The Director: J.J. Abrams
The Cast:Daisy Ridley – Rey
Adam Driver – Kylo Ren/Ben Solo
John Boyega – FinnOscar Isaac – Poe Dameron
Anthony Daniels – CP-30
Mark Hamill – Luke Skywalker
Carrie Fisher – Leia Organa
Richard E. Grant – General Pryde
Domhnall Gleeson – General Hux
Naomi Ackie – Jannah
Keri Russell – Zorii Bliss
Lupita Nyong’o – Maz Kanata
Joonas Suotamo – Chewbacca
Kelly Marie Tran – Rose Tico
Ian McDiarmid – Emperor Palpatine
Certificate: 12
Released: 19th December 2019
The Plot:
The dead speak! A transmission from the evil Emperor
Palpatine (McDiarmid, Britannia) has whipped galaxy into a frenzy, and
Kylo Ren (Driver, The Dead Don’t Die) embarks on a quest to find the
message’s origin – regardless of who dares to cross his path.
Meanwhile, Rey (Ridley, Ophelia) is finalising her
Jedi training; she is the only one who can match Kylo Ren and stop whatever
Palpatine has planned to destroy the Resistance. But Rey is not alone: Finn
(Boyega, Pacific Rim: Uprising), Poe (Isaac, The Addams Family),
and Chewbacca will help along the way.
The Review:
With J.J. Abrams back at the helm, Rise of Skywalker serves
as somewhat shameless fan service; it feels safer while attempting to mends the
schisms The Last Jedi left behind. In particular, the question of
Rey’s parentage is finally answered, swerving us in a direction fans have
theorised over for the last four years.
As ever, we explore new planets, most notably one populated
by rogue Stormtroopers; if Disney+ ever decides to make another Star Wars mini-series,
this planet should be the place to go, because this idea goes nowhere here.
Similarly, the mystery of the way-finders for the Sith planet (yes, really) is
as goofy as it sounds. Although CP-30’s role in this provided plenty of laughs,
everyone hates him in this film, it still seems. Ridley and Driver’s
performances keep the whole thing from falling into outright absurdity. Their
lightsabre battles are the best parts of the film, and it was great to see
Driver implement some of Han Solo’s mannerisms into his character, such as a
casual shrug in the face of danger (I see the
Ben Solo Challenge is now a thing).
While The Last Jedi used the colour red for a beautifully
dramatic effect, they use blue in Rise of Skywalker likewise with
lightning. Who conducts lightning? Emperor Palpatine does, and he’s still
spouting rhetoric like Darth Vader never threw him into a crevasse over forty
years ago. No, before you ask; it doesn’t make sense. What is it with these
Jedi/Sith Lords and their almost-indestructibility?
Though it’s not as seamless as it could be the use of old
footage of Leia was a smart move. A brief flash-back between a younger Leia and
Luke in the film proves that CGI does not do Carrie Fisher justice, at all.
I had expected the relationships between Rey, Finn, and Poe
to be warmer. Rise of Skywalker is set a year after the events of The
Last Jedi, but you get the feeling Poe and Rey only talk to each other because
it would otherwise make Finn and BB-8 sad to see their friends not working
together. As for Finn and Poe, I was disappointed that little had changed.
However, the biggest let-down was the Knights of Ren; there have been rumblings
about them for years, these cronies of Kylo Ren, but who are they? Described as
“ghouls” by a random Stormtrooper, we are presented with what looks like a
death-metal band who uses silence as a gimmick. That’s all – no names, and
barely any speech.
As soon as Luke Skywalker chucked his lightsaber over his
shoulder, The Last Jedi divided fans. I enjoyed the unpredictability
director Rian Johnson brought to the saga, especially after The Force
Awakens relied heavily on the original trilogy for inspiration, but Rise
of Skywalker relies more on emotion than logic at times, and not always in
a way that works.
The Verdict: *** 3 STARS OUT OF 5
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