Rise of Skywalker Didn’t Rise To The Occasion

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   The long-living trilogy of Star Wars has come to an end, with the new movie Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker. Starring Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the two hours and twenty-two-minute film was barely worth the money to go see it. Beware if you have not had a chance to see this epic ending to the trilogy; there are spoilers in this article.

   Director JJ Abrams does a good job of closing out the this series by bringing back some of the original cast to enjoy the last moments of a forty-year saga; actors such as Billy Dee Willams who played Lando Calrissian, and the return of Mark Hamil who was the beloved Luke Skywalker grace the silver screen one last time.

   The film begins with the resistance still at war with the First Order, configuring a plan to take down the new Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren who is searching for darker force hiding in the shadows. While, Rey is doing Jedi training with Princess Leia, played by the deceased Carrie Fisher. 

   During the film you can tell that Rey is having an identity crisis, just like she was in The Last Jedi, dealing with who she is and why she has these powers. It only pushes her to want to take down Kylo Ren and the First Order. 

    When the Resistance finally finds out that the First Order has found the old Emperor Palpatine on the planet Exogol, Rey takes it upon herself to find the planet, causing her, Finn, Chewie, Poe Dameron, C3-P0 and BB-8 to go on a wild goose chase to go find the map to Exogol. 

   The group of friends goes on this wild journey to find a map to this uncharted planet, along the way they find Lando Calrissian and he informs them where to find the map. Only for them to be found by the First Order, where Rey and Kylo Ren battle in the desert of the planet, during the battle lighting shoots out of Rey’s hands, she accidentally hits the transport that was holding the beloved kidnapped Chewbacca and the only clue to the map. Immediately, confirming the audience to believe that Rey is a descendant of Senator Palpatine.

   While the audience discovers the truth about Rey, the gang continues their mission to find the truth about the map to get to Exogol. They end up going to the planet Kijimi where Poe has a friend help them extract the map from C-3PO’s memory, only to be found by the First Order. On a mission to find the clue to the map of Exogol, the gang infiltrates the First Orders ship, collecting the dagger, as well as finding Chewbacca alive and well.

   After realizing that the map to Exgol is on the Death Star which has fallen to a planet called, Kef Bir, Rey goes on her own to explore the ruins of the Death Star. Only find herself facing off with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, who destroys her map to Exogol. Where they battle on the remnants of the Death Star in the middle of a storm. Rey ends up stabbing Kylo, as his mother Leia is calling him through the force as she is dying, and in an attempt to not let the dark side consume her she uses her powers of the force fixing his wound. Realizing what she’s done Rey takes Kylo’s ship and leaves to exile herself where Luke Skywalker exiled himself. Only to have the force spirit of Luke tell her to go face her grandfather using Leia’s and his own lightsaber.

   Rey goes to Exogol to battle Palpatine, while the Resistance is taking down the First Orders fleet. Rey and Kylo battle Palpatine and his goons, they learn to use their enhanced connection to defeat Palpatine together. With few casualties, the war is won by the resistance.

   Overall the movie was mediocre, occasionally parts felt redundant and unimportant. Such as the small scene with Poe Dameron’s friend Zorii truly did not need to be added into the movie. A personal favorite is when Rey travels to the planet in which the Death Star fell and she walks through and sees an evil mirage of herself. Truly the movie could have been better, the pressure of ending a great trilogy with a great ending pushed the film to be lackluster

Rating: 3 /5 stars