So how do you square the circle of the Star Wars movie series’s previous story lines in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi? This is the question that most Star Wars fans wanted answered in the final episode, which has just been released as Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, directed by sci-fi adventure specialist J.J. Abrams.
Rey and Kylo-Ren have a light sabre sword fight in front of the waves in Star Wars – Rise of Skywalker Courtesy: Disney
Most of the main original characters are there…even if (mini-spoiler alert) some are there more in spirit than reality. As it was, computer animation and the clever use of unused cuttings from previous films was obviously needed for Carrie Fisher, who played Princess/General Leia, as she sadly died in late 2016. The very much alive Daisy Ridley gives a feisty performance as the mysterious Rey in the lead role. And Adam Driver does as well as her powerfully evil but equally troubled male nemesis, Kylo Ren.
The film is annoying in some ways. Having been criticised for insufficient diversity in the early Star Wars films, and then going too far the other way in the later ones, the Star Wars producers are keeping up with the latter trend by making sure that all the apparent quotas are filled.
This list includes the rather irrelevant addition of a lesbian kiss by a pair of very minor characters. This would have been no problem if the lead character Rey had been one of the participants – now that would have been a fun plot twist – but doing it in this way just makes it look preachy rather than brave. The bean-counting financiers at Disney will at least be relieved that religiously conservative nations have decided only to cut this shot rather than the whole film.
At least the producers did not make the subliminally racist mistake of making all the “bad guys” white – although they get close. That is not to say that there are no insulting errors in the script.
Surprisingly, given its notionally politically correct values, the Star Wars series remains consistently “fat-ist”. Just as the porky/portly X-wing fighter pilot, the aptly named Porkins, met his fiery end in the final battle of the original film Star Wars IV – A New Hope (1977), so does – spoiler alert – the chubby X-wing fighter pilot in this movie’s denouement battle. Apparently, a space battle’s not over until the fat gentleman buys it.
All this reminds your built-for-comfort-and-not-for-speed reviewer never to apply to be an X-wing fighter pilot!
This adventure’s hectic fighter/bomber battles do generate their own excitement. And it has to be said that there are some truly spectacular scenes (mini-spoiler alert) on the ground as well, including one involving a battle of wills set in the desert and another with huge ocean waves as a breathtaking backdrop.
While the minor irritations are more than made up for by the spectacle, it is the movie’s “tie up the loose ends” story line that remains the weakest point. This is because it is basically a re-run of the same Star Wars “good-versus-evil followed by redemption” story as already shown in the original trilogy.
Thus, it was not surprising when the kid sitting behind this writer in the cinema annoyingly declared that he had already guessed the outcome. Actually, we all had.
Seradata’s final verdict: 7 out of 10. Slightly formulaic with few genuine surprises – but it does have some spectacular scenes. A fitting end to the main Star Wars film series whose actors (and the rest of us) probably need a rest – whether in this world or the next.
