The Rise of Skywalker begins like every other Star Wars film – with a thundering John Williams score and a socio-political information dump.
These openings do the yeoman’s work of reminding us where our principal characters are, and what they’ve been up to since the end of the previous film.
Episode IX, however, does something different. It begins with a plot twist, a big reveal: ‘The dead speak!’
Okay, I wondered, who are we talking about? Luke? Han? Darth Vader? Well, all of these dead do in fact speak, one way or another, in Episode IX. But the dead person in question here is none other than Emperor Palpatine, the ‘big bad’ of Episodes IV through VI – last seen falling down a shaft on a ship that blew up. How strange to resurrect him off-screen.
And from the first sentence of its classic opening crawl, I sensed a disturbance in the Star Wars universe.
It’s difficult to discuss The Rise of Skywalker on its own merits. Star Wars isn’t the story of a single auteur, but of many authors. There’s George Lucas and J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson and the Disney Corporation (which purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, a purchase that occasioned this new trilogy).
Over the years, the beloved saga has grown sadly schizophrenic. Without delving too deeply into subtext, the Disney-led trilogy has been fraught with creative confusion. J.J. Abrams directed The Force Awakens (Episode VII), which did the double duty of integrating our old friends – Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker – with our new heroes and villains – Rey, Kylo Ren, BB-8, Finn, Snoke, and so on. It’s an admirable and entertaining reboot.
Rian Johnson then helmed The Last Jedi (Episode VIII), which was well-received among critics yet divisive among many long-time fans. Some love this film for its reinvigorating approach to the Star Wars universe; others derided it for its flippancy toward its source texts. In its last scene, The Last Jedi poses the possibility that Force sensitivity is not aristocratic. If that no-name boy from a no-name place can move a broom, then what does it matter who Rey’s parents are?
The tension of the new trilogy centres on this question. The Last Jedi seemed willing to traverse new territory. The Rise of Skywalker seemed eager to retrench. Hence the return of Abrams to the helm and Palpatine to haunt Episode IX.
Does all this mean The Rise of Skywalker is a bad movie? Well, in this one man’s opinion, yes. It’s narratively haphazard, it’s frenetically paced, and it’s without risk (case in point: what happened and then didn’t happen with Chewbacca). It leans too heavily on the speech of the dead, and as a result robs the living of their voice. By striving to appease too many, this concluding chapter of the Star Wars canon was compromised from the start.
To be sure, Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley mesmerise as Kylo and Rey. Their bond establishes the enduring drama of this story. But sadly, they can’t save it from its commitment to self-cannibalisation.
Things to chew over
Even less-than-stellar Star Wars installations offer much to think about and discuss. Consider the following:
[SPOILER ALERT] Do you remember what Nathanael said to Philip when he heard about Jesus? ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ I thought about this as I watched The Rise of Skywalker, regarding the decision to tie Rey to the royal line of Palpatine. This frustrated me. What did you think about Rey’s lineage reveal? In your opinion, does this raise or lessen Rey as the hero of the story?
[SPOILER ALERT] Episode IX – and presumably the entire Skywalker saga – ends with Rey attaching the now-dormant Skywalker name to herself, presumably to carry on its legacy and to renounce her own lineage. What did you think of this choice? As Christians, we want to carry on the legacy of Christ. But what ought we do with our own lineage and all its flaws?
