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The Rise of Skywalker Review Thread: The Sheev Saga Comes to a Close [No Spoilers] (Rottenwatch: 55%; 10% below AOTC) [SEE STAFF POST]

Halbrand

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,617

" I can't tell you too much about "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker" because I don't want to spoil the many wonderful surprises, twists, and turns. But after seeing it on Tuesday night, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Any mistakes that have been made along the way have been dealt with in a way that that should make everyone happy. We're not looking for edgy filmmaking here. This is about signing off in a satisfying style. Director JJ Abrams has accomplished this difficult mission."
 
Halbrand

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,617

" It's sad, too, all this lifeless bombast made to appease some vague idea of a pure Star Wars fan. I don't think Rise of Skywalker is ill-intentioned, exactly—it's not malevolent like some joyless tentpole films are. But it takes no pleasure in its own existence, weakly adding some cutesiness here and there to liven things up (mostly in the form of a new droid whose existence feels redundant at best) but otherwise shuffling around morosely as it does what it thinks it needs to, piteously unaware that it didn't have to be like this."
 
Rockstar

Rockstar

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,850
US
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samred

samred

Amico fun conversationalist
Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,586
Seattle, WA
My SPOILER-FREE review at Ars Technica. Tons of nitpicks. An overall thumbs up, but not decidedly.


The beating heart of this film, and the biggest reason I recommend it, is the evolving and intriguing relationship between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Rise of Skywalker is often a turbulent ride, usually to its detriment, but the storytelling conclusion for these eternally linked rivals (and the performances that carry these characters to their most powerful moments in the Star Wars series) eke this film across the "good enough for fans" line.

Without that quality (an admittedly large percentage of the film), Rise of Skywalker might otherwise serve as proof that director/co-writer J.J. Abrams was the wrong person to finish the latest trilogy. The film rushes between plot points, overuses certain characters, and wastes others. And whether you loved, tolerated, or hated 2017's The Last Jedi, it's easy to conclude that the previous film's most intriguing developments and concepts were abandoned—and without any convincing proof that Abrams had better ideas in store.
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Azuran

Azuran

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,563
George Lucas about to be vindicated.

65% prediction may have been too high after some of those early reviews whew
 
Disco

Disco

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,454
man when even milquetoast reviewers like IGN claim a movie plays it "too safe" it sure dampens the hype :(

got day one tickets and expecting a decent time here, but maybe Rian Johnson ruined this franchise after all....by making a movie too good for a director like Abrams to follow up (god forbid if it was Trevorrow though)
 
Halbrand

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,617

" Unfortunately, The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams doesn't seem to have fully grasped Johnson's message in The Last Jedi--that we have to "let the past die" to move forward. Johnson sought to establish a fresh direction for the Star Wars saga, but in Rise, Abrams is interested in killing only the parts of the past that he disagrees with. Instead of continuing down the path that Johnson set, Abrams swerves the franchise into yet another hard u-turn, cramming enough story for two movies into one, and largely acting like the previous film never happened--or actively retconning it.


In the end, it all feels simply empty. It should never be so clear to audiences that something in the filmmaking process has gone so terribly wrong--that the people who made the first film in a trilogy apparently didn't bother to sketch out a plan for the second and third, and that the movies' directors had visions for the series' future that were so fundamentally at odds. Star Wars deserved better.

4/10"
 
Crossing Eden

Crossing Eden

Member
Oct 26, 2017
53,401
Amazing that the negative reviews all cite that it too deeply attempts to appeal to the people who didn't like TLJ. Almost as if those dudes, and yes it was mostly dudes, had the wrong idea about what SW should and could be the whole time.
 
Hot Priest

Hot Priest

Alt-account
Banned
Oct 11, 2019
351
Drewton said:

" Unfortunately, The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams doesn't seem to have fully grasped Johnson's message in The Last Jedi--that we have to "let the past die" to move forward. Johnson sought to establish a fresh direction for the Star Wars saga, but in Rise, Abrams is interested in killing only the parts of the past that he disagrees with. Instead of continuing down the path that Johnson set, Abrams swerves the franchise into yet another hard u-turn, cramming enough story for two movies into one, and largely acting like the previous film never happened--or actively retconning it."
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4 out of 10

4

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Mekanos

Mekanos

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 17, 2018
44,189
Wondering if my 80s prediction for the Tomatometer was too high.

I knew this wouldn't review as well as TLJ or TFA, but dang, these excerpts are pretty scathing so far.
 
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