Grade: B-
Rated PG-13
Sci-fi Fantasy
George Lucas and The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams had to be dreading the day when the last of the nine-film Star Wars franchise finally went into production—less so because a beloved series was ending, and more because fans have been notoriously hard on final installments. Just ask the Game of Thrones people. They know a little something about expectations being so high they can seldom be met.
But if you’re going to market all things Star Wars over four decades, including books about the various creatures, weapons, uniforms, and vehicles, you’ve got to expect that diehard fans are going to downgrade the film if they see inconsistencies, as überfans did. You also could have predicted that critics, who expect originality in every episode of a storied franchise like this, would also complain that there were too many scenes that seemed little more than variations on iconic scenes from previous Star Wars films.
But if you’re just a casual Star Wars fan who’s looking to be entertained, The Rise of Skywalker is a decent enough popcorn movie.
Yes, the original Star Wars trilogy— A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983)—remains the best trio of the franchise because the films stayed true to what Lucas wanted to 
do in the first place: make a contemporary version of the Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers and Commando Cody serials he grew up watching. That meant creating a slam-bang cliff-hanging adventure that was as fun as those old-time black-and-white serials. In the original trilogy, Lucas managed to perfectly capture the blend of action and tongue-in-cheek campiness that made those old-time serials fun. He created a fantasy adventure that didn’t take itself too seriously, with the actors bantering at times like those you saw in another old-time genre: the screwball comedy.
Then came the “prequel trilogy,” with Lucas going to a darker place and losing some of the light adventure in the process. And when he did try to incorporate humor, it wasn’t the tongue-in-cheek variety. It was the insertion of creatures like the unpopular (and surprisingly racist) Jar Jar Binks, whose appearance in The Phantom Menace (1999) caused an uproar. Though there were times when a young Obi-wan Kenobi and master Qui-Gon Jinn managed to recapture the light adventure tone that drove the first three installments, the origin story and angst-ridden love story with Queen Amidala took it light years away from the fun feel of the original trilogy. Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) took it even further down a dark path, and, frankly, Darth Maul didn’t have the villainous charisma of Darth Vader.
The Rise of Starwalker completes a “sequel trilogy” that’s superior to the “prequel trilogy” and began with The Force Awakens (2015). Disney 
had just acquired the rights to the franchise and fans were relieved that the first film in the new trilogy recaptured the lighter tone and energy of the original trio. The Last Jedi (2017) backslid a bit, but hopes were high that the series would give fans the closure and final rush of adrenalin that they craved. But if we’re being truthful, The Rise of Skywalker is more on a par with The Last Jedi than it is The Force Awakens.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) was the most instantly charismatic of the three new main characters in this sequel trilogy, and she really comes into her own in The Rise of Skywalker. Though his mask can’t compare with Grandpa Darth’s, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has the right balance of sniveling whiner and downright treacherous villain—traits that made him a perfect candidate for those Undercover Boss spoofs on SNL. Former storm trooper Finn (Boyega) grows on you, but while Oscar Isaac’s portrayal of resistance pilot Poe Dameron is solid enough, it’s tough to shake the notion that he comes across like a less charismatic version of Nick on New Girl—especially when we see those new characters interacting with old ones like Luke (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Lando (Billy Dee Williams), and Leia (Carrie Fisher, appearing posthumously). Overall, though, they’re engaging enough—and the same can be said of the plot and scenic construction. It’s just that you get the feeling you’ve seen it before.
Instead of a hologram beamed by a droid, we get a strange voice from space that sets the plot in motion. Instead of Luke training with Yoda, we get Rey learning the ways of the Jedi from Leia. Instead of Luke conversing with his dead mentor we get Kylo Ren confronting his own. Instead of a light saber battle near a pool of fiery bubbling lava we get a dramatic duel aboard a shipwrecked death star surrounded by 
unbelievably threatening waves. And as always, the emperor, like that uncle at family gatherings who seems obsessed with finding someone willing to pull his thumb, still seeks a good person to give in to anger and embrace the dark side.
So yeah, the finale covers familiar ground. But it’s Star Wars, and there’s nothing average about Star Wars movies—not even this déjà vu finale. In truth, what makes this disc a must-add to your family home theater libraries is a full-length documentary, The Skywalker Legacy, which is rich with details and behind-the-scenes segments. Seeing what Lucas’s puppeteers do to make it all happen is a treat in itself. And what better time to pull back the curtain on the Wizard than after Oz seems to have shut down for good?
Entire family: Yes (parental discretion)
Run time: 142 min., Color
Studio/Distributor: LucasFilm, Disney
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 widescreen
Featured audio: DTS-HDMA 7.1
Bonus features: B+
Includes: Blu-ray, Digital Code
Trailer
Amazon link
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action
Language: 2/10—Only a handful of minor swearwords
Sex: 0/10—Squeaky clean
Violence: 5/10—People are shot with blasters, people are stabbed or run through with light sabers, there are big explosions with ships blasted out of the sky, but what might stick with young ones are some of the creatures that are slicked or sounded
Adult situations: 1/10—Just looking at the Emperor can be scary, but apart from that and a brief cantina scene where dancing commands your attention it’s all pretty free of anything specifically “adult”
Takeaway: Even if this finale wasn’t the gift some fans were looking for, I’m betting they’ll be more than satisfied with the feature documentary included with this Blu-ray
