Rise of Skywalker Review
The Rise of Skywalker is the result of a collection of minds with different ideas of what Star Wars means coming together to create an ending to a polarizing trilogy that will please as many fans as possible.
One's enjoyment of the movie is highly dependent on his/her's level of fandom, and acceptance of the divisive story direction made in The Last Jedi. On its own, "Rise" is exciting, witty, nostalgic, and contains some truly powerful moments, but it is missing some originality, steady pacing, and plot-logic. J.J. Abrams directs with refreshing panache, framing electric lightsaber battles with medium and close shots, focusing on the characters over the action. This makes for a unique, personal focus on his two leads. Adam Driver, especially, delivers with immense depth, and completely commands the screen. Rey and Kylo consistently share a remarkable amount of chemistry and gravitas.
The over-the-top magnitude of some actions scenes detract a bit from a few personal moments of this tale. From the very start, Abrams simply ignores many story elements that the previous flick introduced, leaving us with a mixed bag of loose threads and character development. He trades these for a heavy emphasis on nostalgia and action-packed grandeur, which will mostly resonate beautifully with many Star Wars fans (including me). It is not for everyone, but once again, I am reminded why I love Star Wars.
It is difficult to blame Rian Johnson or J.J. Abrams for the plot mess that we are left with in this film. Once again, we are reminded that the gargantuan corporations that run most of the film industry have very little artistic vision for their properties. When you are trying to catch every dollar, artistic value and even plot consistency can fly out of the window. I encourage everyone to watch lower-budget flicks as well, by focused filmmakers who have some kind of command of their vision, for good or for ill. If it is not good, at least it is something the creators wanted to make.
Stanton Pruitt