Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

a (mostly) spoiler-free movie review by NICHOLAS GEMAS

January 2, 2020

Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (TRoS) wins points for the most unwieldy Star Wars film title since, oh, 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Furthermore, as far as Star Wars movie subtitles go, The Rise of Skywalker is the biggest non-starter since 1999’s The Phantom Menace: it doesn’t mean much, and is about as bland as the movie itself.

Bland, sayeth I? Sure, why not be critical? In the two weeks (or so) since TRoS was released in (U.S.) theaters, it’s become quite popular to bash the movie. Indeed, TRoS‘s Tomatometer score is the lowest since Phantom Menace*, and Metacritic reports the film as garnering a mean score of only 54 out of 100, or “mixed or average reviews”.

What about me? Well, some background: I liked The Last Jedi, the 2017 entry in this “sequel trilogy”. I was surprised to find myself having to defend TLJ in my group of Star Wars-fan friends. Accordingly, even though so many fans seemed to love it, I had mixed feelings about 2015’s The Force Awakens: it was a respectable but clumsily-written entry, that, yet, improves each time I (re-)watch it.

To my mind, The Rise of Skywalker occupies the middle ground, quality-wise, between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. The movie is too frenetic, too fast, too choppy to claim any real ground as a piece of important cinema, and yet it has (a handful of) moments that genuinely surprised and delighted me, including one real, big laugh!

And up there I mentioned bland. At its worst, TRoS is an example of simply stuffing too much material into one movie. There’s too much plot. Too many characters. Too many quick cuts. The plot makes little sense and you’re playing catch up until, basically, the final “big battle” at the end. The cumulative result is the opposite of the old adage “less is more”: there’s so much happening, so quickly, that it’s impossible to find your bearings, and sooner or later you give up. When it’s all said and done, you don’t remember much at all. Your senses are overwhelmed, and sure, you might say the movie is bland.

On the other hand, there are those individual moments that work. Poe Dameron, the Rebel pilot played by Oscar Isaac, is an essential, principal character here, and Mr. Isaac easily steals the show away from the more “important” characters of Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Actor John Boyega, portraying ex-Stormtrooper Finn, is another key component, showing how far his character has grown since The Force Awakens. Mr. Isaac and Mr. Boyega are the standouts among this cast, and together they really sell the movie, elevating the proceedings above the level of “bland” to something bigger and more important.

Now, a question (spoilers follow): the primary antagonist of these stories, Kylo Ren (Driver), becomes “good”… why? What does it all mean? The movie is going too fast for me to figure it out. (End of spoilers.)

John Williams is here to compose his ninth original score for the Star Wars movie series, and, although Mr. Williams hits all the marks, his efforts are, unfortunately, the least exciting of any of these scores since 2002’s Attack of the Clones. In a collection of classic and iconic film scores that includes the original 1977 A New Hope, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, 2005’s Revenge of the Sith and even 2017’s The Last Jedi, the score to The Rise of Skywalker is, perhaps, the one to which I’ll return the least.

At the end of it all, I enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker for what it is: popcorn entertainment. It doesn’t reach for the higher mountains and deeper valleys of “cinema” à la 2017’s The Last Jedi, but it is more surefooted than 2015’s The Force Awakens.

Watching TRoS for the first time late on its opening weekend, and well aware of the critical backlash the film was already experiencing, I thought of these passages from Roger Ebert’s idiosyncratic 1999 review of The Phantom Menace:

If it were the first “Star Wars” movie, [it] would be hailed as a visionary breakthrough. … We think we know the territory; many of the early reviews have been blase, paying lip service to the visuals and wondering why the characters aren’t better developed. [But] how quickly do we grow accustomed to wonders[?]

I am reminded of the Isaac Asimov story “Nightfall,” about the planet where the stars were visible only once in a thousand years. So awesome was the sight that it drove men mad. We who can see the stars every night glance up casually at the cosmos and then quickly down again, searching for a Dairy Queen.

I began my 2015 review of The Force Awakens with an Ebert quote, so I’ll end this review with an Ebert quote. Poetic, no?

My rating of The Rise of Skywalker: three Baby Yodas out of four.

*I didn’t personally verify this, but here’s a link to the RottenTomatoes website if you want to check it out for yourself.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

It’s hard to believe: Star Wars has been a part of American mythology for more than forty years. Each movie in the series, from 1977’s A New Hope to 2017’s The Last Jedi, succeeds or fails on how well it holds up against the established Star Wars mythology. Each new “episode” becomes a part of that mythology, but does it improve upon or weaken the mythology? For better or worse, this is the measure by which one must judge each new movie, especially in this era where Star Wars is owned by Disney, the largest and most powerful media concern in the world.

Therefore, Star Wars movies succeed or fail based on how well they continue the Star Wars mythology. How well does the story hold up? Does it function within the parameters set by George Lucas, or does it do something totally out of the ordinary?

Last Jedi does a little of both. It works within the confines of the universe galaxy George Lucas established, but it also takes the story in new directions and offers a twist or two. Defying expectations is never a bad thing.

Here’s the good news: The Last Jedi is a worthy successor to the original trilogy. It’s deeper and more involving than The Force Awakens, and it sends the characters (old and new) in interesting directions. Its sword fights are big and showy, without overstaying their welcome or looking like video game cut scenes (see any of the Star Wars prequels).

The Last Jedi is better than 2015’s The Force Awakens. If it’s not quite as creative, original or revelatory as 2016’s one-off Rogue One, that’s to be expected of a movie that’s the eighth “episode” in an ongoing series.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

The bad news: Strange things happen. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, returning to the role he originated in 1977) dies because he overextended(?) himself in a Force hologram/astral-projection kind of thing. Sure, he’s old and cynical, and a hermit, and yes, the character had to go at some point. But wouldn’t it have been better to see him go out in the blaze of glory (or lightsabers) — rather than wither away on some rock in a faraway place? Skywalker now becomes a Force ghost, joining Yoda and Obi-Wan. (How come we never see Palpatine as a Force ghost? Or General Grievous? Or… I dunno, Count Dooku? Do only the good guys get to become Force ghosts?)

And Snoke, the new Emperor, dies too. Where did he come from? How did he assume power? Is he connected to the Skywalkers?

At least those Internet rumors speaking of Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter didn’t turn out to be true — but, never say never: 2019’s Episode IX could rewrite the story, and perhaps invalidate Kylo’s claims that Rey came from ordinary parents.

We begin to understand how different characters have different signature Jedi skills, which is fascinating. Rey is clearly a great sword fighter, and she can really move rocks. Snoke has some kind of ability to levitate people and move them around. And Leia has Superman powers, to keep herself alive in outer space.

Sometimes I wish death in Star Wars was final — the use of “force ghosts” as a plot device to resurrect old/dead characters (Yoda, etc.) is getting tiresome.

End of spoilers.

By this point in time, we’re two installments into the corporate overlords’ three-film arc, and we can see where Disney is taking the franchise. They’re playing it safe, at least with these “episode” entries. For the most part, nothing happens to a character that can’t be undone by the time the credits roll. Some characters die, but of course those characters probably weren’t that important in the first place (or they were holding other characters, like Junior Darth Vader-in-training Kylo Ren, back).

So what else did I like about The Last Jedi? It kept me awake for 2.5 hours. It’s the longest Star Wars movie, but it doesn’t feel like it. Paraphrasing Roger Ebert: A movie is good when you 1) don’t want it to end; and 2) when it does end, it seemed too short.

Last Jedi showcases some very good acting from Hamill and (the late) Carrie Fisher — these are two of the best performances in their long careers. The returning, younger characters, like Kylo Ren and Rey, a Jedi-in-training who was the protagonist of The Force Awakens, are fleshed out and have plausible, personal ticks that make them seem less like cardboard cut outs.

The music, the eighth Star Wars score by John “85 years young” Williams, is a standout, and contains a distint cue from each of the preceding seven Star Wars “episode” movies (perhaps to memorialize the series’ fortieth anniversary).

BB-8, this trilogy’s R2-D2, steals the show: he devises a solution to everything and, most of the time, can out-think and out-perform the humans.

Some critics have complained that The Last Jedi doesn’t take these beloved characters in the directions (these critics) think they should go. Humbug. Let the filmmakers do what they want. The audience can still write its fanfic and do whatever it wants.

I applaud Rian Johnson, the new writer-director, for not copying scenes and setups out of the older movies, in the way certain Star Wars TV shows (ahem, Rebels) have been known to do. Mr. Johnson is a capable director, a better-than-average writer, and he brings an auteur sensibility to his work. (And unlike The Force Awakens, there are no Rathtars or stupid, pointless time-wasting, filler scenes.)

It will be interesting to see where 2019’s Episode IX takes the story and these characters. Will Rey become a Jedi knight? Will Kylo Ren finally become a legitimate neo-Vader? The filmmakers have done a great job of cleansing the palate of the forgettable prequels*, and giving the old characters their due. The Last Jedi strikes back in compellingly original directions and takes chances. I’m looking forward to discovering where Star Wars goes from here.

My rating: out of

—————-

*Revenge of the Sith excepted, of course.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond. Yeah. Beyond. Beyond what?

In addition to having the stupidest title for a Star Trek movie since 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek Beyond (henceforth referred to as Beyond) suffers from the fatal malady of being boring.

There’s not much going on here. Yeah, there’s a few battles in outer space, but haven’t we seen all that before? There’s nothing going on in Beyond that differentiates it from, let’s say, your average generic sci-fi CGI flick.

What really surprises me is how far this new Star Trek movie has fallen. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) was a refreshing diversion. I’m one of the strongest defenders of Abrams’ follow up, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), which also has a shitty title but at least had some… entertainment value behind it (Mr. Spock fisticuffs notwithstanding).

I’m not going to waste time by recapping the plot, because: 1) it doesn’t matter, and 2) who cares anyway?

This is the first Trek movie since Nemesis that I couldn’t sit through. That’s right: I actually left the movie theater (walked out) about 1/3 of the way through. I didn’t watch the whole thing (it was a chore) until many months later, when I received a promo code to stream the movie for free.

Blah. The movie is boring, stupid, and nothing of any import happens. Yeah there’s a few touching moments in honor of the late, great Leonard Nimoy, but they feel shoehorned in. A simple “In memory of Leonard Nimoy” at the beginning would’ve sufficed.

I could go on, but I don’t have the time. Beyond is among the worst Trek movies: inconsequential, boring and generic. I’d welcome J.J.’s return to the director’s chair and the return of the writing team from the previous two movies. At least those movies held my attention for two hours.

Check out my ranked list (with commentary) of all 13 Star Trek movies here.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

This review does not spoil elements of the plot.

You know those old movies that Roger Ebert (the late film critic) would famously freeze-frame and analyze in minute detail, scene by scene? Rogue One is that kind of movie: almost every single scene, every cut, pan and swoop of the camera offers a moment that you want to stop and regard, take in and absorb to the extent possible. Here, finally, is a cineaste’s Star Wars.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story might have an unwieldy title, but it accomplishes something that no Star Wars movie since 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back has managed: a sense of wonder, and a feeling of grand, high adventure. Rogue One is, pound for pound, the very best Star Wars movie since Empire, and together with 1977’s A New Hope it represents a knock-’em-dead blowout of soaring outer-space adventure/fantasy and operatic spectacle.

Another accomplishment is a palpable sense of consequence. You could argue that the Star Wars prequels blew this, and Return of the Jedi (1983) and The Force Awakens (2015) come close but no cigar. The story and characters’ actions and motivations in Rogue One have genuine consequence–important things happen that will affect the outcome of Star Wars stories yet to be told.

Rogue One firmly occupies the “used future” ethos of the original Star Wars trilogy. The shiny digital sheen that pervades the prequels is gone, replaced by a world that feels lived in.

Another fascinating element of Rogue One is the idea that it brings us into the world of the Galactic Empire. The movie works almost as an “day in the life of…” documentary, especially in the opening scenes set on the moon of Jedha.

That Rogue One ends in yet another big, epic space battle is to be expected: every Star Wars movie, excepting Empire Strikes Back, ends with a Big Space Battle, but the one in Rogue One is particularly well executed, and man, do those Mon Calamaris make good leaders.

Rogue One settles a question that might have been on the mind of fans of the original Star Wars trilogy: what is it like to be Darth Vader? Yes, he’s evil and all that, but what does a Sith Lord do when his minions are controlling the actual day-in, day-out activities of the Galactic Empire? Rogue One answers these questions and more.

Remember “the Force“? In the original trilogy it was a quasi-religion that functioned to drive the story forward without feeling like a plot device. In the prequels, George Lucas decided, regrettably, to de-mystify the Force by introducing the unfortunate element of “midichlorians”. Rogue One matter-of-factly jettisons any talk of midichlorians and goes back to the basics: the Force is, once again, a quasi-religion, without any stupid technobabble and overt, extraneous, unnecessary explanations.

Director Gareth Edwards delivers a sorely underrated job of taking what could have been a by-the-numbers generic exercise (see Star Trek Beyond) and making it one of the best movies in all of sci-fi geekdom. My hat’s off to Mr. Edwards. Seriously.

The Star Wars movies have that odd (but frustrating) quality of being hit-or-miss. 2015’s Force Awakens irritatingly falls somewhere in the middle of the good versus bad (quality-wise) argument. I can really pay Rogue One no higher a compliment than to say that it has the courage of its convictions and sees them out to the bitter end: it goes there, does what it needs to do, and gets the hell out of the way.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

(…and my thoughts on the Star Wars saga films in general…)

So I’ve now seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens four times. The movie gets a little better each time I watch it. When I first saw it, on opening weekend last December, I kinda-sorta liked it, kinda-sorta didn’t like it: It was well-made, certainly, but too derivative, with its plot copying, beat-for-beat, elements of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Second time around was in a super-crowded movie theater, several weeks after release night, at one of those late-night screenings that bring out the soccer moms (sans kids) who couldn’t make time during the day, and fans dressed in Jedi robes and fake laser swords, picking up the movie for the 11th time. This time I liked Force Awakens more, but not enough to recommend it, generally, to anyone.

Finally, my third time with the movie made me start to appreciate it. It involves leaving your brain at the door. If you ignore the elements that, again, are lifted wholesale from the original trilogy (especially the original 1977 Star Wars movie, A New Hope), and just appreciate Force Awakens on its own merits (which requires one to actively forget that it’s really just a glossy remake of A New Hope), it plays a lot better. It is on that level that I can finally recommend it.

My fourth time watching the movie involved the home-video version (on Blu-ray); this time I could stop and replay certain scenes–and it’s obvious a lot of care was put in to the script to explain why so many battles in the film take place at very low altitude levels, and other things that nagged at me my first three times through it.

All things considered, Force Awakens probably falls in the middle, somewhere, quality-wise, of all seven yet-released Star Wars “episode” movies. I rank A New Hope as the best: it was the first, is still the freshest, and tells a self-contained story. Empire Strikes Back is a very close second; it’s so good that sometimes I think of A New Hope and Empire as one long, great, sprawling, sci-fi/fantasy/space opera epic.

This is where Force Awakens comes in. For my money, FA can duel it out with Revenge of the Sith for third best in the series. Sith is the best of the prequels and it has its moments, especially in the second half of the film when things really get going.

The final three movies in the series (Return of the Jedi, Phantom Menace and the most forgettable, Attack of the Clones) all exist in middling levels of mediocrity: Jedi has some compelling material toward the end when Luke Skywalker duels Darth Vader and contemplates joining the Dark Side. Phantom Menace has Darth Maul, which somehow makes it not as bad of a movie as you remember. Attack of the Clones: does anyone even remember that one?

So here I will end my half-baked semi re-review of Force Awakens. It has improved with time, ranks somewhere in the upper half of the seven yet-released live action Star Wars “episode” films, and plays better each time I see it. Now, if Rian Johnson can cobble together something more creative and original in the forthcoming Episode VIII…

My rating for each movie:

A New Hope: four lightsabers out of four.

Empire Strikes Back: four lightsabers out of four.

Revenge of the Sith: 3.5 lightsabers out of four.

Force Awakens: 3 lightsabers out of four.

Return of the Jedi: 2 lightsabers out of four.

Phantom Menace: 2 lightsabers out of four.

Attack of the Clones: 1.5 lightsabers out of four.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

Here’s the deal: if you liked 2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you’ll probably like 2016’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. However, if you weren’t in love with the original, you probably won’t find yourself enjoying this sequel.

I hate to admit it, but Wedding 2 just isn’t as good as the first movie. The jokes are stale; the characters haven’t really moved beyond their quasi-sitcom personalities. Everyone looks a little older, but nothing–including the Dancing Zorba neon sign that flashes over the family’s Greek restaurant–has changed.

Wedding 2 makes the surprise decision to focus mainly on the characters of Gus Portokalos (essayed by a droll Michael Constantine) and Paris, the teenage daughter of the last movie’s married couple. In a sincere performance by newcomer Elena Kampouris, Paris is the emotional center of Big Fat Wedding 2. Constantine and Kampouris give, far and away, the best performances in Wedding 2, and also lend to it a great deal of its emotional heft.

But, the movie is talky and stagey, what with the the extended Portokalos family popping up here, there and everywhere. At a volleyball game; at the restaurant; at the NYU college dorm: the “we’re a big Greek family and we do everything and go everywhere together” gag wears thin pretty quickly.

I was surprised to see so many returning cast members from the original movie–even the great-grandmother is the same actor. YiaYia is silent in the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but here she gets one line–advising the young Kampouris to leave Chicago (actually, as in the original, Toronto) and go away to college in NYC. It’s one of those emotionally touching scenes, which, along with a sequence set at a high-school prom, are few and far between.

In the best of movie sequels, the characters grow and change and are different than when we first met them. Mostly nothing has changed in the fourteen years between 1 and 2, and that’s to the detriment of these charismatic actors, their characters and ultimately, our enjoyment of the movie.

My rating: 2 out of 4 slices of baklava.