Over 40 years, a plethora of novels and comics, dozens of games, and 8 movies: such is the substance JJ Abrams has upon his shoulders when approaching the conclusion of the trilogy of trilogies. Expectations are immense, the fan-climate is intense, and Abrams cannot approach this movie on the fence.
While being interviewed by Cinemablend, Abrams said Rian Johnson’s Last Jedi encouraged him to take more risks with Rise of Skywalker; and take more risks he did. Yes, ignore any critic who claims JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio wrote a safe, predictable story. On multiple accounts I was shocked, awed, and surprised. Some critics have mentioned Rise of Skywalker (RoS) starts choppy, convoluted, and contains too much story. How odd to complain about having too much story (not a complaint I run across often, except when a reviewer wants to write a negative review on purpose either because they do not want to like the film or they want to attract readers and thinking a negative review will do the job). Needless to say, the story is fantastic, well written, expertly executed, resulting in one of JJ Abram’s best accomplishments.
Make no mistake, Rise of Skywalker is not attempting to make new fans of Star Wars. That being said, the movie hits the ground running and offers a lot of new, fresh, elements of Star Wars lore hardcore fans will love. If, however, you are not a hardcore fan, rest assured every important element is explained, albeit later on in the film. Allow your ignorance to be a mystery which will unravel like a good murder mystery.
If there is any downside, it would be with the footage regarding Carrie Fisher. Please hear me out before writing me hate mail: yes, Abrams and Co. did an amazing job using footage from The Force Awakens and reinventing it to be used for a different storyline in episode 9. However, I also found myself noticing when something was not meant to be, and such a moment reminded me I was watching a movie. Whenever I am reminded I am watching a movie, that is a break in the immersion to be created in one’s film-going experience. Such a break is not a problem, so long as you get re-immersed back into the movie afterward (which Rise of Skywalker did immediately). As stated, Fisher’s scenes were done magnificently, and it is possible my knowing Fisher committed suicide prior to the making of the film might have made me more cognizant of the editing and scene replacements.
Later on I will offer a more detailed discussion on Rise of Skywalker with spoilers, but this is not the time. Over the next week or three, I highly recommend ignoring the Tomato Meter rating, and watch Rise of Skywalker: it is worth seeing, especially on a big screen (3D is not a benefit for this film, so save your dollars).