"Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to." were the desperate words of an angry man. "The greatest teacher, failure is." was the philosophy of a wise master. Somewhere in between the two sentiments, those of Kylo Ren and Yoda, lies the ethos of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. There's no place for toxic nostalgia in that director's vision of the Star Wars universe, though a critical look at what came before is necessary or else we're bound to never grow. Independently of Episode VIII's other faults, one would think such a theme would be unanimously celebrated and generate little to no controversy. One would be mistaken.
Johnson's Star Wars feature sparked a wave of antagonistic discourse that's still active two years after its release. While the perpetual litigation of that production's merits is no one's idea of a good time, it's crucial to consider its themes when analyzing the latest episode in the saga. If every film in a franchise is having a conversation with its brethren, The Rise of Skywalker represents a repudiation of The Last Jedi's core ideals. JJ Abrams' return to the saga is an open celebration of uncritical nostalgia. Indeed, it appears to have been conceived more as a cowed response to fans' complaints than as a satisfying narrative…
From the very first words of the opening scroll, attentive viewers will be wary of what's to come. Instead of organically following the story established by its predecessor, The Rise of Skywalker creates a new conflict off-screen and throws away any vestige of character development. This is effectively a retcon and the shamelessness with which it does its retconning is startling. Polarising female characters are expunged to the margins of the action, ideas of egalitarian heroism are substituted by the power of magic lineages and old helmets are put back together with the cracks still showing. It's always nice when a filmmaker offers their critics such a useful bit of imagery as an illustration of their project's failures.
No matter how much it tries to rebuild the nostalgia edifice brought down by The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker can't hide the lines of incoherence gluing everything together. Worst of all, it isn't entertaining to watch. The entire film is supposed to happen over less than a day and it feels as if we're watching the plot of three films zipping by at full speed. Any moment of grace, rhythmic variation, any glimpse of precious humanity is judiciously cut for there's a plot to advance and there's no time to tie all the knots together. So much happens in so little time that you start to gradually disconnect from the story unraveling before you.
Since I was a child I've been a Star Wars fan and I can draw a straight line from my first glimpses of the franchise to the costume design studies I pursued in college. I have literal boxes full of Amidala and Leia drawings. My connection to these blockbusters is intimate but not even I could muster a shred of emotional investment for the new inchoate plot shenanigans. The movie quickly dispels the idea of stakes and, after that, it's difficult to care about the character's fates. Nothing feels permanent, not even death since resurrection and ghostly apparitions with contradictory messages are aplenty.
All of this is mostly a matter of narrative, tone, and rhythm. Those things are important, but there's more to a movie than that, especially when the movie in question is a billion-dollar space opera. No matter my resentments towards his vision of the franchise, JJ Abrams knows how to come up with potent iconography and his talent with actors is modestly undeniable. Poor Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver give their best performances of the trilogy here, in part because they are challenged to make sense of the ludicrous rollercoaster of their new character arcs.
The visuals are also perfectly fine, with a couple of ominous-looking sets deserving applause. As you may have heard, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is back and, while his interior decorating skills might not be as sophisticated as those of red-obsessed Snoke, the man has flair to spare. For puppet fans, there's a new adorable critter to gush over and a surprising amount of physical effects to dazzle those who love them. John Williams continues to excel as the saga's main composer and he'll probably nab a 7th Star Wars related Oscar nominationeven when the movie is undeserving of the rhapsodical wonders he provides. The Rise of Skywalker is far from being an incompetent movie, it's just joylessly mediocre and pandering in the ugliest of ways.
While I can feel my disappointment quickly curdling into active dislike, I'm curious to know what others feel about The Rise of Skywalker. If you liked this new Star Wars episode I'd love to hear from you. Help me join the Light Side of the Force, so to speak.