The Sins of The Rise of Skywalker

Well, It’s Over

Well, it’s the end of the Skywalker Saga. For the third time. Maybe. Who knows? Well, the sequel trilogy is over. And while I liked the move there the sins of The Rise of Skywalker are too pronounced.

We are a month after the release of The Rise of Skywalker but, still, spoilers ahead.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad trilogy. I know the ST has its haters, but I’m not one of them. I like/love all three. I could watch all three at any time and be happy.

However, I’m not sure I would want to watch all three in the same day.

I have no problem watching The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi back to back. They work very well together. They both tell one story. (Caveat: My wife would not have the same opinion…check out her Star Wars Fatigue Story).

The Sins of The Rise of Skywalker

The Rise of Skywalker tells the same story, but it doesn’t tell it as well. George Lucas is famous for his faster and more intense directing style. Abrams takes this past where it is feasible.

There are no rest beats. There are no frames that allow the audience to breathe. Worse, it’s the first film in which I can’t remember a single theme of John Williams’s (Star Wars or not) when I left the theater.

I don’t have a problem with the basic story, but ten more minutes running time would have helped this film tremendously. Moreso, it would have helped tie the three films together.

While I don’t feel there were any true retcons (even though that is a valid point made by people I respect), there was not enough tying up of the loose strings. Some minimal cut scenes could solve every one of these issues.

I had no problem with Palpatine being behind everything, but I thought all of his scenes looked bad, which is strange for an Abrams film.

Not having Ben and Anakin as force ghosts was a missed opportunity. They are the soul of the Saga, and we deserved to see that Luke, Leia, and Rey’s efforts to save them were not in vain.

The worse thing was sidelining Rose. It was as if they wrote the screenplay and then remembered her.

The Sequel Trilogy is a Mess

There are many things I love about this movie. I walked out having fun and felt like it was money well spent. That will be in another post.

However, this movie missed the boat into making this a true trilogy with themes that should resonate.

Individually, they are some of my favorite of the franchise. I look forward to watching all three multiple times.

But together, the sequel trilogy is a mess. And of lot of the fault likes with the sins of The Rise of Skywalker.