STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

star wars: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) movie

Genre              |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   142 minutes

Released         |   19 December 2019

cast

Daisy Ridley ... Rey
John Boyega ... Finn
Oscar Isaac ... Poe Dameron
Adam Driver ... Kylo Ren
Domhnall Gleeson ... General Hux
Mark Hamill ... Luke Skywalker
Carrie Fisher ... Leia Organa (archive footage)
Billy Dee Williams ... Lando Calrissian
Anthony Daniels ... C-3PO
Jimmy Vee ... R2-D2
Joonas Suotamo ... Chewbacca
​Lupita Nyong'o ... Maz Kanata

director

J.J. Abrams

writer

J.J. Abrams ... (written by) and
Chris Terrio ... (written by)
 
George Lucas ... (based on characters created by)
 
Colin Trevorrow ... (co-writer)
Derek Connolly ... (co-writer)

cinematographer

​Dan Mindel

music

​John Williams

film editor

Maryann Brandon
Stefan Grube

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box office result

Worldwide               $​1,074,144,248

Australia                 $​32,703,662

North America        $​515,202,542

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force facts...

​When George Lucas originally laid out plans for twelve episodes, then reduced that number to nine episodes, he said that C-3PO and R2-D2 would be the only characters to appear in all nine. This will prove to be true, as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the only other characters to appear in every film of both the original and prequel trilogies did not appear in the sequel trilogy. Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) will also become the only actor to appear in all nine films.

​The first Star Wars film co-written by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Chris Terrio.

​Mark Hamill confirmed his involvement with the film ahead of the release of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017).

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STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) MOVIE IMAGES

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STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) STORY SYNOPSIS

​​STAR WARS EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is an American epic space opera film produced, co-written and directed by J. J. Abrams. It will be the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following THE FORCE AWAKENS and THE LAST JEDI, and the final installment of the main Star Wars film franchise.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 19 December 2019

Pop ​Movee Rating

There’s only so much that can be done to course-correct a franchise like STAR WARS when a film goes off track and J.J. Abrams has done a mighty job to position RISE OF SKYWALKER in a place that makes some of Rian Johnson’s LAST JEDI decisions almost make sense and deliver a finale to the nine film “Skywalker Saga” series that is a fitting close to this chapter in the franchise.

Almost…

Audiences won’t be disappointed with the gusto that Abrams and his creative team provide to ensure the ninth (and final) film in the Skywalker saga movies ends on as a high a note as even the most casual STAR WARS viewer could hope for. It’s obvious that the people who made THE RISE OF SKYWALKER know their stuff.

For the best part of the film’s 142 minute running time, RISE OF SKYWALKER has fantastic energy. Abrams has always created urgency within his films by creating relentless set-pieces that rely upon short scenes and multiple cuts to create dynamic tension. He did it with his MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film, refined it with two STAR TREK films and has used it to great effect to deliver viewers two STAR WARS love letters over the last four years.

The problem with RISE OF SKYWALKER, albeit one that fans won’t be overly concerned about, is that the story makes absolutely no sense.

Detractors of THE LAST JEDI took aim at Rian Johnson’s film for many things, but, in the scheme of following its own internal story logic, THE LAST JEDI make a lot more sense than RISE OF SKYWALKER…

The screenplay for this ninth film was written by Abrams and Chris Terrio, the writer of ARGO (2012), BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016) and JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017). Colin Trevorrow, the film’s first director, and his writing partner Derek Connolly get a “Story by” credit, but the film’s story feels very much like a J.J. Abrams concept, which goes something along the line;

Events in the story happen because it’s a movie and because it’s a movie, anything can happen.

There’s no logic and, in many cases, no real purpose to why and how things happen. They just do.

So, do the new cast of characters finally come into their own?

Well, thank goodness for Adam Driver…

He does so much good work in other movies these days, appearing in a STAR WARS film wasn’t going to hurt his reputation no matter how badly defined his character was. Fortunately, he’s turned Kylo Ren into one of the STAR WARS universe’s most compelling characters…

He’s bad, but he’s sensitive.

He’s violent, but he’s confused.

And, unlike THE LAST JEDI, he remains fully clothed for the entirety of this new film.

There’s no creepy, weird scenes between Driver’s Kylo or Daisy Ridley’s Rey in RISE OF SKYWALKER, but there is a continuation (and explanation) of how the pair can operate within each other’s personal space despite being separated by the vastness of outer space.

The explanation defies all logic, but it’s actually a pretty cool story device that helps drive the action throughout the film.

As for the remaining trio of central characters (Rey, Finn & Poe), they are still far more generic than Luke, Leia and Han... 

Daisy Ridley, once again, delivers a solid, easy-to-watch performance, but Rey still lacks an edge. Only after two-and-half movies does she finally discover who she really is and, in terms of emotional payoff, the resolution to the revelation feels truncated and convoluted. 

One of the frustrating story elements of this new series of films has been the strange way the relationship between John Boyega’s Finn and Rey has evolved. 

Finn’s unrequited love for Rey (in whatever form the writers intended) constantly derails the development of their relationship and intrudes upon action beats unnecessarily. One of the film’s key fight sequences between Rey and Kylo Ren is interrupted by the arrival of Finn, who is trying to “save” Rey. Given how powerful a Jedi she has become, the only person who needs saving in this scenario is Finn, who has injected himself into a match-up between two incredibly powerful, Force-sensitive individuals.

Oscar Isaac must have gotten frustrated when he read RISE OF SKYWALKER…

For yet another film, Poe is used as Han Solo lite, trying to be heroic but coming off as undisciplined and contrived. Abrams and Terrio use Poe not so much as a real character but as an expository cypher whose propensity to act without thinking always seems to be the moment in the story that events change gear and, generally, involve some kind of set-piece battle sequence.

The return of original trilogy characters don’t add a great deal to RISE OF SKYWALKER either.

The inclusion of Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine had fans salivating when it was first announced, but, of all the story decisions made, his inclusion makes the least sense. From the film’s opening story crawl, Abrams and Terrio announce to the audience that the shadow of the saga’s nefarious Sith Lord will cast itself long and dark upon the film.

Buy how?

Casual viewers will be scratching their heads, asking “Didn’t he die in RETURN OF THE JEDI?”

The simple answer is: yes.

How did he return?

He just did. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. The audience is left to assume that, somehow, old Palpy just willed himself back into existence and has been lurking in the background, waiting for the right moment to inject himself back into the affairs of the galaxy far, far away.

Billy Dee Williams is completely wasted.

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is not without its good points.

The film revisits all of the elements that make STAR WARS what it is without dwelling too long or becoming overly nostalgic. Abrams knows the material intimately and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is the version of RETURN OF THE JEDI that Abrams would have like to have seen when he was a kid and has probably had sitting inside his head since he walked out of the cinema in 1983 after having seen the concluding chapter of the original George Lucas trilogy. 

Think less Ewoks, more lightsabre fights and bigger space battles.

The way the story is structured certainly mirrors the 1983 film’s plot.

Dan Mindel’s cinematography is a welcome return and picks up where he left off from THE FORCE AWAKENS. 

Abrams and Mindel have worked together for many years and it’s clear that he understands how to capture all the visual noise within an Abrams’ film to assist story development but also showcase lavish production design. RISE OF SKYWALKER is no exception. In particular, the inclusion of all the alien creature designs in this film are more integrated than either THE FORCE AWAKENS or THE LAST JEDI. The dark, oppressive colour palette of the antagonists are also a highlight, with the First Order/Imperial “look” going to the next level in terms of design aesthetic.

John Williams returns to score the ninth film. His work on this film is a blend of all the signature themes that he has created for all eight previous STAR WARS films. The return of Palpatine allows Williams to revisit some of the best work he has done on the saga and it’s fitting that one of the people that made STAR WARS so memorable in 1977 can return forty-two years later to help finish what he started.

There’s no denying the overall effectiveness of this film.

Despite the fact that not much of it makes any sense, Abrams has done what few could have. He has interpreted the original trilogy, made two hugely entertaining movies that rank well above the prequel trilogy and, as of this moment, fall comfortably into the top five of all the STAR WARS movies made to this time.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

STAR WARS.

ROGUE ONE.

THE FORCE AWAKENS.

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

The film ends in a great place and even the toughest critics will find it hard to criticize the creative choice made to bring the saga to a close. THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, much like the Force itself, exists as an ill-defined concept where things happen just because they can. But, also like the Force, THE RISE OF SKYWALKER envelopes the viewer, surrounding them with things that are comforting, familiar and provide a sense of hope. This is no accident. J.J. Abrams is a STAR WARS fan and, with THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, has delivered a fitting (if not all-time classic) finale for one of entertainment’s most beloved cinematic adventures.

The Force is with him, as it is with THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER MOVIE (2019) USEFUL LINKS

Star Wars: Episode IX - Wikipedia
​Star Wars: Episode IX (2019) - IMDb
​Star Wars: Episode IX (2019) - Rotten Tomatoes

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