I am writing this on May the 4th, known for several years now as Star Wars Day. To mark the occasion, the streaming platform Disney+ has premiered Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker on demand. Now, for the first time, all nine films in the Skywalker Saga are in one place for easy viewing.
I had only seen The Rise of Skywalker once, in theaters at the end of last year. I remember I didn’t like it, and was confused by the plotting and overwhelmed by the spectacle. Since then, I have resisted purchasing it, worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it and would feel that I wasted a bit of money. Disney+ has given me the opportunity for a repeat viewing. This second viewing afforded me a new chance to evaluate the last of the Star Wars episodes, and to redraw my conclusions. I am glad for it.
Upon viewing the film another time, I must admit that I like The Rise of Skywalker much better. Many of the moments in the film hit just the right note of nostalgia and peak “Star Wars“-ness. There are creatures, lightsabers, battles, beloved characters and heroic moments. At heart, it is the culmination of the hero’s journey, which is what drove the Original Star Wars Trilogy that many of us cherish.
Rey, like Luke, started from nothing and destiny took her into the heart of galactic conflict. She was mentored, and grew, but then took her last steps into a larger world on her own. Or not quite. The Rise of Skywalker centered heavily on notes taken from the previous film, The Last Jedi. Episode VIII leaned into the idea that Rey, and her antagonist, Kylo Ren, were connected through the Force. Episode IX calls that a dyad, a joining of two into one.
Rey is revealed to be (spoilers!) the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. Kylo Ren is Ben Solo, the grandson of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Both share a strong legacy in, and knowledge of, the Force. They both find that their destinies are intertwined. Both come together to destroy the evil that is the Emperor reborn. Ben dies in the battle, ending the Skywalker saga that began with his grandfather’s birth. Rey takes up the name Skywalker, renouncing her birthright and joining the legacy of the light.
I like that this is the story that ends the Star Wars episodes, from I to IX. It feels right that Palpatine, who drove the plot of Epsiodes I-III and created Darth Vader who drove the plots of IV-VI, should be defeated by the dyad of Rey and Ben that drives the plots of VII-IX. The story feels complete in a very solid way.
Still, however, I must also admit that The Rise of Skywalker has its low points. The pacing is a little uneven, and things happen rather too quickly throughout the film, as if they are a bit rushed. Having recently rewatched several of the other films in the Skywalker Saga, I was struck by how much slower and more methodical they are. Rise seems to happen just a bit fast.
A few other things bother me. First, the red herring that is C-3PO’s memory wipe. I feel like that should have been the “death” of C-3PO, which would have given him a moment of real sacrifice and meaning. With Chewbacca’s death being misdirection, this feels even more necessary, especially with Rey and Ben’s healing of each other at different points in the film. C-3PO could have re-met everyone and continued with the heart of the droid we know while essentially becoming a new character by the end of the film. It could have been bittersweet.
Second, the Death Star. What? I mean, it obviously vaporized at the end of Return of the Jedi. And now it is a hulking wreck in the ocean of an Endor moon?? To say nothing of a dagger that unnecessarily points to the location of the Sith way-finder despite being predicated on a hulk sitting just so in said ocean. But that even makes less sense than a vaporized space station being unvaporized so that it can be a wreck. Come on, JJ Abrams. The broken Death Star could have easily been replaced by an ancient Sith temple or anything else and not been a huge plot hole. Then a macguffin that points to the way-finder would have been logical, or dare I say it, necessary.
And third, and I’ll just say this once: space horses on a Star Destroyer? Nope.
Everything else about the film I rather enjoyed. It was sad that Carrie Fisher’s death necessarily truncated Leia’s role in the film. Though, it was fun to see Billy Dee Williams as Lando again. I really liked the replaying of the Han Solo/Ben Solo scene from The Force Awakens in Harrison Ford’s cameo. It gives the character of Ben a chance to make a different choice than he did in Episode VII, leading to his redemption. I love the puppet of Babu Frick. So delightful as a minor character.
Look, take a real, unbiased viewing of any Star Wars film, even the (maybe) best of them all, The Empire Strikes Back, and you will find silly things that don’t make sense, plot holes, and the like. But take what a Star Wars film is, adventure, excitement, and the struggle between good and evil, and that is what makes The Rise of Skywalker ultimately work. For me, it is any moment when the Millennium Falcon is on screen, or that epic battle between Kylo and Rey on the Death Star ruins. Classic, epic, Star Wars. And that is why I ultimately like the film: it puts a smile on my face and I enjoy watching it.
I hope you have a great Star Wars day this May 4th, and however and why-ever you like Star Wars, I am glad that we have that in common. Everything else is just water crashing over a wrecked Death Star.
May the Force be with you!
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