Bricklayer Reviews: The Rise of Skywalker · 11:07pm Feb 26th, 2020
Oh, I'm afraid the Emperor will be quite operational when your friends arrive.
Shame about the rest of the movie eh? nervous laughter and excuses himself for his dumb joke Now, bad jokes aside, the question we must ask ourselves is this movie really worth all the scorn heaped upon it by critics and fans alike? Even certain actors who shall go unnamed? That's kinda a complicated answer. On the one hand, I can sorta see where they're coming from.
This movie had a very troubled production and it shows. Firstly, several writers walking out. Then Carrie's unfortunate passing meaning a lot of her scenes planned had to be reworked or scrapped. This meant Rose, who was set up to be a major player had really only 5 minutes of screentime in the final product, as her scenes were meant to be used alongside Carrie. However, on the bright side, some of her role went off to Poe, meaning he grew from hotshot young pilot to seasoned commander.
He got a definitive character arc, and considering how he got either mishandled or very low screentime throughout the trilogy this is a good thing. Rey's arc, also good for the most part. Now credit where credit is due, I will say I did not see the whole Palpatine thing coming. Well, her parents were nobodies but nobody said anything about her grandfather did they? Now, I will say this does render the last of the original trio's accomplishments moot... from a certain point of view. Of course, they technically did kill Palpatine soooooo... Also, the Chosen One prophecy is either bunk or if you look at it from other points of view... maybe not. Maybe Qui-Gon jumped the gun a bit or maybe it just referred to Palpatine's demise on the Death Star II. After all, neither Kylo nor Snoke identified as Sith so the old religion got swept away...
Now, this being said this film relies heavily on the nostalgia factor and sometimes plays it a bit too safe. For example, while Snoke being revealed to be a puppet king isn't a bad idea in itself and makes up for the anti-climax of his demise, it does feel it was an excuse to put Palpatine back. Not that seeing Ian ham it up one last time isn't enjoyable. There's also only so many times you can play the Imperial March in a film before you just groan, and believe me it gets played a bit here. Also, the grand final space battle, yeah... Yes sure we see the Ghost, Fangfighters and old Seppie cruisers but none of them actually get used. It's just a collection of shots of the Falcon and some X-Wings and Y-Wings. I have to say, if you were going to go for broke and show off all these ships... actually show them off!
Now, Palpatine's return itself needs a bit of polish. Aside from one callback line, we... really don't see how he returns. We're just left to guess that he's a zombie, a clone, or the real deal who never quite died. Now, that being said, I will defend the final battle in some regards. I should point out Luke VS Palpatine falls into many of the same traps. Most of the action is the space battle and Vader's final duel.
All Palpatine does is goad Luke and only at the end of things does he break out the force lightning. Granted, Rey and Ben VS Palpatine should be the final duel so it's a bit less excusable but just wanted to comment on that.
Now, Jannah and Zorrii -I think that's how you spell her name- feel... unneeded. Granted, Zorrii delivers a great line to Poe about never giving up hope but Lando or someone could have dealt that. Not to sound like a shipper, but they just seem to be there to deliver alternative ships for Poe and Finn. Not very well executed ones at that. Also, the Chewbacca and Threepio fakeouts. You know the ones. Why fake us out if you're not going to kill them permanently? It just feels like cheap shock value and drama.
But credit to Adam Driver. This movie was where he really shined. Like, he didn't even need to say a word when Ben went back to the Light, his actions just spoke volumes. I will excuse Rey seemingly having no angst about her soulbondmate's death, I will largely because it might have filled the runtime even more so. And this is already a long film as is. Also, I should remark on how the Death Star 2 duel is a perfect reverse of the Starkiller duel. Rey's now the angry unfocused one, while Kylo is calm as the winter chill -if you forgive the poetic- and allowed to put all his training to use. Guess who wins?
In the end, it's not a terrible film by any regards, as when the plot works it works. It feels like a story coming to an end, and make no mistake it's a fun film. Like, it is a really fun film despite all I've been saying about it thus far. So yeah, if a film brings you a good laugh or a good cheer then it's done it's job. Rise just feels like it needed a bit more cut and polish, that's all.
I wish I could have seen Separatists fighters, but guess what. That scene moved too damn fast so all I could catch was Ghost.
I personally thought it rounded off the Star Wars franchise very well, bringing the story to a close and tying up the remaining loose plot threads.
As for the fans; you asked for a traditional Star Wars movie. You got a traditional Star Wars movie. Why are you complaining?
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vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/d/d7/Resistance_fleet_Episode_IX.png/revision/latest?cb=20191022030206
Look around, you should see some old favorites like the Separatists heavy cruisers.
5210143
Yeah, I'd have to say it did feel like it was going back to basics after the very adventurous Rogue One and The Last Jedi. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.
Everyone else is going too harsh on this film. I loved it. And there are two options the haters of the film have now. Either accept it or not, either move on or not, either find the good in it or find the bad in it--you'll find what you're looking for either way.
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Which I felt was a good thing. The Last Jedi was ambitious yes, but was rather hit and miss as a consequence. It was also far too long at 152 minutes, and could easily have been a fraction of that length and still worked.
Ray being related to Palpatine was the third most likely parentage that many fans I follow felt like was a possibility. It went Kenobi>Skywalker>Palpatine. That was from how she was fighting with a lightsaber.
After the whole reveal she wasn’t related to Luke it removed him from the equation and the doom and gloom fans all felt that this was the most likely outcome. I was hoping they would take a chance and find a way to make her, by blood, related to Luke.
Instead it went with, what I agree with, was completely making Vader’s redemption a moot point. This saga has always been about the Skywalker family by George himself and by killing Luke and letting Rey take the final battle it made episodes 4-6 almost completely pointless. I don’t understand why nobody stopped during production of 8 and changed direction after Carrie’s unfortunate death. They where a just under a year out from its premiere and they could have closed out her story so much better. Yes I am bitter in how Disney has handed Star Wars and their continued direction leaves me with some major concerns.
5210149
Yeah, I'm trying to be harsh but fair here. Yeah, it's a bit of a mess in some areas but if it makes you smile... it makes you smile. That's job done, I think for a film. Now, there's one minor niggle I left out in the review proper. The Sith Troopers. Analysts and reporters built them out to be the next Death Troopers, or maybe corrupted Jedi or something. In the end, they're just regular stormtroopers. Maybe that's news outlets and analysts being how they are, jumping the gun a bit.
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Probably, yeah. Possibly.
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Indeed. But there's no reason earlier points in the Star Wars universe can't be revisited.
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Eh, I can't say I mind the whole Rey Palpatine thing. I mean, it's points to the unexpected and from Rey's snarls and fighting style I suppose it's not that unsurprising who she's related to. And hey, her taking the Skywalker name does mean the family, from a certain point of view, finishes what it started and Palpatine is denied the last laugh. For all we know, Rey never mentioned her parentage at all to the galaxy at large. So for all they know, she is Luke's kid.
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I personally hope for an Old Republic film that brings Revan into things properly. He's been re-canonized, so...
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Given Rise has been a commercial success, there's a good chance there will.
Man, so many things came to a formal end last year. MLP, Star Wars, and the MCU, to name three.
TBF, it's possible Rey simply maintained the balance, whereas Anakin brought it into balance in a way. Also, TBF, Legends brought back Palpatine first....a lit
I didn't like it, more so than any other movie I've seen in the theater (even TLJ took a little while for me to decide that I wasn't too terribly keen on it), but y'know what? If other people around these parts found something to get out of it, then that's fine with me.
And by the way...
Nice one. Always down for a good Senate joke.
I'm not going to say anything about the film—everyone else has already over-analyzed it to death by now, and truth be told, I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about it two whole months after the fact.
What I will say, however, is that (with maybe the exception of some of Rian Johnson's more errant Tweeting) I really wish I had the mental fortitude of the sequel trilogy's production crew. Seriously, if I was in any of their shoes, I probably would've gone full-on Rikki Farr by this point.
Tough but perfectly fair.
I had a ball with this movie. Yeah, it's chaotic and moves at breakneck speed, but y'know what? I had FUN watching it. I loved seeing Palpatine come back. I loved seeing Luke as a Force Ghost. I even loved Han's return, thought that was really brilliantly handled by the movie. And then there was stuff with the new characters I liked too - as you said Poe got a legit arc in here.
For me, this is actually one of the new Star Wars movies that I actually enjoyed. Far more than Rogue One or The Last Jedi by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm just really fucking sick of the scorn and bitterness directed at this movie from every side. It's such a breath of fresh air to see someone actually being reasonable and fair-minded about this movie.
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Yeah, I'm aware. This is a very faithful adaption of Dark Empire. And you raise a good point, Anakin brought the balance and Rey just maintained it. Prophecies are so delightfully vague, aren't they?
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I had to, I just had to.
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Yeah, considering half of the things I've heard -true or not- mad respect to everyone involved.
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Yeah, I was going for harsh, but ultimately fair. And the bitterness? I'm not surprised given what fandom we're talking about here. And Han's return was handled just exactly so. Force Ghost, hallucination or maybe something else. Whatever. It worked. It was that final push Ben needed.
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I'm so glad that you agree. It was just the perfect way to go about it. I am so, so, SO grateful that it's not Rey who ultimately brings Ben Solo back from the Dark Side, I was so afraid that'd be the case. But no, they were genius about it - his mother's sacrifice, and his father's memory, that was just wonderful.