Star Wars Rise of the Divide

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2019)

I will be completely honest, once I started seeing reviews for this movie, I already knew that I was going to need to have an open mind when going to see it. Why? because of the new norm of critics vs. fans. Of late, there has been a growing divide between audience scores and critic scores, and the movies I normally end up loving are the ones where the audience score is higher. I don't go to a movie to analyze every single detail about the movie going experience, or the political undertones of a movie, or the inclusivity of some random minority group somewhere. I go to see a movie because I like to watch an original story on a big screen with my friends.
The Rise of Skywalker is one of these movies.
The Last Jedi was an utter disaster for this franchise. I get that it "subverts expectations" and "challenges the status quo" but I don't care about those things. Star Wars, specifically the Skywalker Saga, has been about the struggle between Light and Dark and how it has affected the galaxy and our heroes. The Last Jedi ended too many plot lines on uncharacteristic and story breaking notes. When Mark Hamill himself told fans and audiences that Luke's reasonings didn't feel like Luke, you have a problem. This could have been successful if there was a good reason for his isolation, but the story didn't justify the path for many people. Entire plot lines (Rose, Finn, BB-8 and the quest for the pointless codebreaker) (Holdo not providing assurances of a plan to her crew) (Leia reviving herself in the vacuum of space to live again) felt forced in to make the plot seem new and edgy. I won't get into the story breaking elements of these scenes, because they have already been talked about to the point of exhaustion by people more qualified to speak on them than me. One thing that I do actually like about TLJ is how much it ties into the origins of the Jedi and Sith. The glass mirror thing under the island that Luke is on, the sacred texts(!!!!), the cameo by Yoda; it felt ancient and powerful. Not to mention, the effects and set pieces were phenomenal. The hyperspace missile (while being the absolute worst story mechanic that has afflicted Star Wars since sand) was striking and stunning in picture.
This brings us to the Rise of Skywalker. From the opening sequence, the movie already had me gripping my seat. Palpatine alive and (not-so)well, surrounded in a horror-movie-esque sequence? Poe and Finn in the Millenium Falcon hyperspace skipping across gorgeous set pieces? Kylo Ren being sent on a murder mission by the darkest of Dark Lords? I was, at the very least intrigued, but not sold.
By the end of the first act, I was all in.
Rey finally receives some quality Jedi training, by Master Princess General Skywalker (Solo?) herself. She isn't the second coming of Anakin or Luke yet, but she is talented and shows an earned affinity for the force. We see her struggles for once and her flaws. We see fear and uncertainty. We see what Luke meant in TLJ when he saw her go straight to the dark in her meditations. It gave her character three movies of depth and feeling in one scene. We see the alliance at their weakest, but most driven. It felt original (a welcome departure from TFA) while also evoking feelings of the original trilogy. As the story moves on, it becomes slightly derived (nothing REALLY goes bad for our team, besides some action on the Endor moon and a scene with Palpatine and the Final Order fleet towards the end) but that isn't really a drawback. It feels more like the force driving the two sides to one final conflict than anything else.
Admittedly it can be confusing for new fans, but absolutely able to be followed and understood. The absolute return to original, real effects (The planet being destroyed???!!!??? EPIC) was implemented masterfully and the arcs of our heroes and villains was absolutely fitting. I left feeling almost completely satisfied.
The grievances that I do have are the runtime, the ending and the missed opportunities. Rose is used better as a character in this movie, but could have been more integral to the story. Finn and Rey see some weird flirtatious action, but nothing comes of it. Kylo has a choice to make that is perfect, but I wish his story ended differently. The movie should have been at least 30 minutes longer to effectively tie up the loose ends, but it isn't too bad.
I am not going to say that if you liked TLJ you won't like this movie, because that isn't true. If you don't like Star Wars, don't go see this movie. If you casually like, like, enjoy or LOVE Star Wars, go see this movie. It pulls all the great parts of the last 8 movies and pieces them all together into one fulfilling and somewhat terrifying end.
I am full of hope again for Star Wars, but we will see.