Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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I saw “Rise of Skywalker” in the theater when it came out in December 2019, but I forgot to put it on this list. The digital edition was released in mid-March of 2020 so this entry represents the second and third times I’ve seen the film.

There are a number of things I like about “Rise of Skywalker”:

  • The triumphant music–I am a sucker for these scores.

  • Rey, my favorite “Star Wars” character–I want her to come back and get a proper Rey-centric trilogy.

  • Fantastic action and effects–The new films look amazing.

But … I wish the producers took six extra months to get the pieces right. Or, I wish the obvious meddling hadn’t happened so the full movie could have been released.

There are story holes in the film that undermine it. For example:

  • What does Finn want to tell Rey? You can infer that Finn is Force sensitive, but he never says this in the film. This is the most egregious oversight. It’s given considerable emphasis but never resolved.

  • How does the Emperor survive after “Return of the Jedi”? The Rise of Skywalker novel explains that the Emperor’s body in “Rise” is a clone. He used the Dark Side to transfer his spirit while he was plummeting down that shaft in “Jedi.”

  • Who is Rey’s father? The novel says he was a sort of failed Palpatine clone. There’s a lot more that could be explored here. How did he and Rey’s mom get together? How did he explain the whole “I’m a Palpy clone” thing? Are there other Palpatine clones on the loose? Did they have kids? Does that mean there are other super-powered Force wielders in the wild?

  • How did the Resistance get all those people to help in “Rise” when their call for help in “Last Jedi” was ignored? This is partially addressed in the novel Resistance Reborn. The First Order had a list of Resistance-friendly people. Many of these allies were eliminated or imprisoned, and the Resitance call in “Last Jedi” was blocked. I guess they found a way around that blockage in “Rise.”

Most people probably don’t care about these details. That’s fine and fair. But adding another 15 minutes to an already long movie could have addressed at least some of these issues.

Nonetheless, while “Rise of Skywalker” didn’t stick the landing, I’m always happy to spend time with these characters and that amazing music.

A small thing worth mentioning: Doubling back to the amazing effects work in these films … there’s one moment in “Last Jedi” that delights me. It’s during the opening bombing run. A-Wing pilot Tallie Lintra is setting up for the attack. As she talks you can see she’s subtly aligning her ship–a small move here, another there. Details like this make this world immersive.

You can see the moment I’m talking about at the 10-second mark in this clip: