Star Wars, Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker

While watching this last entry in a series that began 42 years ago, I thought of two quotes. One is from Macbeth, when he declares that life is a tale "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," as Star Wars, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is certainly full of action and a lot of noise, with some very well choreographed fight scenes. The other was from T.S. Eliot: "This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper," as I felt almost nothing as the film ended, even though it bent over backwards to try to make me feel something, anything.

The story, which is convoluted to say the least, has the resistance, led by Rey (Daisy Ridley) trying to defeat the bad guys (I think they were called the New Order, but isn't that a new wave band?). A resurrected character has all sorts of power and it will take a million-to-one shot to defeat them, yada yada yada. Really, this last film has plot elements from all the films that came before. Here's another quote: "There's nothing new under the sun," even if it's the two suns of Tattooine.

Anyhoo, there's all sorts of dogfights and a few monsters and storm troopers, who continue to be largely useless. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) tries to convince Ridley to join the dark side, and reveals to her who her parents are, though it's kind of out of nowhere and seems to involve ret-conning. Like TV series of this type, Twin Peaks and Lost, it appears the writers did not know the ending when they started.

Back in the resistance HQ, there are some very awkward scenes involving Carrie Fisher. I read that they were repurposed scenes from the first two films, so that's why she just appears to be standing still. Her last scene, which is from behind and in silhouette, surely involves a stand-in. It's sad but could have been a better tribute to her. Others from the previous films pop up, either in person or by voice. Even Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson) appears for two seconds, and if you're careful you can hear the voice of Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson, who must appear in every film, it seems).

The big problem with this last installment of the series is that mostly it's dishwater dull. Ridley's aide-de-camps, Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) just aren't interesting. Boyega gets hints that he has the force, but at this point, so what? Poe is given an old flame, but why cast a beautiful woman like Keri Russell and have her wear a face-covering helmet? The best new character is, as usual, a droid, D-O, who looks like one of those collars they put on a dog.

A guy I know who used to write for Marvel said that they had a saying, "No one stays dead except Uncle Ben." It seems the Star Wars universe is the same. I won't reveal who is back, other that to say it's bad script writing. Those with the Force, it seems, keep hanging around. There are also characters who are unexplained, like a chick who fights Ridley for like ten seconds and is never seen again. The writers of this film should be sent back to their offices to get it right. If they can change the FX in Cats, maybe they can re-write Episode IX.

I didn't really hate this film, but it is a let down. It's better than any of the first (or second, depending on your definition) trilogy, but it didn't have any resonance, it's just more of the same. Driver's Ren is the most interesting character, and any time he's on screen you pay attention. I also love that when he fell on some rocks he said, "Ow!" which I hope was improvised. The best part of the film is when he and Ridley have an epic light saber fight while a sea rages around them. If only the rest of the movie lived up to that.

I would imagine that soon theaters will offer die-hards a chance to see all nine films, in order, from start to finish. That would be a snooze for the first three, a rousing middle, and then an increasingly disappointing ending. With J.J. Abrams at the helm I expected more, but then again, he was responsible for Lost, which also trailed off into nothing.