Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

It's unfathomable to me that a film series with storied history, returning iconic characters, and excellent new characters such as Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, and Poe Damran could fumble the delivery so fully. These films are so entirely forgettable that I've seen them multiple times each and can barely recall the main plotlines.

Star Wars is still capable of holding weight and drawing viewers. Newer content like Rogue One and Andor is proof of this. All that's needed is a strong story and good writing, but Episode IX couldn't risk to the occasion.

As much as I really don’t like this one, I want to start off with praise, like I always do. The actors are not the problem, even if I think the script is. These are talented performers. The effects are also still very Star Wars. I can’t see X-Wings flying around on screen and not enjoy myself a little bit. Sadly, that’s where my praise ends.

Episode 8 was by no means perfect, but it did understand one thing: You shouldn’t always give the fans everything they want. Now, I think that it took the principle too far, and went so out of its way to defy audience expectation that it went into the territory of mischaracterization. But what I did like was making Rey unrelated to other characters. The idea that a Jedi can come from anywhere, and doesn’t need to be related to some other well-known character, was a good one. But instead of sticking with it, now Rey is Emperor Palpatine’s granddaughter. This was not built up to, and was a twist for the sake of connecting Rey to the previous films. Finn, Poe, Hux, and Rose weren’t related to other characters. Why does Rey have to be?

Speaking of which, Poe, Finn, and Rose are all wasted. When you look back at the trilogy, how much did they actually do that ended up impacting the plot? It really wasn’t much. I liked Finn and Poe. Had she gotten more to do, I would’ve liked Rose more. Star Wars wasn’t sold on Luke and Vader alone; you had Han, Leia, Lando, and Obi Wan, too. Almost all the focus ended up on Rey, and while I liked her at first, the longer the movies went on, the less interested I became. I genuinely think this could’ve been a better trilogy had Finn been the focus instead.

Kylo Ren’s redemption arc felt somewhat undeserved. Every time he’d been given the chance to be better, to change his ways, he rejected it and doubled down. But suddenly, for the sake of the finale, he’s a good guy, quipping and fighting alongside Rey. Then there’s the kiss. I’m sure the Reylo fans were cheering, but I certainly wasn’t.

I could go on further, but if I do, I think this will be qualified less as a review and more as me complaining. Some people have managed to like this movie, and I congratulate them on being able to enjoy something I thoroughly didn’t.

Go on Rise of the Resistance at Disney instead. It’s more fun, interesting, and lets the characters do more than anything in this movie.