Rating of
3/4
Skywalker Saga Comes to a Fitting, if Uneven, End
Chris Kavan - wrote on 12/22/19
The grand conclusion to the Star Wars saga serves as an admirable, if somewhat underwhelming, conclusion to the most popular sci-fi series of the modern era. If J.J. Abrams didn't focus so much effort on trying to "fix" Rian Johnson's Last Jedi, I think if could have turned out to be a better ending but, for what it's worth, it still manages to create some interesting character arcs and is still a lot of fun.
While I avoided all spoilers going into the film, I didn't avoid the critical reception, which, aside from the Phantom Menace, was the lowest score for a Star Wars film. Much of the criticism wasn't that the overall film was bad - just disappointing and while I'm not quite as disappointed as some reviewers (and obviously some audience members) I do agree that Abrams tried too hard to appeal to the more vocal (and let's face it, toxic) part of the fandom in shaping his film. One thing I don't agree on is that many people seemed to think the first part of the film was confusing and had too much exposition. I didn't find that the case at all, as I thought they set things up just fine.
The crux of the story is this: the Resistance is facing a new and dangerous threat as Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid - reprising the famous role), long thought dead, has made a galaxy-spanning broadcast - and provided the largest fleet ever assembled - dubbed the Final Order, to fulfill his ultimate goal of subverting his will across all planets. But before he can do this, he must stop Rey (Daisy Ridley) while also bending Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to his plan. Meanwhile, the Resistance is doing all they can to stay alive with Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) chasing leads, including a mole inside the First Order who provides them with valuable intel. Led by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher - in a role compromised of unused footage following her death), the Resistance, still reeling from lack of any outside support, is simply trying to survive.
In order to track down the resurrected Palpatine, our core group of heroes must find a Sith Wayfinder, of which only two exist, with Kylo Ren already in possession of one. Thus we get some new planets and creatures, the return of a familiar face in Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams - still a smooth character after all these years) some new faces with Keri Russell's Zorii Bliss and tiny droid manipulator Babu Frik, light saber fights, space battles and revelations galore. It's too bad so many of said revelations (including Rey's parents, how Snoke came to be and the Knights of Ren among others) seem to be shoe-horned in to appease those who hated Last Jedi.
Still, though the film coasts by on fixing purported mistakes and nostalgia in equal measure, it still also retains that Star Wars spirit of never giving up, relying on your friends and redemption. Yes it maybe plays things too safe, yes, it focuses too much on making up for Last Jedi - but, in the end, it's still Star Wars and, warts and all, it made me happy.
