The Rise of Skywalker | Retrospective - An Underrated Jem?

It's been a busy year for me, and between work and travel I try to do my best to schedule in time for some fun. So, when my local theatre started re-screening all the Star Wars movies again, I saw the perfect opportunity for some star-faring escapism. Every Tuesday without fail, the Odeon would show every Star Wars film (minus Solo) starting with the prequels and ending with the sequels. Seeing these films again after so long gave me a chance to look at them with fresh eyes and for the most part, my opinions on them remain pretty much the same. My view of the prequels has softened over the years, and I don't think they deserve the hate that they have long gotten (all except Attack of the Clones, which easily is one of the worst films ever made). 

The originals are just as good as I remember, The Force Awakens is ok but suffers from being too much of a rehash of A New Hope. The Last Jedi is also still a film I love (please don't shoot me). However, one film that I often don't even think about is Episode IX. I saw it twice when it came out and didn't like it either times. I felt it betrayed the messages of The Last Jedi and was a cowardly apology from Lucasfilm as they dealt with fan backlash from Episode VIII. 

Guess who's back? Back again? Palpy’s back, tell a friend!

The Rise of Skywalker can be summed up by one infamous line - "Somehow Palpatine Returned". And that one line, memed to oblivion is all this film is remembered for. So, it's safe to say when I arrived at the cinema with my friends I wasn't expecting much or had any excitement to see this movie again. I mean after watching 9 Star Wars films in 9 weeks I was getting to the point where I never wanted to see a lightsaber again. I was accompanied by my two friends, one who isn't a huge Star Wars fan (and by that, I mean he doesn't know who Darth Plagueis is and why he is so wise.) and the other was... one of those Star Wars fans. You know, the kind that asks, "how does force projection make sense?", while seemingly forgetting that in madeup-istan, anything is possible.

He was already giving me a hard time for being someone who doesn't think the sequels are the worst thing since Idi Amin. For some reason, he thinks converting me to hating something I like will make the world a better place. I don't know, maybe my enjoyment of The Last Jedi is the reason why we can't have peace in the Middle East.

Anyway, we get in and the film starts, and I find myself... enjoying it? No, not just enjoying it but actually loving it! It’s rare for me to ever do a 180 on a film I once despised so much. But here I was, now being on the other side of the “Lovers of The Rise of Skywalker” picket line. But why? What was so different this time to last time? Well, one of my gripes with the film when I first saw it was that I felt it was an unnecessary retcon of The Last Jedi. I felt that it went against the messages of that film and tried to essentially apologize for the perceived slights of that movie. 

The Last Jedi says Rey is nobody, The Rise of Skywalker says... nope! She’s a Palpatine!

Was Luke Skywalker too depressed and gloomy for you? Well now look at him, he’s happier than a youngling the night before Order 66! 

Poe running in headfirst and not considering the costs of a battle is bad? How about this time Poe runs headfirst into a battle, taking hardly any fighters with him against a fleet of planet-destroying star ships! 

Aw, look how happy he is!

You see this was how I once interpreted this film. However, upon rewatch, the film doesn’t actually imply anything of the sort. Yes, TLJ said Rey was nobody, but the message was that it didn’t matter where she came from but who she chose to be. And her being a Palpatine, while I still don't love that, doesn’t betray that ideal at all.

Luke Skywalker is chirpier, but that makes sense as he is no longer in the same place he was in The Last Jedi, he was wrong. And he finally acknowledges that, it’s a continuation of his arc not a rejection of his TLJ characterization.

And Poe Dameron did learn his lesson from TLJ. The final battle continues the idea that hope inspires action. No one answered the resistance's call for help in episode VIII as the galaxy had run out of hope. Luke inspired the galaxy through the legend he created on Crait, of him facing down the first order. That seed lit the spark that gave the galaxy hope to burn the final order down and it is why they showed up in droves to help bring down the resurrected Palpatine. 

Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view - Obi Wan Kenobi

Ok, so from a certain point of view, this film is a natural continuation of its predecessor. But apart from that how does the film hold up?

One of the things that this film does well is recapturing the magic of the original trilogy. It has an explorative feel to it, as we follow our heroes as they visit different planets looking for the Sith Wayfinders. We see new aliens and new worlds, a real feast for the eyes. It is also the first time our trio – Rey, Finn and Poe, really spend a prolonged time together without being split up as they were in the previous films. This gives them a comradery they lacked in the other films; you really feel their connection.

The score is a lot more triumphant in this film too, it reminded me a lot of the 3rd pirate's film. The whole thing felt like an epic conclusion. The final act with the galaxy all coming together to fight The Emperor was inspiring, it felt like a culmination of all the rebellions of the past. Finally saying enough is enough and rejecting tyranny in its final form.

The Galaxy to Palpatine, probably.

Another highlight was Rey hearing the voices of the Jedi. In the past, I was one of the people who didn't understand why the force ghosts of the Jedi weren’t present in this scene. However, in hindsight, it was so much more powerful to only hear their voices on the backdrop of the stars in the sky instead. It’s like the Jedi are now remnants whose memory is scattered throughout the galaxy, inspiring those who listen to fight on. Beautiful.

I should address the Palpatine in the room. The Emperor's return did bother me at the time, and like with the Death Star 3.0 in The Force Awakens, I think they should’ve done something different. Maybe with Snoke or something. However, I do think that his return does kind of make sense upon reflection, even if I still don’t love it. George Lucas thought of The Emperor as the devil of the Star Wars mythos and in fairness can the devil really die? The Emperor is pure evil, so it makes sense that a remnant of him would survive somewhere. Again, his return wasn’t necessary, but it makes sense.

The final scene with Rey on Tatooine was something I never really had an issue with when I first saw it. But her calling herself a Skywalker always rubbed me the wrong way until I saw it again. I realized that unlike Kylo, who took his place in the Skywalker clan for granted, Rey actually earned the Skywalker name. Rey is an example of how one can come from nothing and become something. 

The Rise of Skywalker is a swashbuckling adventure and one of the best Star Wars films in years. And I predict, just like with The Last Jedi, the fandom will one day come to accept and even like this film. I got a glimpse of that after the film ended, when my Star Wars, sequel-hating friend actually said he really enjoyed it. That from him was high praise, and unexpected. It would be akin to a Turkey telling me they loved Christmas. A part of me kind of wishes the film was bad as it’s now messed up my whole Star Wars ranking list as I have no idea where to place this film. I can't believe I’m about to say this but, I really recommend you guys to give the film a second chance, you may be glad that you did.

Overall Rating 5/5 

I can’t fault it, a fun 80s-style swashbuckling Sci-Fi adventure.