the only actor to appear in all nine “Star Wars” films as the beloved C-3PO. And in a somewhat surprising move, 3PO has a wonderful character arc!
Joining the Resistance is Keri Russell as the masked Zorii Bliss who at some point seems to have had a somethin’-somethin’ with Poe Dameron making for some entertaining lighter moments. Standout is newcomer to the franchise, Naomi Ackie as Janna. Ackie proves to be a dynamic presence and an interesting character who, like Russell’s Zorii Bliss, begs for more screen time and backstory.
The visuals are jaw-dropping, most notably the battle between Rey and Kylo Ren at the destroyed Death Star, and then again in Exogol in the lair of Palpatine (who has been using the same technology to keep himself alive that he used to save Darth Vader at the end of “Revenge of the Sith”). Not only are the fight-sequences white-knucklers in and of themselves, but the lighting and lensing with a celebration of negative space with black on black on black ratchets up the emotional intensity, capitalizing on fear and adrenalin. Cinematographer Dan Mindel, best known for his work on the “Star Trek” franchise as well as “The Force Awakens”, all with Abrams, delivers beauteous imagery, playing with light and color in capturing each of the different worlds visited while creating an intimacy among the characters that buttresses the strong emotional performances of the principals.
No stranger to the galaxy is editor Maryann Brandon who cut “The Force Awakens” and returns for THE RISE OF SKYWALKER aided by editing newcomer Stefan Grube. Editing is as rapier as a double-edged Sith light saber, particularly in the battle sequences, but never gives the quiet moments a short shrift and allows them to linger and fill the heart.
Not only is THE RISE OF SKYWALKER the end of the trilogy of trilogies and the Skywalker Saga, but the final “Star Wars” film for composer John Williams. But for George Lucas himself, no one has done more to shape this galaxy than Williams and his scoring. And with this final film, he too, goes out with a flourish of emotion with some of the most symphonic beauty to ever grace the silver screen. A perfect coda to the Maestro.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is safe, and in many instances predictable, but more than anything, is beyond satisfying and beautifully concludes the Skywalker Saga. This is a cinematic experience to just sit back and enjoy. Questions are answered, loose ends tied up. There is love and loss, victory and defeat. And there is always hope. For 42 years, we have been constantly reminded that there is always hope. And surprises, BIG surprises!
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Written by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Anthony Daniels, Joonas Suotamo, Domhnall Gleason, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran, Keri Russell
by debbie elias, 12/18/2019
