As someone who just got into Star
Wars about a month ago after watching all the movies available on Disney+, I
guess you could say that I’ve become a fan of the franchise.
It was also pure luck that I was
able to finish them on time just before “The Rise of Skywalker” released in
theaters.
“The Rise of Skywalker” follows Rey
(Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) as they
continue their journey on facing the First Order in their final battle.
While the plot may sound simple and
straight to the point, the film succeeds in ways that make it enjoyable to
watch and worth the viewers’ time.
Just like any other Star Wars movie,
you can’t keep your eyes off the screen.
The franchise never fails to amaze
people with its production design and visual effects. Whether you’re into
spacecraft or not, you’ve got to admit that the design of the Millenium Falcon
and the starfighters are pretty impressive.
They look even better when they’re
put into action.
The action sequences leading up to
the final battle are the perfect amount of thrills and excitement to put you on
the edge of your seat. The film’s great score makes these scenes even more
intense than they already are.
Along with how well-edited the
action sequences look, the Force bond scenes between Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam
Driver) were well put together. The cuts and transitions didn’t make the scenes
feel too gritty or out of place, and they were able to highlight how Ridley and
Driver perfectly portray their characters.
Despite these many positives, the
film still has one major flaw.
“Skywalker” starts off really slow,
and it takes quite a while until the plot builds up and the journey gets more
intense for the characters. Although the pace of the film does pick up, there
are still undeniably many scenes that are slow and dragged out.
While some scenes are like this for
the importance of the plot, there could’ve been better ways to execute them.
They just made the movie feel longer than it should be.
This movie isn’t perfect by any
means, and it can’t compare to the movies from the original trilogy in the
slightest. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad movie.
To all Star Wars fans, don’t walk
into the theater with high expectations, or else you’ll ruin a movie for
yourself that should be fun to watch.
Almost anyone with the slightest
interest in Star Wars will have a fun time watching it, and that is what the
movie succeeds in doing.
acqn3@mail.umkc.edu