Four stars. Rated PG-13, for sci-fi action and violence, and dramatic intensity
By Derrick Bang
I’ve no doubt fans will be dazzled by this long-awaited concluding chapter in George Lucas’ original nine-part serial — how could they not be? — but this film will resonate even more strongly with those who were between the ages of 8 and 25 back when the original Star Wars debuted in May 1977.
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| With the remnants of the massive Death Star II towering against the pounding waves of an oceanic moon, young Jedi Knight Rey (Daisy ridley, left) and the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) duel to the death with their light-sabers. |
The sense of closure here will be far more emotionally powerful for that group.
One generation of Harry Potter fans grew up with the books (1997-07) and subsequent films (2001-11), but followers of The Force have lived with these characters for 42 years. For those folks, the dramatic impact of this new film’s final 15 minutes defies easy discussion. Suffice it to say, we get laughter, tears, anxiety, relief, regret and — most crucially — satisfaction.
Along with the knowledge — bottom lines being what they are — that we certainly haven’t seen the last of this galaxy far, far away (as the new Disney streaming service’s The Mandalorian demonstrates).
Getting to this film’s finale, however, is almost too much to endure at times. Goodness, but our heroes suffer!
Director J.J. Abrams wisely plays to the faithful with this ninth “original series” installment, following the pell-mell serial format that Lucas established four decades ago. The best Star Wars entries always have relied on the “divide and conquer” approach, sending individual characters on crucial sidebar missions, while the core plotline inexorably advances toward an appalling outcome. This prompts cross-cutting between events, simultaneously building suspense in numerous directions.
We hit the ground running, as always, and the pace remains frantic. Everything is propelled by John Williams’ exciting orchestral score, blending long-familiar character themes with plenty of fresh cues.
Our current heroes — led primarily by apprentice Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley), reformed mercenary Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and former First Order Stormtrooper-turned-good guy Finn (John Boyega) — learn that, horror of horrors, the “defeated” Galactic Empire’s evil-evil-evil Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid, returning to the role) still lives. Whether clone or spirit resurrected by foul Sith magic, the result is the same: Palpatine intends to resume his plan to dominate the universe.
To that end, he has overseen the construction of a massive fleet of First Order warships equipped with planet-killing cannons. Any world unwilling to be dominated … will be obliterated.
Meanwhile, the Darth Vader-esque Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is on a hatred-fueled mission of his own, which may — or may not — intersect with Palpatine’s plans. Either way, Ren continues to exploit the powerful mental bond he shares with Rey, hoping to lure her to the “dark side” of The Force (which corresponds to the malevolent Sith powers).
As always is the case with a Star Wars chapter, the clock is ticking; Palpatine’s fleet isn’t quite ready to depart yet, granting our New Republic resistance fighters one final chance to stop it.
Abrams and editors Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube certainly keep things lively throughout their film’s 142-minute length. I’d argue, however, that Abrams and co-scripter Chris Terrio erred in having this installment take place in what they claim is mere hours. Seems like an awful lot of activity for less than a day!
Ridley has matured well into her role as this trilogy’s heroine; she’s persuasively plucky, resourceful and angrily determined, as Rey faces all manner of peril. But “anger” has long been a Jedi weakness; those who succumb to fury are far more likely to be seduced by the dark side. Kylo Ren knows this, and repeatedly exploits it; Ridley shades her performance with just enough uncertainty to leave us uneasy. Will Rey be swayed?
During lighter moments, she’s also aware that Poe and Finn joust for her attention; Ridley adds an occasional mocking smile to Rey’s emotional repertoire.
We get a hint of how Abrams and Terrio intend to resolve this romantic triangle, with the introduction of two new characters: the helmeted and mysterious Zorri Bliss (Keri Russell), an estranged comrade from Poe’s earlier career as an illegal spice runner on the planet Kijimi; and Jannah (Naomi Ackie), a warrior on an oceanic moon to which Rey and Finn travel, in search of a navigational device — a “wayfinder” — that’ll lead them to Palpatine.
The latter is a terrific set-piece, because the device supposedly can be found in the remains of a destroyed Death Star, a remnant of prior adventures. Rey winds up in a light-saber duel with Kylo Ren, which takes place on the ruins of this immense spherical hulk, while buffeted by the moon’s tempestuous ocean waves.
The other new character is a cute li’l one-wheeled droid dubbed D-O, wary of all sentient contact after having been in thrall to a long-dead Jedi assassin. (Abrams voices D-O’s occasional responses, usually inserted as gentle comic relief.)
It’s also old home week for a wealth of familiar characters. Nobody will be surprised by the story’s inclusion of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker — recall the ghostly Jedi presence that allows the dead to speak — but sharp-eyed fans with long memories will be delighted to see Denis Lawson, returning as X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles (from the 1977 film); and (ahem) Warwick Davis, as the Ewok Wicket, from 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
Key Jedi voices reunite everybody from Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor, to Liam Neeson and Samuel L. Jackson. (A few other series regulars are left as surprises.)
Don’t blink, and you’ll spot composer John Williams, as an eye patch-sporting Kijimi bartender named Oma Tres (an anagram for “maestro”). Which acknowledges that, yes, this chapter features a cantina sequence, a la the original Star Wars; it also includes an equally familiar rescue mission within a First Order battleship. Everything old is new again.
The most breathtaking resurrection, however, belongs to Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa, whose ongoing role in the previous film — 2017’s The Last Jedi — was too crucial to be written out, in the wake of the actress’ death in late 2016. Thanks to a combination of that film’s outtakes, archival footage, two-shot “cheating” and SFX, Fisher’s General Organa still lives, and influences matters during a climactic moment.
On the other hand, Abrams and Terrio clearly abandoned one character introduced with great promise by director/scripter Rian Johnson, in The Last Jedi: maintenance worker Rose Tico, played with adorable spunk by Kelly Marie Tran. Johnson clearly intended her as an important ongoing presence, and possible romantic interest for Finn; alas, she has been downgraded to inconsequential background appearances here.
The special effects and settings are stunning, as always; production designers Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins do a particularly marvelous job with the massively rocky, obsidian-black ookiness of the ancient Sith planet Exegol, where the resurrected Palpatine resides (McDiarmid cackling in great form).
Even at their best, Star Wars entries remain formulaic popcorn entertainment; most of the “acting” rarely rises above breathless surprise, frustrated impatience and melodramatic pauses. Ridley’s Rey is a notable exception, as already mentioned; Driver’s Kylo Ren also navigates a complex emotional arc. Richard E. Grant is appropriately nasty as Gen. Pryde, the First Order’s current command head. (His predecessors, in an ongoing joke, tended to die on the job.)
Narrative predictability notwithstanding, some moments deliver quite an emotional wallop: none more so than Rey’s unexpected visit to the planet Tatooine, where everything began back in 1977. When cinematographer Dan Mindel frames Ridley against Tatooine’s setting twin suns — echoing young Mark Hamill’s similar pose, against Williams’ “Luke’s Theme” — you may be surprised by the lump in your throat.
Given all the millions of fans (and investors) to please, Abrams did an admirable job. The Rise of Skywalker certainly accomplishes what he intended: to bring satisfying closure to what has become a crucial part of pop-culture mythology for two successive generations.
May The Force be with us always.
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