Everything and Nothing

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2019)

When I read reviews the day before the release, I saw a mixed bag. Consequently I came into today with muted expectations. But when a trusted "Star Wars Friend" friend told me that it was "EPIC", I held out with a glimmer of hope.
The truth was, this film was somewhere in between. As a die hard Star Wars fanatic, it's hard to be realistic about what the film can actually deliver (and for that reason I've learned to be forgiving). However, this movie gave me everything that I could have ever wanted. Perhaps therein lies the problem. In an attempt to finish many things, it finished nothing.
Big moments in the series that should have delivered an emotional punch were rushed as if they were just another point in a checklist of things the film hoped to accomplish. The result was that there weren't any moments to let the plot breathe, or to deeply connect with the characters... be it in death, victory, or romance. Nothing illustrates this so clearly as with Palpatine. It will hardly count as a spoiler (since the trailers built up the laugh of Palpatine as a hint that he would play a part in this film), but the film makers elect to immediately reference this in the opening roll as if his participation was a foregone conclusion that didn't require any explanation. Often I find myself critiquing the nature of thin plots spread across excessive run times, but in this case it was a rich storyline that should have been an hour longer.
However, this wasn't the only reason it was difficult to connect with the characters. It was clear that they were looking to create a grand close to the series. In some respects it was too grand. The force transforms from an ability that stretches little beyond the interpersonal contact between two dueling characters in past trilogies to the augmented nature of its power seen in this film, where it is seen bringing down spaceships instead of merely choking insubordinate members of the empire.
I get it. We want to see big explosions and impressive CGI-but I can't help but feel that this overwhelming power causes the characters to lose some of what makes them relatable. Especially when this grand ability comes without any of the struggle that we've seen past characters in the series confront. The result is a cast of bodies performing supernatural actions instead of people that we see ourselves in. Even when trying to connect, it ends up being a forced caricature of human experience that doesn't create any dynamic sentimental nuance. It's emotion for the sake of emotion... and it's hyperbolic display makes that pretty clear. It feels as if the characters are in a constant state of panic and urgency, and never have a vulnerable moment. It is almost as if vulnerability was explicitly avoided, and the characters are as rushed to respond to constantly arising conflict as the filmmakers were to get to the credits. What charming emotion might have been developed feels like little more than a ploy to reminisce on past character qualities that worked-like Poe and Rey mimicking the bickering banter of Han and Leia. It's like watching a magician try to perform the same tricks and expecting the same results. It lacks originality. To be fair, that seemed to be the case for this entire trilogy though.
For that reason, I give it an "ehhh". If you're looking for a movie that will tie a nice bow on the end of the series, and one that will come with tons of action, this flic will definitely give you what you're looking for. Heck! There were even a few good laughs. Of course, it's entertaining-and maybe that's what people are looking for. But if you are hoping to see a movie that will stay with you for life as an indelible climax to one of histories greatest chain of films, it may be a little short of your expectations. It will likely be forgotten in a way that Return of the Jedi wasn't... and that just seems like a shame. I wonder what George Lucas thinks.