First viewing: ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019)

Today is the day!

The much-awaited conclusion to the Skywalker saga -for now!- is now available in almost every theater in the world, and…

…it’s quite a mess!

Although I’ll definitely need a second viewing in order to truly assess it, I wanted to gather my first-viewing thoughts about the film as well.

Watching The Rise of Skywalker was quite a rollercoaster of emotions. There is a lot to enjoy and love in the film, whether you are a ‘hardcore’ fanatic or just a casual viewer. It’s visually pleasing -although definitely not nearly as striking as The Last Jedi-, fun, and it has some great moments that everyone will appreciate.

But that’s as far as it goes. The Rise of Skywalker is, to sum it up briefly, an absolutely spineless film that tries -and fails- to course-correct the choices made by its predecessor. In doing so, it becomes so set on giving the hurt part of the fandom exactly what they wanted, that it promptly abandons any possible attempt of developing its characters or actually saying something.

If The Last Jedi took a huge step forward in the exploration of several themes and possibilities, The Rise of Skywalker chooses to clumsily -and cowardly- takes several steps back in order to take refuge in cheap nostalgia and what seemed to be a checklist of “Star Wars must-haves”.

It seems like every choice made in the film did not derive from an organic development of where the story and the themes needed to go, but an intrinsic need to ‘fix’ things that didn’t need any fixing in the first place.

People are clamoring for more lightsaber fights? Here! Have 5 or 10! Nevermind that most of them are completely devoid of emotional or thematic resonance.

Do fans believe Rey should have lineage? Here! Have one! Although it makes little sense and also obliterates the substantial message of its predecessor.

And in this sightless task, the film loses itself and ends up delivering the silliest answers with absolutely no subtlety or sense. There’s no purpose or drive other than giving fans what they want and wrap everything with neither depth nor guts.

While I walked back home from the theater I felt hollow and confused.

There are little moments in the movie that are quite memorable, or at least they were fun to experience. The dynamic between the three main heroes was also quite enjoyable. Nonetheless, there’s barely a handful of things I would praise from the movie.

As I left -before the music was over, which is a first for me!- I felt terribly let down by it and longing the bravery of The Last Jedi, which will probably remain as one of my favorites.

It feels as if the message and weight of TLJ were swiftly discarded for a cheaper, less meaningful option instead because part of the Star Wars fandom couldn’t handle it. And in a rushed, panicked state, they sacrificed the potential of the story for a gag and a shameful nostalgic trip.

I’ll wait until another viewing to go deep into it, but for now, I remain puzzled.

And, yes, a little disenchanted.