If you’re anything like me, you didn’t grow up with Star Wars as a cornerstone of your personality.
The original trilogy remains a blind spot in my imagination. At time of writing, I’ve seen maybe half of The Empire Strikes Back – and I was likely napping through that. The Phantom Menace came out when I was in primary school, and all I really remember is how cruelly it overstated the importance of pod-racing in Star Wars lore. I thought JJ Abrams‘ The Force Awakens was fine, but I had a good time with Rian Johnson‘s The Last Jedi, a movie which upended hardcore fan expectations and gave us Laura Dern yeeting herself at lightspeed through a fleet of space fascists.
Here’s what I’m getting at: if the first mini-reviews of Abrams’ newie The Rise of Skywalker are anything to go by, I don’t think I’ll like it quite as much as its immediate predecessor.
The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in Star Wars‘ latest trilogy, had its global premiere in Los Angeles overnight, giving attendees the chance to share their opinions on the sci-fi mega-movie. While full reviews of the film will stay under wraps a little while longer, piecing those mini-takes together suggests The Rise of Skywalker is big, complex, and absolutely rammed with fan service in a way The Last Jedi was not.
First, the good:
The Rise of Skywalker made me cry and cheer and laugh and clap. This is a huge, gigantic, epic finale full of action, humor, and humanity.
— Scott Weinberg (@scottEweinberg) December 17, 2019
I really enjoyed Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. It offered a very satisfying conclusion to a 9-movie narrative arc. The strongest of the last trilogy. A few silly parts but overall, a damn good movie. Adam Driver was excellent. Better than he had to be. Fans won’t be disappointed.
— roxane gay (@rgay) December 17, 2019
I realized within the first 20 mins of #StarWars #TheRiseofSkywalker that it was the best film in this trilogy, and it kept getting better right through to the end. THANK YOU!!! #Maytheforcebewithyou
— Maude Garrett (@maudegarrett) December 17, 2019
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is everything I wanted it to be — because there’s never been a STAR WARS movie like this before.
— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) December 17, 2019
It’s dark and scary, but hopeful and beautiful.
It ends the trilogy while also ending the saga as a whole.
I know I’m rambling — but I worship this movie. pic.twitter.com/XoJFl8Rv8n
#StarWars #TheRiseOfSkywalker…OH MY GOD! I am absolutely blown away! I’ve never been so satisfied by a film. This is the end of an era and a franchise that has defined my life and this did it justice in a way I didn’t imagine it could. You WILL cry…. pic.twitter.com/Jfx5bzdZOO
— Jenna Bûche de Noël (@JennaBusch) December 17, 2019
Epic. All of it. #TheRiseofSkywalker is a terrific finale that is just stuffed with so much of everything. Action, adventure — answers!! — humor, heart, love, and grit. I spent the entire second half with tears in my eyes – a wonderful way to end the Skywalker story pic.twitter.com/K2NhHSGWzM
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 17, 2019
The Rise of Skywalker has a ton of content packed into one movie as well and wastes no time. It’s like two Star Wars movies in one. Lots of fan service bonuses too ????
— Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) December 17, 2019
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is everything I wanted it to be — because there’s never been a STAR WARS movie like this before.
— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) December 17, 2019
It’s dark and scary, but hopeful and beautiful.
It ends the trilogy while also ending the saga as a whole.
I know I’m rambling — but I worship this movie. pic.twitter.com/XoJFl8Rv8n
Lot to take in with #riseofskywalker It is the big adventure, lightsaber adventure I hoped for. A few things I still wonder if it was necessary but it was a very satisfying end to this new trilogy.
— Kristian Harloff (@KristianHarloff) December 17, 2019
And the not-so-good:
There was a lot of pressure to wrap up all components of the #Skywalker saga but was handled well. There’s considerable fan service (may bother some?) answers to previous questions, but the end felt satisfying. I’m interested to see how fans will like this once they’ve seen it!
— Maude Garrett (@maudegarrett) December 17, 2019
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is certainly the most convoluted Star Wars. There is a lot I liked, but the first half gets so bogged down with exposition and new plot and doodads and beacons and transmitters, it feels like it should have been three movies on its own.
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) December 17, 2019
There is good in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. But there is more that is disappointing. There are a number of choices that just don't track, fan service that doesn't work, and ignored details that are missed. I'm bummed. #StarWarsRiseofSkywalker pic.twitter.com/Ztk0VzGc6H
— Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) December 17, 2019
RISE OF SKYWALKER is bananas. It's like a big submarine sandwich but the only ingredients are banana peppers and it's being served to you on an exploding spaceship and everyone is yelling
— David Sims (@davidlsims) December 17, 2019
The Rise of Skywalker is so brazen in its nostalgic pandering I’m surprised the screenplay isn’t credited to everyone that negatively replied to a Rian Johnson tweet in the last two years.
— Jordan Raup (@jpraup) December 17, 2019
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is like SERENITY (the matthew mcconaughey movie) in that if i told the plot you would think i was making it up or had had the plot relayed to me by a child after consuming 100 pixy stix
— karen han (@karenyhan) December 17, 2019
watching the rise of skywalker is like telling an acquaintance you ate potato salad once and enjoyed it, and then having that acquaintance break into your home in the middle of the night, tie you to a chair, and mash potato salad into your face and eyes for 2+ hours
— Emma Stefansky (@stefabsky) December 17, 2019
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER may not be the worst Star Wars movie, but it sure feels like the most disappointing. a dull, artless series of macguffins and fetch quests that are knotted together by a desperate need to make the safest choice at every turn. Even the cute new droid is dumb! pic.twitter.com/ZB1MCKksxf
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) December 17, 2019
And then there’s this, from the New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan, which seems to really sum the whole thing up:
RISE OF SKYWALKER could only have been ruder to Rian Johnson if they had motion-smoothed it
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) December 17, 2019
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits Australian cinema screens on Thursday, December 19. Will I head along to watch? It’s likely. Say what you want about the jam-packed plot and fan service, lightsaber battles still rip – and maybe pod-racing comes back in this one.
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