Ghosts have been a part of Star War since the beginning. Whether the Force ghosts we see from time to time or the experiences and people that have shaped our main characters, each film in the series is haunted by someone or something, and typically those ghosts set the tone for the film.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is more haunted than other Star Wars films; in particular, there are three different spectral energies hanging over the film at all times, and those energies together combine to make the film what it is.
Those ghosts are of Carrie Fisher,The Last Jedi, and our emotional connection to this franchise. Two drag the film down, one attempts to lift it up. Keep reading for our spoiler-free review.
The death of Carrie Fisher is a heartbreaking piece of real life; a daughter, mother, sister, friend, and beloved movie star died far too young. That loss is far more significant and important than the question of ‘how do we make The Rise of Skywalker without Carrie Fisher?’ But that question was certainly present in the mind of J.J. Abrams and co. as they wrote the script and filmed the final installment of the Skywalker Saga. And their decision to use old footage of Fisher to attempt to make her a part of the film is one of its weakest aspects.
We cannot divorce the knowledge of Fisher’s death from our experience watching The Rise of Skywalker, even though generations of people will, one day, likely experience it without knowing that Fisher’s footage was shot 3+ years before any other in the film. But for those of us that are aware, despite the best efforts of some of the best technical filmmakers on the planet, Fisher’s footage seems out of place and glued in. Fisher is given more screen time than you may think, and none of it particularly works.
This is not a knock on Fisher’s performance, but rather the decision to include her in this way at all. The idea of bringing her to life through screen magic is an appealing one, but ultimately, a bad one. The amount of mental jujitsu that is required to accept Leia as anything other than re-purposed Carrie Fisher footage is nearly impossible. Sadly, this feels very much like The Sopranos‘ attempt to get one more scene out of Nancy Marchand after her death, a scene that sticks out like a sore thumb then and now.
Equally distracting is the ghost of The Last Jedi, the eighth chapter of the Skywalker Saga, released in 2017, written and directed by Rian Johnson. That film was, unquestionably, the most progressive Star Wars film in terms of straying from the tone and machinations of the rest of the films. It felt new and bold and unlike any other blockbuster film of that, or any, year. And yes, a lot of those decisions were unpopular, and remain so to this day.
The Rise of Skywalker knows this, and does its best to undo much of what Johnson did, especially in the first third of the film. Some of these changes are as clearly a course correction as you can get, but others are more subtle, tonal changes. This film seems like the third part in the trilogy that J.J. Abrams wanted to see made, regardless of who made the second part.
It’s easy to knock Abrams/Lucasfilm for this, and that is deserved, but that is also part of the game of making a film that doesn’t belong to you. Johnson likely knew that some of his decisions may not stick. However, the degree to which The Last Jedi is taken apart, piece by piece, is stunning. Some parts are explained, and some aren’t. The first hour of this film is tough to watch, because it is so jam packed full of…well, everything, in order to both tell a new story, and erase bits of the old.
Between the weight of those two losses – Fisher and The Last Jedi – the film was already working at a disadvantage. Throw in a few very questionable plot choices that both come out of nowhere and seem utterly expected, new characters given, almost literally, nothing to do, and the film is a bit of a mess. It feels overstuffed but undercooked and, especially in the front half of the movie.
Continued belowHowever, this is Star Wars, and Star Wars knows how to do one things better than almost anything else: wring emotion out of its audience.
Because of the film as both the final chapter in a trilogy and the final chapter of a 40+ year ennealogy, there is a lot of emotional baggage baked into its core. And, for the most part, those moments really work. J.J. Abrams knows how to milk Star Wars for all its worth, and uses all the tricks in the playbook to do so, and does so to great effect.
As a conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, the film succeeds far more than it does as a conclusion of the sequel trilogy. The emotional resonance built in, especially to the back half, goes a long way towards making the film worthwhile. Most of the ‘new’ characters, introduced by Abrams in The Force Awakens, get moments to bask in the spotlight. There are old friends who stop by, some more welcome than others, and the film has a very strong sense of responsibility to put things right.
But despite all of that, the film falls short. Last night, our Star Wars podcast, Force Ghost Coast to Coast, sat down to review the film we had all seen earlier in the day. The more we talked about it, the less I liked the film, yet the more I was moved by it. I can’t untie my 30+ years of Star Wars love from the experience of watching what will, never say never, be the final appearance on screen of Luke Skywalker. There is a scene towards the end that goes all in on the legacy of the Jedi, and tears were streaming down my face during it. Chewbacca gets a moment that is as emotionally wrenching as anything ever shown in a Star Wars film. And, of course, there is inspiring heroism, cool lightsaber moves, and space battles that you’ll want to watch over and over again.
But those ghosts, man; those ghosts make this a really tough sell.
There was no way for this film to satisfy everyone in the audience. There was no way to wrap up the nine Skywalker Saga Star Wars films in a neat little package and put them on a shelf. But we all knew that is exactly what Lucasfilm was going to attempt. And while there are moments in this film that will be cherished and celebrated, that desire to be everything to everyone sinks the film down so low that no amount of emotional buoyancy could, pardon the pun, raise it up.
The actors gave it their all. Industrial Light and Magic did their best. Lucasfilm tried its damndest. But this is a haunted house, and the ghosts are so present that it is hard for any of us to enjoy our stay too much.
