Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PG-13) ***

Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm

Rey: Daisy Ridley

Kylo Ren: Adam Driver

Finn: John Boyega

Poe: Oscar Isaac

General Organa: Carrie Fisher

Chewbacca: Joonas Suotamo

General Hux: Domhnall Gleeson

Allegiant General Pryde: Richard E. Grant

Zorii Bliss: Keri Russell

Jannah: Naomi Ackie

General Calrissian: Billy Dee Williams

Emperor Palpatine: Ian McDiarmid

Luke Skywalker: Mark Hamill

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures presents a film directed by J.J. Abrams. Screenplay by Chris Terrio & Abrams. Story by Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow and Terrio & Abrams. Based on characters created by George Lucas. Running time: 142 min. Rated PG-13 (for sci-fi violence and action).

What has happened with the Star Wars franchise is unprecedented in movie history. There are franchises that have lasted longer and that have contained more episodes, although not many. But this is the first franchise to last over 4 decades following one storyline over 8 films and come to a form of a conclusion. Harry Potter ran 11 years to finish up its initial storyline. James Bond doesn’t follow an ongoing storyline. It never even had a direct sequel until it had existed for over 40 years. Now every franchise has an ever expanding universe of mythology, but in many senses Star Wars is the one that started that; and for the first time an audience is seeing a decades long storyline end.

As such, audiences have come to a place of confusion with their emotions. The generation that saw the original in theaters–of which I am a member–are seeing the ultimate culmination of their childhood dreams with a mix of emotions running from not wanting something they never imagined would last this long to end and having a hard time swallowing that it didn’t all play out as our 10-year-old selves imagined it would. Newer generations experienced the prequels or this finale trilogy in much the same way we did the original and have to deal with the original generation complaining about their appreciation for a franchise both were introduced to during very different times. 


Much has changed about the movie going experience in the decades since this franchise began. The internet has created a whole new social network within which to experience and influence cinema. It’s an environment that includes endless analysis of minutiae, critics who have studied little in the tradition of filmmaking and cinematic storytelling, and trolls that work only in the craft of destroying the things that other people love.

Considering all these aspects, what J.J. Abrams has created here in the final installment of what has been dubbed The Skywalker Saga is probably the best Star Wars movie he could’ve made. Despite the sometimes perplexing title of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, this episode is probably the closest in quality and execution to the original Star Wars: A New Hope. The new movie is probably the least substantive of the new trilogy. There is a lot to tie up before all is said and done. I seem to remember feeling similarly about Return of the Jedi, but that doesn’t make either film any less fun than what has come before. 

The Rise of Skywalker contains many great action sequences, a nice amount of humor that has become kind of a signature of this final trilogy, intriguing new characters, such as the mysterious Zorii Bliss and her cute comedic companion Babu Frik, and the formidable baddie Allegiant Gen. Pryde. The filmmakers also fill the corners of the story with references to scenes throughout all eight previous films.

The film opens with the signature introductory text crawl that informs us that while the Resistance fighters have had more success since The Last Jedi due to an underground network of spies that has developed including one high in the First Order itself; Rey has continued her Jedi training with Leia as her new master; and Kylo Ren is obsessively searching out the former Emperor Palpatine after rumors surface that he has been raised from the dead. We then are taken through a series of visually stunning motifs playing out these scenarios. Poe and the crew of the Millenium Falcon are running on the edge without Rey’s help. Rey is discovering a darkness exists inside her that is preventing her from reaching a purity with the Force. Ren is ruthless in his quest, destroying everything in his path. 

Quickly the plot moves forward at a more rapid pace than perhaps any chapter has so far. It also gets more fun than the gloomy opening passages as Rey rejoins the crew of the Falcon for a quest to find the very secret Sith planet that Kylo Ren sought in the first few moments. Ren pulls out all the stops to thwart their efforts, including enlisting his Knights of Ren. Once again we get a raucous and rowdy action sequence on a desert planet with speeder crafts and flying storm troopers and even that dreaded childhood geographical threat of quicksand. The plot sends us to new planets and those vaguely familiar. It gives us twists and betrayals, surprise cameos and help from unexpected sources. Chewie made me cry twice without ever uttering a word in English. 

Everything moves and develops so quickly that it is impossible for any sort of character development, although for most of the characters that all came in the previous films. As far as Zorii Bliss is concerned, I’m confident she’ll get a shot at her own story in either a Disney+ series or a solo movie soon. The scenes and sequences are quick and don’t rely heavily on transitions because there is so much ground to cover. None of that bothered me, because everything is presented by Abrams’s deft direction with incredible economy. While nothing is overly explored, nothing is extraneous either. Unfortunately some characters, such as the effortlessly charming Rose Tico, are given the shaft in terms of screen time. Maybe she’ll get a solo chance now as well. 

I can see why people are torn by this installment, but when it comes down to it everything that turned anyone into a Star Wars fan is here. Not only is the magic of it all present, but it is delivered with an urgency that is required for an ultimate effort. Any meandering at this point would be deadly and no doubt lead to legitimate criticism. This is the downhill slope and everyone involved treats it as such. My adult fan is satisfied and so is the 7-year-old who first gazed upon that shot of open space before the camera pans down to infinite possibilities of adventure.