Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Review - Damage Control At Its Worst

The “Star Wars” franchise has had plenty of divide for the past couple of years coming with the release of 2017’s “The Last Jedi” with many loving and hating the film for varying reasons. With JJ Abrams back to helm the third part of the sequel trilogy, which also serves as the conclusion for the Skywalker saga, the anticipation for “The Rise Of Skywalker” is exponential. And does it deliver on the promises? Sadly no.

“The Rise Of Skywalker” takes place a year after the events of “The Last Jedi” as we follow Rey on her greatest journey yet as she adventures on a quest to find the return of Emperor Palpatine as the universe hangs in the balance.

One of the few glowing elements of the film is its visual presentation, which is stunning and vibrant. The wide-shots of the epic scope of the battles taking place was beautiful to look at on the big screen. The other element that was thoroughly entertaining was the action sequences in general. There’s one lightsaber action piece that was my favorite scene of the entire film. And once again, the ensemble is great as they have always; particularly with Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, who were the standouts of the entire film.

Beyond that, this film suffers from a lot of issues.

The biggest and most obvious problem is the large amount of damage control taking place within the narrative. There are many aspects from its predecessor that are undone just for the sake to please the audience than using it to benefit the story in any way. It is very clear that Abrams doesn’t like “The Last Jedi” and the fundamental challenges and risks it took. He has stated that he likes the film but if he did then why does he feel the need to write it off entirely? Because of this, many elements here don’t feel fully earned or have a narrative purpose. There are many moments that had me scratching my head, laugh and quite frankly cringe at one particular moment.

The other problem is its pacing, which was extremely fast. The feeling of its pace makes it feel rushed and choppy rather than a fast action-packed ride as it clearly wanted to be. There are many moments that required more time to be fully developed and certain emotional moments that needed more time to feel earned or have a form of weight to them.

“Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” does a major disservice to what had come before in its trilogy and beyond with unnecessary damage control that jeopardized the product itself, which lead to a product of fan service that fails to work as a cohesive narrative and ends this saga on a disappointing and underwhelming note.

“Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” Grade: D+