Related
As the final film in the Skywalker saga , Star Wars ' 9th episode , The Rise of Skywalker , for sure had mellow expectation perch on its shoulders . That ’s what makes it all the more disappointing that the cinema spectacularly failed in almost every possible way it could have .
Almost every overarching plot line it attempted to solve , whether from the sequel trilogy or from the saga as a whole , find hollow , reductive , and self - lenient . Characters seldom roleplay like themselves , and buff serving and nostalgia utterly bloat the already overstuffed film . Here , we take a look at what actually process in the disappointing saga finish , and what dead did not work at all .
Best: Babu Frik steals the show
Star Warshas always been filled with aliens , peculiarly adorable ones . But few of them have been as diminutive , as adorable , and as downright hilarious as the black market droidsmith from Kijimi , Babu Frik .
Though this diminutive Anzellan barely has two minutes of screentime , he stands out as one of the absolute high spot of the movie . Whether hack enthusiastically , commenting that C-3PO ’s computer storage will go " blech , " or proudly introduce himself , Babu is a tiny admirer we ’d all get it on to have .
Underwhelming: The Resistance wins?
At its core , Star Warsis meant to be a write up about hope - a fairytale , if you will . So why doesThe Rise of Skywalker ’s end ring so absolutely hollow ? After the wizard deus ex machina of apparently the entire galaxy coming to the Resistance ’s tending , for no vindicated salutary reason , the First Order and Final Order ships overhead set out to burst forth .
But that ’s it . There ’s no indication that this really is the last of the First Order . What if there had been a bag elsewhere , or hidden ships ? The Emperor may be last , but the Resistance claiming this as a triumph in the agency the Battle at Endor feels beyond empty .
Best: Lando returns
The Rise of Skywalkermay have been filled to the brim with nostalgia , whether in the form ofblink and you miss it cameosfrom characters like Wedge Antilles or self - inflated self - referential recall . But one of the few instances of nostalgia and fanservice that truly work was the return of Billy Dee Williams ' Lando Calrissian .
Every bit as smooth and charming as he once was , Lando is exactly the fictional character we always know and bed . He also get to have plenitude of heroic minute in his few minutes of screentime , point he ’s more than bring in his legacy as a astronomic hero .
Underwhelming: Palpatine’s return
For calendar month now , the return of Emperor Palpatine has been hype up to no end as one of the most important parts ofThe Rise of Skywalker . But in the closing , not only was Palpatine scarce in the movie , his entire electric arc sincerely made very little sense .
At first , he wanted Kylo Ren to kill Rey . Then he change his mind , and wanted Rey to be brought to him alert . Then he want Rey to kill him , so she could become Empress . Also , he as if by magic created Snoke and had the power of every Sith who ever lived , who seemed to exist in his synagogue as acolyte . What ? No , in earnest : what ? We ’re attempt to make mother wit of it all . We just ca n’t .
Best: Han and Ben make amends
At its core , Star Warsis a family saga . For decades , it ’s been the saga of the Skywalker sept in particular . And while Kylo Ren is the reliable last Skywalker , it ’s his Solo family inheritance that stands out as one of the motion picture ’s strongest moments .
In one of the more unexpected and profoundly moving view , a more conflicted than ever Kylo Ren finds himself call in by the storage of his father , Han Solo . In the affecting scene , father and Logos finally make amends for the wrongs that had been done , as they are afforded a chance to recreate their last moment together in the way things should have been . It ’s through Han ’s love , and Kylo ’s apology and self - loathing , thatredemption is last earned .
Underwhelming: Rey’s lineage reveal
One of themost groundbreaking ceremony and truly freeing partsof Rian Johnson’sThe Last Jediwas the reveal that Rey was actually no one . It place a message that the nature of the Force was not blood - bind , inner , genetic . It allow for anyone to pull in their place in this story , no matter the luck of their birth or the family into which they were bear .
The Rise of Skywalkerquite literally spits in the face of that notion , with a reveal that pulls the rugs out from under the audience ’s feet . In the laziest possible pick , Rey is break to be a Palpatine , whose parents sold her into indent servitude as a way to protect her . It ’s loathsome , reductive , and deeply unsettling .
Best: Ben Solo returns
As the mo with Han and Kylo Ren establishes , Ben Solo accepts the lightness inside of him once and for all and returns to the light side of the Force in one of the most striking mo not just in the film , but in the entirety of the saga . The very demeanor of his character has changed , as has his costume , and Adam Driver cede a true masterclass in wordless act as we look out the redeem Solo Logos come back to life .
Ben Solo is absolutely feral , undaunted , and willing to give up anything and everything to make amends and salve those he cares about most , let in his dyad mate , Rey . He throws himself wholeheartedly into his role save the galax once and for all - just as his father and mother once did .
Underwhelming: Rey’s ending
If Rey Palpatine was the laziest writing selection in the entirety of the film , maybe it would ’ve been okay . There ’s something symbolic about a Palpatine choosing the light and defeating the beetleweed ’s greatest evil once and for all .
But when it come to the choice to have Rey settle down down in exile on Tatooine , and symbolically select the name Skywalker for herself , the movie really could n’t be any lazier . Rey has no joining to Tatooine , and even if she did , the Skywalker family hat it there and endured nothing but painful sensation and hurt . moreover , why Skywalker ? Rey and Luke scarcely ever got along . It would have made more horse sense to declare herself Rey Organa , Rey Solo , or - scandalous we know - just Rey .
Best: Reylo is real
For years now , the nature of the kinship between heroine Rey and former villain Kylo Ren has been the subject of great disputation . But for all that time , a certain maligned buff group has been preaching what become out to be the verity : these two are not only inexorably link to one another , but they are mean for each other , in love with each other , and the closest the saga has hail to create absolutely destined soulmates .
The way they fight together in the film ’s final turn is a thing of beauty , as is Ben ’s selfless pick to bring around Rey and bring her back to life . Above all , their beyond poignant osculation , coupled with their flaccid closeness and giddy smiles , makes for one of the movie ’s only real , genuine human consequence - one that these two troubled kids more than deserved .
Underwhelming: Ben’s death
But what they absolutely did not deserve , and what we as viewers certainly did not either , was the decision to have Ben literally kick the bucket in Rey ’s blazonry not two seconds after they embraced , and just mere transactions after he redeemed himself more powerfully than Vader ever could have hop to .
In the rarefied scheme of things , Star Warsreinforces the slothful subject matter that in decree to redeem yourself , to atone for your sins , you must choke . There is no future in which Ben is admit to make dead on target amends with everyone he has hurt - and he ’s not earmark the self-worth of a memorial , or a Force Ghost , in the means that actual behemoth Darth Vader once was .
NEXT : Ranking Every Star Wars Movie From Shortest To Longest ( And Their Runtime )
