"To be loved is to be changed"

I had absolutely no intention of watching The Rise of Skywalker. In fact, I’ve never even bothered watching a single trailer for this movie. The only way I’d watch this is if someone dragged me into it, which is exactly what happened. Thanks to The Last Jedi, I started viewing Star Wars movies in a different light— more objectively, so to speak. It made that cloak of nostalgia that was hindering my vision vanish completely. Because that’s all there was to it. I realized that I only liked Star Wars because of nostalgia. Because of its great significance in pop culture for the past few decades. Take that away, and I realized that most of these movies were average at best.

I was old enough to watch the prequels in cinemas. Maybe I was too young then, but I loved The Phantom Menace. This made me look forward to Attack of the Clones, which I didn’t really like at first. But everyone else seemed to like it. Everyone else was so hyped up over it, because duh— it’s Star Wars. So I somehow convinced myself that I should like it as well. Call it peer pressure or whatever. Revenge of the Sith had its issues, but overall I found it entertaining. At least entertaining enough to make me seek out episodes IV-VI on home video. Maybe it was the influence of nostalgia again, especially since my parents were huge fans. After watching all episodes from I to VI, I was already somewhat of a Star Wars fan.


I was one of those who were so excited to see The Force Awakens. After such a long time, we were gonna see a new Star Wars movie on the big screen! And it had a lot of the original cast returning! That was surely a case of pandering to nostalgia, but heck everyone including myself lapped it all up. Sure it was mostly a rehash, it doesn’t hold up that well on repeat viewings, but it sure was fun to watch for the very first time. Especially once you see all those beloved characters back on the big screen. And with that cliffhanger ending showing our first glimpse of Luke Skywalker after all these years? Man, everyone sure as hell were hyped up for the sequel.

Which was the aforementioned The Last Jedi— definitely the most divisive Star Wars movie ever made. I can’t understand how some people loved it, because I think it’s downright horrible. Apparently I didn’t think it was so bad the first time I saw it— I gave it a 3/5 on my review here. That time though one of my friends fell asleep while watching. another one was so bored he wanted to walk out. These were HUGE Star Wars fans by the way. The fact that two huge fans couldn’t finish viewing a Star Wars movie was quite telling. I saw it again with my cousin after two months because she had not seen it yet. It’s a struggle to get through such a pointless plot on second viewing. I was shocked to find out that Rose Tico didn’t die. lol. Apparently I was no longer paying much attention towards the end on my first viewing. After this second viewing I’d give it a 2/5. I managed to see it alone at home for the third time, when I did a Star Wars marathon of sorts. It was the only movie that I was struggling to finish. Since I was watching it alone in the comfort of my own room, I could rate it the most objectively. After the third viewing, I’d give it a 1/5.

I know we all have different tastes. If you liked The Last Jedi, if you enjoyed watching it, I’d respect that. But please do not refer to it as excellent, as perfect, or the best Star Wars Movie ever because it isn’t any of those. I wouldn’t call a movie with such a useless plot perfect. That main plot could have been told in 15 minutes or less. The entire movie just wasted 2 ½ hours over nothing. The side quest was just as pointless. Plot holes were numerous. Beloved characters were quickly set aside. Beloved characters start to behave in a way that’s completely out of character. A bunch of new main characters pop out of nowhere, with no other purpose than to serve an agenda. Many things did not make sense even on a science fiction movie. Characters show new skills, even though such skills were never foreshadowed in what’s supposed to be a saga. It also diverged from any logical path following The Force Awakens. In fact after viewing all Star Wars movies in succession from episodes I to XI, The Last Jedi stands out because it doesn’t conform with the universe set in the other episodes. In doesn’t fit the overarching narrative at all. They might as well have called it The Last Jedi: A Star Wars Story.

Look, I get it. Innovation and non conformity should be praised, but only when it’s done in a proper setting. If you’re going to make a movie that’s part of a trilogy or part of an entire saga, you have to be a team player. You have to stick to a certain theme. You can’t push boundaries too far, else your movie won’t feel part of a whole even though it’s supposed to be. Rian Johnson knew The Last Jedi was gonna be part of a Trilogy. You can’t verge too far when you’re making an episode in a trilogy— especially not when it’s the second installment you’re making. So yeah, I’m glad JJ Abrams did a retcon and basically ignored Episode VIII. It wouldn’t take much to ignore it anyway, considering the fact that close to nothing of significance happened in that episode. Oh yeah, Luke died/ vanished. Also Snoke, in what was the only awesome scene in the entire movie IMO. Anything else that happened were basically non events.


Now critics are complaining that The Rise of Skywalker ignores the narrative threads that were set by Rian Johnson. Oh you mean the same way he ignored the narrative threads set by JJ Abrams? I didn’t hear any critics complaining then. All I heard were praises because the movie was so inclusive, it was so empowering, it was refreshing because it didn’t feel like a Star Wars movie. How can “not feeling like a Star Wars movie” be a good thing about a movie that’s supposed to be part of the Star Wars Saga? Look, general audiences couldn’t care less about the race or gender of characters they see onscreen as long as a good story is being told. Majority of people who hated The Last Jedi aren’t single white men who are still living in their parent’s basements, so SJWs should quit that tired narrative. A lot of people who hated The Last Jedi are ordinary moviegoers who just wanted to have fun watching a movie set in the universe they’re familiar with. A lot of people hated The Last Jedi because even that was taken away from them.


Critics are also complaining about several plot points. Like how Emperor Palpatine is still alive (not a spoiler: it’s on the movie’s official synopsis, and it’s stated right at the very beginning.) I know, that totally came out of left field. Palpatine clearly died on episode VI. There were no hints or foreshadowing that he was still alive on episodes VII and VIII, even on repeat viewings. Thus is comes off as a cheap and desperate attempt. Whose fault was this though? Who decided to kill off this new trilogy’s big bad on the second episode? Rian Johnson didn’t leave much for JJ Abrams to work with here, he was basically pushed against a wall and working with his hands tied. Creating an entirely new villain would be anticlimactic, but since it’s a part of a 9 movie saga, the next best thing would be to revive a villain from the past. Another common complaint is that this new movie feels rushed, that so many things were being packed in a little over 2 hours. Again whose fault is that? If Rian Johnson didn’t waste 2 ½ on the previous movie and told a story with significant events that would feed naturally onto the next episode, an episode that would serve as a bridge between two episodes instead of looking like some disjointed amalgamation, this wouldn’t have happened would it? JJ Abrams had that unenviable task of trying to tie up so many loose ends. It would have helped if Rian Johnson tried to be a team player by tying up some loose ends from The Force Awakens and then tying up some of his. But no, he preferred to do things his own way. He preferred to be different, he preferred to leave his indelible mark. Instead of effectively bridging two episodes, he left the Skywalker Saga with no clear direction. 


I agree. This movie seemed rushed. It seemed forced. It could use a lot more time to tell the story. But considering the difficult task that JJ Abrams was given, those faults are easily forgivable. Yes a lot of it is fan service and obvious pandering. But isn’t that only fitting for what’s supposed to be the final chapter in the Skywalker Saga that started way back in 1977? Anyone who grew up with these movies would enjoy this finale. it contains a lot of the things that people have loved about Star Wars. This series has been around for more than 4 decades, fans belong to different generations. Episode XI is not a perfect movie, but it’s a perfect thank you to everyone who has been a fan. I had no intention of watching this movie, but I’m glad I was forced to give gave it a chance. It’s not the best Star Wars movie, but it’s good enough to restore my faith in all things Star Wars. 
… 
My rating: 4/5