'Rerun of The Jedi'-The Tragedy of 'The Rise of Skywalker'
Attempting to brainwash us through his seizure-inducing strobe light effects, J.J. Abrams struggles to rekindle the disgruntled internet fandom through his usual cheap tricks of nostalgia. Everything is moving at the speed of a coke-addicted Wookie piloting the Millenium Falcon. There's no room to breathe, and the ending crash lands its sentimental thematic thud into our skulls like a Target "Star Wars" holiday toy shopping commercial. Nothing resonates, only emulates. J.J. Abrams and "Batman V Superman" screenwriter Chris Tario builds a perverse overstuffed alter to the past.
The looming shadow of yesteryear, in this case, is in the form of a somehow miraculously alive Emperor Palpatine. (Ian McDiarmid) For once, watching a trailer to a film before viewing the actual movie proves beneficial towards the viewer's experience. That is to say, for all the wrong reasons. If you came into "The Rise of Skywalker" unaware of Palpatine's resurrection, then you'd probably realize how preposterously dull such an idea is from the get-go. And no, they don't explain how in all that is holy he is still alive! The reveal of Palpatine isn't a shock; it's a shameless trick to win back fans who had disdain for "The Last Jedi." Yet in reforging a past that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) attempted to kill, Abrams mutilates the entire point of Anakin Skywalker's redemption and the fall of the Empire by making The Emperor nothing more than an immortal villain of the week. "The Rise of Skywalker" provides as much closure as a Christmas present wrapped in brown paper bags with an out of place bow on top to try to make it look intentional. We all know the truth. The Skywalker saga didn't need closure. We had it 36 years ago. What this film does provide is an obligatory end to this unnecessary horseshoed trilogy. This is Kathleen Kennedy's "Star Wars," and Kathleen is no Kevin Feige. She has no Endgame, only quick profits. Rush the screenplays through the door, please the shareholders, hope for the best. The actors are running so much in "The Rise of Skywalker" that we can only imagine them just hoping to find an exit from the set.
The plot to "The Rise of Skywalker" is incoherent to the point of visual nauseam. Even for a lifelong fan of "Star Wars," I had trouble understanding just what I was even watching. Palpatine is back and has been responsible for building The First Order all along so he can construct The Final Order, a military filled with Star Destroyers that can blow up planets. Yes, instead of a bigger Death Star, it's an army of planet-destroying Star Destroyers. Very original. Rey has to find some McGuffin glowy thing so she can discover the location of The Emperor. Kylo Ren wants to find the McGuffin at the same time because Palpatine told him to. Regarding why the Emperor wants Kylo to find the McGuffin, I don't even think the director knew or cared, so why should I? The rest of the plot consists of one chase scene followed by another leading to a third act that's a rehash of "Return of The Jedi."
The very sin I forgave Mr. Abrams for with "The Force Awakens," I cannot excuse twice. "The Force Awakens" was a reboot built upon a dwindled foundation. Was it lazy? Yes, but it was okay to be a little careless for that film in order to remind people why they liked the thing they've fallen out of love with in the first place. "The Rise of Skywalker" is a "Star Wars" film complaining about another "Star Wars" film. I wasn't a fan of "The Last Jedi" by any stretch of the imagination. Its humor felt condescending. It seemed to subvert expectations just for the sake of doing so. The entire film felt like a practical joke to me personally. Yet, I always respected Mr. Johnson for opening the doors for future filmmakers to experiment with the final chapter in the saga. Instead of being creative, seeing what another director could do, Disney panics by rehiring J.J. Abrams. The result is a movie that's far too occupied, taking back the things that some fans didn't like from the previous film instead of making its own story.
It's no secret that J.J. Abrams is a creatively bankrupt director. He borrows nostalgic ideas from other properties and incorporates them into his reboots. Mr. Abrams made "Mission Impossible" with a modernistic approach while integrating the elements from the television show. He amped up "Star Trek" by making it less about the science, but more about the action from you know what. With "The Force Awakens," Abrams remade "A New Hope." Lastly, with "The Rise of Skywalker," J.J. doesn't know where to go, so he reimagines "Return of The Jedi." With so much recycled through the trash compactor, moments of solace between characters are lost amongst Abram's grandiose light show. We are left with a hollow feeling that's been missing since 1999.
The tragedy of "Star Wars" since its original trilogy hasn't been at fault solely from George Lucas with his prequels nor Disney with their sequel trilogies. It has been in everyone's complete inability to weave another tale that emotionally resonates with its audience. Despite some incredible world-building and noble ideas, the prequels couldn't escape from George Lucas' terrible writing and poor direction of actors. It's an element that, over time, people try to excuse but is never excusable in a film. If I'm not invested in the characters nor the story, then I'm not invested in the movie — bottom line. When Anakin transforms into Darth Vader, we are left more interested than heartbroken. A missed opportunity to tell a brilliant Greek tragedy set in space. Like the prequels, the sequels miss their emotional marks as well.
Our interests are sparked with "The Force Awakens." We want to know who Snoke is. Why is there a Resistance? How did The First Order come into play? What's going to happen to Rey, Fin, and Poe? Those dying questions are smashed with a sledgehammer in cheap moments of "Ha Ha! Fooled you!" in "The Last Jedi." Now with no real arc to hang our heroes on plus a world that requires a back story yet is given none, one film has to tie everything up. At this point, we don't care about Rey, Fin, or Poe because we hardly know anything about them other than the basics. Rey has parental issues, Fin doesn't like The First Order, and Poe is still a hotshot pilot. There's no real trials or tribulations that develop over these films other than Kylo Ren, who has a predictable outcome in the saga's finale.
The original trilogy worked because its characters grew between films. Luke started as an impatient cocky, Lary Stue. He blew up the Death Star in one movie only to have his world crumble around him in the next. Han Solo went from a selfish, smuggling jerk to a hero who sacrifices himself for the greater good. Darth Vader overcomes his demons with the help of his son to redeem a part of himself. We didn't need to know who the Rebels and The Empire were because we got the idea from frame 1 of "Star Wars." We know there was some history that we missed when "The Empire Strikes Back" began with the title "Episode V." For the uninitiated, "Star Wars" originally wasn't numbered or called "A New Hope." So the audience knew there was an untold history to behold perhaps one day upon the release of "Empire."
With this new trilogy, the past just seemed to have conveniently happened for the sake of the plot. How or why everything in the galaxy is terrible again is irrelevant. To me, and the audience, I perceive it wasn't. "Star Wars" is too big in rich detail to skim over history only to be told to read about it in some Disney approved comic book. "Star Wars" really only worked for one trilogy. The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker was mishandled, and the saga ended when the Emperor was eviscerated by the hands of the man's life he ruined. Audiences should invest their time in something that respects their patience and rewards their intelligence. With some much needed time, perhaps Disney can reflect on their decisions. Give the writers a chance to create a meaningful trilogy. Nostalgia is running thin on me. It's time for the Skywalker's story to end. Please, for the love of God, let it.
** out of ***
