Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (SPOILERS) - Review Thread

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE IS FLACCID



I knew Episode VII of the Star Wars saga was in trouble as soon as I read the opening text crawl. It revealed that Luke Skywalker vanished and a map was needed to find him. That's the plot? Really? The rumors from a year or two ago were a lot of more exciting. People thought the movie would begin with Luke's prosthetic hand being found in the desert and the rebel alliance trying to figure out what happened. Is he alive? Is he dead? Is he marooned somewhere? Was he captured by the enemy? But no, instead, we get Luke going to into exile and leaving a map behind so his friends can find him. Boring!

Even more puzzling is the revelation of the backstory being more interesting than the main story. After the events of Episode VI, Luke tried to restore the Jedi's to their former glory, but failed when his nephew turned against him. THAT should have been the plot for Episode VII. Not only would it have been more dramatic and emotional, but it would have totally made up for the prequels. It's obvious that Luke's nephew, Kylo Ren, is modeled after Anakin Skywalker. He's a confused young man that falls for the temptations of the Dark Side. The Force Awakens could have been the movie that fans wanted 16 years ago.

It could have also introduced the new characters and their stories more naturally. Take Rey for example. We assume that she's Luke's daughter and Kylo Ren's cousin, but we're never explicitly told so because some mysteries need to be left for the sequels. That's fine, I guess, but the problem is that she's an untrained Jedi who defeats Kylo Ren in a lightsaber fight. I don't care that he was injured. He's still a Jedi trained by Luke Skywalker. There was no reason for him to get his butt kicked. So wouldn't it have been better, and made more sense, for them to both have been students of Luke Skywalker and rivals from the get-go. Heck, why make them cousins? Why not siblings? Sibling rivalries could have been at the heart of this new trilogy.

You have Luke Skywalker. His two best students are his children, or his nephew and niece, Rey and Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren betrays, and kills, Luke Skywalker, and Rey seeks revenge.

Isn't that better than searching for a map?

It would have also spared us from some questionable decisions like giving more screen time to Finn than Poe Dameron. Oscar Isaac is a rising star and his schedule may have not been great, but this is Star Wars, you make it happen. You can't introduce an awesome Han Solo esque character and push him aside for the human version of C-3PO. And who's that lady Stormtrooper? Why is she in the movie for 10 seconds? Again, why did they introduce such interesting characters and do nothing with them? Could it be that they're saving them for the sequel?

Even though I've spent a lot of time complaining about a map, the REAL issue with Episode VII is what it represents. It's not a movie. It's the set-up for other movies. It's the equivalent of a TV show pilot. This series now relies on the talents of Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow. They have to take everything that J.J. Abrams set up and turn it into something that people will care about. Will they be successful? Time will tell.

For the time being, I'll accept The Force Awakens, even though it's incredibly misguided. For what it is, it's really well done and it's definitely better than the prequels, and arguably, better than Return of the Jedi. For now, it's good enough.