Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Released 19th December 2019, Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker was ‘supposedly’ the finale of the Skywalker Saga spanning from Episode 1: The Phantom Menace to the aforementioned Episode 9: Rise Of Skywalker. The plot revolves around the Rebellion attempting to thwart the cataclysmic plans The First Order are conceiving to bring an end to the galaxy once and for all. So how is this executed? Well, the vast cast give mixed performances throughout. Starting with the best; Adam Driver once again provides a spectacular performance for Kylo Ren – easily the standout of the cast. Everyone else is fine. Daisy Ridley is fine. John Boyega is fine. And it pains me to say it; but Ian McDearmid leaves no lasting impact in his return as Emperor Palpatine; a character who was an easy standout within the Prequel trilogy.

It feels the main problem for these actors is that the characters’ developments / arcs feel rushed hence making the audience less invested with the characters – that and the writing. To quote Rhys Tarling of Isolated Nation: “Characters operate on one or two wildly unsophisticated levels: shouting plot details at one another or shouting reheated platitudes at one another.” Whilst Star Wars is not known for its ravishing scripts (Just watch the Prequels), at least previous instalments had laughably bad writing; this is just bad.

Well worst-case scenario the music will be spectacular still… right? Unfortunately, new music is completely forgettable, and the usage of previous music is inconsistent with what it previously represented. This is all the more unfortunate as this was John Williams’ final Star Wars composition. Fortunately, I can report that the visuals are astounding as always with some imagery being rather haunting if I do say so. In conclusion; whilst I have been quite harsh on this film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still a film with moderate enjoyment value. However, as the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga: it should have been so much more…