I didn't completely enjoy Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. I've been trying to understand why, but it wasn't until I started watching Rogue One again that I began to formulate some thoughts.
Oh, um, spoilers. Obviously.
The original Star Wars was about a plucky group of heroes overcoming impossible odds to deal the evil Empire a mighty blow. But most Star Wars fans would agree that it's the second film, The Empire Strikes Back, where the series really defines itself. The Rebellion's victory is short lived and they must face the reality of being hunted across the galaxy. At every turn they are outnumbered and outgunned as each protective layer - their home, their transport, their friends - fails or is stripped away.
Star Wars is about many things. It's about heroes and villains. It's about huge battles and dramatic locations. But it's also about the struggle between good and evil, which is at its best when it is at its most desperate.
Star Wars belongs on the backwater planet, among the strange and hostile aliens and the broken technology. It's the wild west, not the city. (That's why the prequel trilogy failed so badly to live up to the promise of the original films. Star Wars isn't about shiny spaceships and politics.)
But didn't Rise of Skywalker (and the rest of that trilogy) follow this formula? Backwater planets, overwhelming odds and increasing desperation all featured, not to mention all the grit and grime anyone could wish for. So why am I left feeling dissatisfied?
There are a lot of problems I could level at this trilogy. Many of the sections felt like good set pieces tacked together without believable justification. The overall narrative across the three films didn't feel particularly planned out, particularly towards the conclusion. And planet destroying weapons feel overused as a plot device.
The heart of the original trilogy is Luke Skywalker's journey. An orphan on a distant world, the loss of his father is quickly established and then compounded by the murder of his remaining family. Over the next two films his story and the hardship of it builds; both his teachers die and he learns that his father is actually the villain and that he must ultimately face him. His path is a compelling story from innocence to harsh awakening.
Rogue One does something similar. The main character is left isolated and distrustful by the loss of her parents, hardened by her experiences and lost in the underbelly of society. She too must choose to stand up for what she comes to believe in against impossible odds. Where Rogue One succeeds is that Jyn's story distinguishes itself from Luke's by focussing on her growth as a character and her ultimate sacrifice in the struggle against the Empire. There's no grand reveal or ultimate destiny regarding her father.
The Force Awakens trilogy repeats this pattern. Rey is also an orphan seeking answers about her past and family, but something doesn't resonate. We don't witness her tragedy, we're merely asked to join her for the ride. Yes, characters she befriends die (Han, Luke, Leia) but the ultimate reveal of her destiny feels more like a desperate attempt at fan service than a predetermined direction.
When Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father, audiences gasped and Luke's reaction was palpable. When we discovered that Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter it couldn't have the same impact. It's the same thing all over again.
I've lamented previously the similarities between The Force Awakens and A New Hope but forgiven them because a certain amount is allowed, even expected. But this seems to have extended to the entire trilogy - rather than starting strong with references to the past but then creating a new story, Disney have played it safe with constantly familiar themes, places and characters. Look out for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Again, featuring Mace Windu's great niece, coming Christmas 2030.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but bad as it was, at least the prequel trilogy had a different story from the other films.
I think mainly I'm tired. I'm tired of the continuing stream of spin offs. People talk about waiting years to finally see these films, but there's no unifying plan or purpose, just successive teams of writers wringing as much out of the franchise as they can.
I don't need to know Ponda Baba's backstory, or to visit the planet Admiral Ackbar was born on. These aren't untold stories. They're gaps that don't need filling. We don't need to know everything.
Lord of the Rings had an overall story arc that was written ahead of time. There was a beginning and an end, and a satisfaction to be had from that. The Marvel Cinematic Universe did something similar, and not only had gaps, but embraced them.
Maybe it's time we admitted that we've had enough Star Wars, or at least, we've had enough of the same thing being recycled. Maybe it's time for some films that continue the story without constantly referencing the past, or some films that are set in the Star Wars universe but bear no relation to the existing story lines.
Maybe Disney is going to have to start taking risks with this franchise. It's possible that The Mandalorian is a step in that direction, but only time will tell.
Questions and logic
While I might have sounded reasonable up to this point, actually my main frustration with Rise of Skywalker was simple problems with the plot, which I will now express in the form of questions (massive spoilers now, obviously).
- If Palpatine's main plan was to lure Rey to him, why did he make it so difficult by hiding away on a hidden planet no one knew how to get to?
- How did so much of the Death Star survive intact after first exploding and then crashing into the surface of a planet?
- Was Palpatine in the same body that had apparently been killed in Return of the Jedi, or a new one?
- Follow up: if it was the same one, how did he survive and escape?
- Follow up: if it was a new one, why was it so old and decayed?
- Why did Palpatine need Rey's body to inhabit, if he could just make clones as demonstrated with Snoke?
- Why were the fleet of Star Destroyers all still on Exegol when Palpatine had announced that they were going to attack the whole galaxy in sixteen hours, surely they should have set off by now? (clearly one of them did, to destroy Kijimi)
- How did Ochi's ship manage to survive undamaged in the desert for presumably many years without being stolen or scavenged?
- If dead Jedi like Luke and Yoda can use the Force to do things (like call down lightning or lift an X-wing) why don't they do more to help fight Palpatine?
- What happened to the rest of the First Order? Doesn't someone need to defeat them too?
I have many other questions but those seemed the most reasonable; the rest I think are nitpicks or things that would make more sense if I watched the film again. For example, at the end of the movie, why did Star Destroyers across the galaxy crash into various planets? Who shot them down?
On balance
Just so this article isn't a litany of complaint, I thought I'd highlight a few moments from Rise of Skywalker that I did enjoy. See, I'm not a total monster.
- It was nice to see Lando Calrissian again. I kind of wish he'd had a bigger part, to be honest. Same for Wedge.
- The bit on Kijimi was tense and interesting and the little droid hacker was cool. I liked finding out a bit more about Poe's past, too.
- Logical problems aside, the ruins of the Death Star were fascinating to explore with Rey and the backdrop of the fierce ocean storm for the following lightsaber duel was great.
- The Knights of Ren were intriguing and the final battle between them and Ben Solo was well done.
- Han Solo! We can always use more Han Solo. The biggest mistake this trilogy made was killing him off. He was brilliant. Except when he's not Harrison Ford.