Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures.

There are some criticisms of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," the last in the nine-part series of blockbuster films, with which I can, unfortunately, agree. There are also some complaints I've heard with which I don't exactly concur. For starters, I agree with the majority opinion that this third film in the latest "Star Wars" trilogy, which finds J.J. Abrams back in the director's seat after Rian Johnson's more ambitious and much better "The Last Jedi," is the weakest.

On the other hand, I don't necessarily subscribe to the opinion that it's weak overall. There are some flaws - including a plot twist involving Rey's (Daisy Ridley) birthright and the reintroduction of a major character from the original series (and no, I'm not talking about Billy Dee Williams' return as Lando Calrissian, which is, to put it mildly, delightful) - and the entire film often feels like a compilation of the greatest hits of "Star Wars" slapped together as a movie to pay the ultimate fan service to those who love the series. In other words, it lacks in originality.

That being said, it's still a pretty fun film filled with some great moments - a terrific duel between Rey and primary villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) on a crashed Empire vessel floating on water - and there's a nice chemistry between Ridley and Driver that almost makes up for the fact that so many other characters - Oscar Isaac's Poe, John Boyega's Finn and pretty much everyone else - get the short end of the characterization stick. It's also odd that Keri Russell is added to the cast, but we never see her face, although Richard E. Grant's addition as a snippy general is pretty fun.

The "Star Wars" fan base has become somewhat fractured and "The Rise of Skywalker" is proof of it. Abrams makes the mistake of trying to please everyone - utilizing time-honored cliches of the series, featuring lots of outer space battles and erasing some of the concepts of Johnson's film - and as a result might have not exactly pleased anyone. Then again, the film bids farewell to some iconic characters - what else could have happened considering the death of Carrie Fisher a few years back? - and the final scene of the movie hits the right emotional notes.

The first line on the picture's opening scrawl says "The dead speak!," and in the case of this film, there are one too many resurrections. One of the primary villains from the original "Star Wars" movie returns with a not-particularly convincing explanation, a beloved figure is believed to have died during one moment in the film only to have him reappear a few moments later, a character killed at the beginning of this new series returns in a semi-dream moment, another who sacrificed himself last time around pops up as a Jedi spirit, and even the lead character is thought to be dead at one moment, only to be brought back to life.

I know it sounds as if I primarily have complaints about the film - but that's not the case. "The Force Awakens" was a nostalgia trip, but a very well executed one, while "The Last Jedi" took the series in a different direction and presented the audience with a new view of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, who briefly reprises his role here).

"The Rise of Skywalker" isn't nearly as good as those two previous films in the series, but it's still an enjoyable blockbuster. It might not be the series finale you were looking for - to quote Obi Wan Kenobi - but it provides some closure to its characters and to an extent embodies the spirit of the series. It's more fun that not, despite some strange creative choices.