The Skywalker Saga is over... hopefully

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

So here we are, the ninth (and supposedly final, for real this time) film in the Skywalker Saga and the fifth Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise. So it’s fair at this point to ask whether this whole post-George Lucas endeavor has been a success. The answer? Kinda, sorta, mostly.

To quickly recap, I found The Force Awakens a very enjoyable movie with appealing new characters but, like many JJ Abrams movies, not so good with the whole story/world-building part. Rogue One was technically impressive but disjointed and a little too fan-servicey for my liking. The Last Jedi was better than any of the new films in many respects, yet because it’s so different tonally from other Star Wars films I don’t find myself rewatching it much. And Solo was just dull. As for The Mandalorian… well, I would die for Baby Yoda so it has that over the movies.

Going into The Rise of Skywalker I didn’t have high expectations that the returning Abrams would be able to pull together all the plot strands from the wildly different Episodes VII and VIII to craft a satisfying conclusion to the nine episode saga, I just hoped it would be a fun movie. Let me say it managed to meet my lowered expectations… just about. What we have here is the closest any of the Disney-era Star Wars films has come to emulating Lucas’ filmmaking style, for better or worse.

The first half is, frankly, a bit of a mess. Palpatine is dropped back in as the big bad with zero build-up and very little explanation. This is the sort of plot development that should have been slowly revealed, mystery-style, or at least hinted at in the previous movies, instead of focusing on Snoke, who it turns out was just a clone or some shit Palpy came up with. I will say this for Abrams, though, he knows how to keep things moving. The first act is so full of action, spectacle, searching for lost artifacts Indiana Jones-style, and witty banter between old friends that most people won’t mind that none of it makes a lick of sense. And Threepio gets the best story arc he’s had since the original trilogy, which almost makes up for Artoo getting ignored, again.

Anyway, aside from Rey, Poe and Finn finally interacting as a trio, Lando is back in the flesh (yay!), Luke is back as a force ghost, Han is back as ghost/memory, and Leia is back as a weird digital mishmash of Carrie Fisher outtakes. So fans of the original trilogy heroes will be kind of happy, I guess (though maybe not so happy that Leia suffers the same fate as Luke). Who will not be happy? Fans of Rose Tico, who is reduced to a glorified cameo this time around.

Anyway, the convoluted plot eventually leads us back to the ruins of Death Star II and a final confrontation between Rey and Kylo that it turns out isn’t so final. But we learn that Rey nobody is actually Rey Palpatine, so there’s that. Oh, and General Hux is a spy helping the Resistance, which he clues us in to when he says “I’m the spy!” I’m glad the writers drop these little hints throughout so we can keep up with the plot.

Kylo’s redemption is rushed through but still strangely satisfying, but throwing in a final kiss between him and Rey is not the fan service I was looking for. The final battle is epic and cameo-filled (blink and you’ll miss the legendary Wedge Antilles), including the voices of pretty much every dead Jedi from the original trilogy and the prequels aiding Rey against Palpatine. Palpy is destroyed (for reals, this time?) and all that’s left is for another Binary Sunset on Tatooine and Rey to decide that, aw shucks, she’s a Skywalker after all.

I realize this plot summary makes the story sound a lot more focused and coherent than it actually is. The Rise of Skywalker is a deeply flawed movie, which explains it poor critical reception. But it’s also possibly the most fun Star Wars movie since Attack of the Clones. How much you enjoy it will depend entirely on how willing you are to forgive nonsensical plotting and ridiculous character motivations. For myself I enjoyed all three episodes of the sequel trilogy. But a cohesive trilogy it is not. Hopefully Lucasfilm takes a break from movies and comes back with a new film (or series of films) where the story is carefully planned out in advance. Who am I kidding? Disney needs your money, so they’ll probably rush through the next big screen Star Wars project too.

I also saw Black Christmas, the second remake of the 1974 classic horror. While I appreciate the anti-patriarchy message of the movie, it isn't scary or funny enough to make up for the weak plotting and characterization.