SPOILER REVIEW
After learning that The Rise of Skywalker was a “splat” on rotten tomatoes, I was devastated and had extremely low expectations walking into the theatre. But by the end of the movie I was skeptical of the critics’ interpretation… This movie was awesome! While I would have appreciated less CGI, the character development was excellent. Per the Disney standard, the movie’s writers wove the new trilogy into the original trilogy intricately and fascinatingly. Leia’s back story – however brief – enhanced her character and made us fall in love with her all over again. I also loved that the Rey and Ben learned to use their force connection intentionally, which allowed for one of the best transitions of the entire series when Rey holds Leia’s lightsaber behind her back, and it appears in Ben’s hand so he can take down the Knights of Ren. I didn’t know it before The Rise of Skywalker, but the concept of the Sith home planet Exegol was missing from the series and truly demonstrated a balance in the force. We’ve seen Jedi temples, the Jedi counsel on Coruscant, and a sacred Jedi library tree thing on the island where Luke lived in exile. Why not a Sith equivalent? I was not so won over by the expansive fleet of star-destroyers with planet-killing capabilities. While impressive, it was also a bit far-fetched. I appreciated the drama, but it strayed from the monstrous yet refined vibe of the original empire. The struggle between Palpatine and his GRANDAUGHTER (wow!!!!!) made me confident in the film again. A battle of wills between the spirits of all of the Sith and all of the Jedi is the perfect climactic point for the final installation in this trilogy of trilogies. The poetic final scene, when Rey buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine, is an unforgettable moment of nostalgia, and it seems fitting that Rey has a bright yellow lightsaber; a new Kyber Crystal for a new age of the Jedi.
I couldn't figure out how to give you a link to my rotten tomatoes review but here is a snipped image of the page where I posted it.
I vehemently disagree with a lot of what you said but I respect your opinion. I thought it would have been better if JJ Abrams stuck with the themes from the Last Jedi instead of trying to clean up and fix things.
ReplyDeleteI can see how you may have been dissappointed. What in The Last Jedi do you think he should have developed more?
DeleteI think they should have kept Rey's parents as nobodies because her frustration in not being "Jedi-y" enough would have been a better temptation to the dark side than some weird hereditary affinity towards it that has nothing to do with her character's actual personality or actions. It felt like an excuse not to develop her character. I also think she should have died instead of Ben because it would have been a lot more powerful for Ben's redemption arc, if in her death he was able to see what kind of person he wanted to be an d become a Jedi after that. They also completely forgot about the whole implication that there were force-sensitive children all around the galaxy at the end of Last Jedi. Before the trailer, I thought this movie would be them trying to find and train force-sensitives before the First Order recovered after the loss of their Supreme Leader. That would have been a much cooler story. Why did you think it should be called "Rise of Palpatine"?
DeleteI LOVED that Rey was a palpatine. I was dissappointed when her parents were nobodies because Disney had built up that piece of information so much. I thought it was a really interesting parallel to the Luke-Vader relationship, and since the familial connection to the dark side was part of the temptation for Luke, it definitely made sense for Rey to feel the same temptation since she had never had a family. Also, if Rey had died I think her death might have destroyed any resolve to live Ben had left. I mean poor kid killed his father, lost his mother, and then loses the girl he's in love with who definitely didn't deserve to die. I think he would have been crushed and returned to the dark side, exiled himself to Luke's island, or just died from grief. Sure it would have been a powerful redemption arc but ultimately he would be so screwed up that I don't know how he would function. (Although through conversations with Taylor I've determined that reviving Rey should not have killed Ben and both of them really should have lived). I do agree with you, however about the force-sensitives. I was actually really disappointed that they didn't develop that in this movie but I think we can presume that those kids will become the next generation of Jedi trained by Rey. There wouldn't have been enough time to train padawans before the Exigol incident anyway.
DeleteAnd it's great that Rey is an honorary Skywalker but really that title makes no sense as it relates to the actual contents of the movie and that always really annoys me. The implication is that Luke (maybe?) will come back and that's not a terribly appealing first-impression because Mark Hamill… kind of done with him.
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