I Love You, I’m Just Not In Love With You (Anymore)
I Love You, I’m Just Not In Love With You (Anymore)
The Long Goodbye
February 4, 2020
The Force Is With You, And You Can Have It
Star Wars Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
One cannot deny the hypocrisy of giving a movie a negative review while also recommending that people see it. But the objective of a review should not be to persuade others to go see a movie nor to dissuade them from seeing it. The goal should instead be to merely convey what the reviewer thinks of the film, why they think that way and then let the reader decide, without spoiling the plot.
And so we have Star Wars Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, the (supposed) final installment of the original Star Wars storyline that began in 1977. The view here is one of disappointment. We don't think the movie is very good but not only are we not going to say Star Wars fans shouldn't see it but rather, we hope they do (though it's hard to believe they haven't already) because, hey man, it's Star Wars and seeing Star Wars movies is like rooting for your favorite team or buying a lottery ticket once in a while, you just gotta do it.
Star Wars Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, gives us the surviving members of the resistance once again battling the First Order for control of the galaxy. The resistance is good and the First Order is bad and it is made even more nefarious by the return of a guy we thought died back in 1983 - Emperor Palpatine. Yes, he's alive. Remember when Darth Vader threw him into the abyss? Well, the old guy survived and now he's living in a cave and gets around with the help of a huge robotic arm and he's accompanied by phantoms or ghouls or maybe really big Jawas or something and he's generally still a salty fella who wants to bewitch the righteous, bully the hardworking, kick puppies and dominate the Universe and what-not.
But will the good people with the cutesy robots and X-wing fighter spaceships let him? Heck no!
(Sigh)
Sorry. We are trying to conduct this with dignity but it's proving strenuous.
This movie has all the fun stuff we have loved in Star Wars for the past forty-three years; the robots, the space ships, the lasers and the music but some of us just don't connect with this intergalactic struggle anymore. Star Wars films carry the burden of trying to be true to their origins while also breaking new ground and while this film sort of did that it just feels tired. Or maybe, more specifically, this movie has no center. The main character, Rey, is sympathetic and likeable but we just don't care anymore what her destiny is. We just want to see her carve up the bad guys with her light saber and move on.
The scene in The Rise of Skywalker that might best sum up our feelings is the one in which C-3PO, the ever-bothered golden humanoid robot, says that he wants to take one last look at his friends. It's touching. We have loved C-3PO for decades now in part because in every Star Wars film he is the constant voice of reason, the one who always knows how futile the fight really is. And in this movie he is finally ready to say goodbye.
So are we.
But we remember the good times. And regret nothing. --TK
Thursday, February 6, 2020