Not a classic, but Star Wars finale is fun

Busy movie: JJ Abrams managed to fashion a
mostly believable conclusion to the Star Wars saga

The Skywalker saga is over. The 42-year cinematic odyssey that had some soaringly high points and a few equally low moments, has ended in an acceptable fashion with Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker.

But it will leave some fans of the original films lamenting what might have been had this sequel trilogy been thoughtfully planned out.

In places, The Rise of Skywalker has sparks of emotional connection that were lacking in the previous film in the trilogy. Interestingly, director JJ Abrams has made this film mostly leap over the divisive The Last Jedi, and act as a sequel to his episode 7, The Force Awakens.
For the most part you can watch this without having even seen The Last Jedi, which will be a bonus for many people.

What else did we learn from this film? Well, it seems tossing the lightsabre is now a thing, and possibly a future Olympic sport.

The humour is more in line with the classic Star Wars films, although in some places is misplaced. For instance, a jolting moment comes when Poe and Rey engage in a conversational joust that is annoyingly out of place and petty. It comes after the Millennium Falcon returns to base and, given the gravity of the story at that point, would they really be arguing about who got the spaceship or droid damaged the most?

At its core, The Rise of Skywalker is a return to the simplistic, formulaic Saturday morning science fiction shorts of the 1930s, think Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, that lent much to the genesis of the original Star Wars trilogy. And there is a charm in that.

If you go into the theatre with lowered expectations, you'll likely to be pleasantly surprised. That's hardly a ringing endorsement, but after the train wreck of The Last Jedi it says much.

Following the story-telling void of its predecessor, Abrams somehow manages to concoct a believable, if at times contrived, story arc within the film's 2 hours and 25 minutes' running time. It's cluttered and moves at such breakneck speed it is impossible to take in everything, or savour moments that deserve more.

This lack of finesse highlights the folly of Disney's handling of such a premier intellectual property. The studio allowed the concluding trilogy to be made without first having a mapped out, overarching storyline for the three movies. As such, there are plot points in The Rise of Skywalker that would have been bettered served in the previous film, rather than shoehorned into this finale.

However, back to the good things about The Rise of Skywalker. The actors appear more natural, comfortable and real, although for the newer generation there is still very little buy-in that would make audiences overly concerned about their stories or fates.
The character of Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, shows a touch more believability and emotion. Adam Driver, as Kylo, is the strongest main character, as he has been for the trilogy.

The late Carrie Fisher returns as Leia. Her part is adequately done considering the constrains of having to rely solely on footage and outtakes from previous movies. We are left to imagine how much more satisfying it would have been had she still been with us.

Mark Hamill's portrayal of Luke, while marginal in the film, does provide the most emotionally satisfying moments. His character is one of the film industry's greatest heroes, and he receives the redemption and explanation needed in the wake of The Last Jedi.
There is still a sense of mystery about his lost years from Return of the Jedi to The Last Jedi - and in the hands of a skilled writer and director a spin-off "latter days" Skywalker movie could fill the gaps and ultimately add important background context to this final trilogy. Disney, feel free to call.

In conclusion, 3.5 out of 5 for the movie, but full marks to Abrams for the ending scene.

VIDEO: The final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker.

New Star Wars - a train wreck or last hurrah?

What lies ahead? a scene from the trailer for
the final Star Wars story in the Skywalker saga

A second trailer has been released for what will be the final movie of the Star Wars saga that began 42 years ago.  So will the film be a last crunching pile-up moment of the train wreck delivered by 2017's The Last Jedi, or will it be an uplifting hurrah?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is episode nine and the conclusion of the Skywalker story, which started in 1977 with the original Star Wars (later renamed Episode 4: A New Hope). That first movie set in motion one of the 20th century's major cultural and cinematic phenomenon.

Sadly, two years ago the franchise suffered the shockingly divisive episode eight, The Last Jedi. In December we shall see what can be salvaged from the wreckage, and whether what should be a cinematic climax like no other will manage to at least be a fitting finale.

The Star Wars story has spiraled downward dramatically in the past few years. Depending on your point of view that nosedive may have started with the opening segment of the current sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, in 2015, or been nailed by the calamitous storytelling and legacy mishandling of The Last Jedi.

How bad are things for Star Wars? Consider this: there is a real chance The Rise of Skywalker will not reach $1 billion at the box office, a mere four years after episode seven, The Force Awakens, became the third film in history to take more than $2 billion. For popularity to wane that suddenly and dramatically takes a lot of doing. Disney must be fretting.

For context, The Last Jedi did not attract multiple repeat viewings the way most of its predecessors did, and topped out with a worldwide box office total of $1.3 billion, while Star Wars spin-off Solo, released five months later, was a relative flop taking only $393 million.

A final hurrah: rebel spaceships, many recognisable from their
appaerance in the original Star Wars movie in 1977

It's true that financial success alone is no indicator of artistic merit and integrity, there are plenty of outstanding creative works that have made pitiful financial returns. But the Star Wars franchise was a seemingly indestructible cash-cow when, earlier this decade, Disney splashed $4 billion to buy Lucasfilm and the rights to create these new films.

The first half of the new trailer shows clips from each of the previous eight movies in the saga. Interestingly they are shown in order of their original release date rather than chronologically by the events they portray. What stands out is the clean, clear, and bright crispness of the original trilogy - a harking back to a more innocent escapist era and a magnificent story arc that stretched across those three movies.

We then see clips from the hit-and-miss prequel trilogy, before we pass into today's convoluted and muddled sequel trilogy, and finally a few short snippets of the upcoming movie. Very little is revealed, although there is another lightsabre duel between Rey and Adam Driver - sorry Kylo.

That slip, where I could remember the actor's name but not the name of the chief villain he portrays, is instructive of the major problem this trilogy has - and that is a crippling lack of character "buy in". This new movie might as well start with a blank slate, because The Last Jedi failed to develop any of the characters in meaningful ways and followed a preposterous storyline. It also managed to end with no compelling reason for audiences to return to see what happens next.

With no character or story arc to bind things together, this new trilogy is broken. The Rise of Skywalker for all intents and purposes is a standalone movie. And while it is too early to write off the new film, it is hard not to feel a sense of forboding.

Director and writer JJ Abrams has to find a resolution to a 42-year saga in a single film that was left high and dry by its immediate predecessor. There is some hope, because Abrams has shown flashes of skill, from Super 8 to his fairly steady handling of The Force Awakens. But what is required now is a tall order.

Only a genuine redemption of Luke Skywalker, one of cinema's most cherished heroes, is likely to save the day in the wake of this greatest legacy character's treatment in The Last Jedi. In this trailer and the first released earlier in the year, we get to hear his voice. This time we also hear the voice of Emperor Palpatine and the sinister breathing of Darth Vader, both of whom were thought destroyed in 1983's Return of the Jedi.

So to return to the question, what lies ahead? Will it be a final pile-up train wreck moment, or will it be an uplifting hurrah for Star Wars? Let's hope for the latter. Over to you JJ.

• The new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

A curiously subdued Star Wars trailer

What lies ahead? an intriguing glimpse of Death Star wreckage in the trailer for The Rise of Skywalker

The first trailer for Star Wars 9, now revealed as The Rise of Skywalker, has a restrained feel. It is as though the director, JJ Abrams, is reluctant to show or giveaway anything about the plot ahead of its December release.

In a counterintuitive way that could be for the best, given the strongly divided reaction the previous installment of the saga generated (I gave Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi a reluctant 50% score). A bolder strategy would be a total pre-release blackout, letting the film take audiences by surprise and succeeding or failing through "old school" word-of-mouth recommendations.

However, such a slow burn approach, given the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the production, is unlikely to fly with Disney executives.

Abrams has a tough task to pull the sequel trilogy back from the brink after the storytelling dumpster fire that was The Last Jedi. He appeared to diplomatically acknowledge this last week at the Star Wars Celebration event in Chicago, telling an interviewer: "We've taken to heart everything that has come before, and while it's obviously been significantly challenging, it's been a greater opportunity than a challenge."

Mystery with menace: Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver,
is the most interesting new character in the sequel trilogy

There is no compelling narrative to carry the story on from The Last Jedi, and it features a cast of new characters that - two films into the trilogy - have yet to establish anywhere near the commanding presence achieved by the protagonists of the original films. As for the bad guys, they have been left to look ridiculously ineffective, save for the one beacon of possibility - Kylo Ren.

It may be that Abrams has found a way to retrofit a story into the void left by The Last Jedi - or to somehow create a bridge from his own Episode VII: A Force Awakens to this concluding part of the Skywalker saga. As I have previously noted, the core problem with this trilogy stems from the ad-hoc way it has taken shape, in a "pass the parcel" fashion with the story handed over from one writer/director to another, leaving each to mould their own tale "on the hoof" rather than revolving around a pre-planned story arc.

George Lucas, who created the Star Wars universe, was shunted out of the way when Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. He had drafted his own vision of how the sequel trilogy might play out, but this was discarded by the decision-makers who took charge of the current trilogy.

Interestingly, in light of the polarising effect The Last Jedi has had on the franchise's fan base, Lucas was consulted before work began on The Rise of Skywalker; as was revealed by Abrams during last week's interview.

As for the new trailer, the most interesting moment is the scene showing what appears to be wreckage of a Death Star - and my guess it it is the second Death Star, which was destroyed in 1983's Return of The Jedi. There is a belief among some that lead protagonist Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, will swim to the wreckage and uncover a crucial part of the story. The trailer features the menacing laughter of Emporer Palpatine, hitherto believed vanquished at the hands of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, and adds a tantalising possibility to where this final segment of the Skywalker saga might go.

One thing is for sure, for many fans only an appearance by Luke Skywalker will erase the bitter taste of The Last Jedi. Abrams' skillful insertion of Skywalker at the conclusion of The Force Awakens, created one of the series' greatest emotional jolts. Can he do it again?

The jury is out on whether the sequel trilogy can be salvaged. The Rise of Skywalker trailer gives no indication as to what the answer will be.

Video: The Rise of Skywalker official trailer:

The Last Jedi misses old Star Wars beat

Splitting opinion: The Last Jedi

Along with many supportive comments, there have been some pretty harsh things posted online by moviegoers distressed about the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi. Perhaps like no other episode in the 40-year old franchise, Episode VIII has split fans' opinions. Why is it so divisive - and is it justified?

It is almost a full week since I watched the film, and still I'm conflicted about its merits. On one level it was a good, standard movie - a little over-long, but entertaining. But at a deeper level it did not feel like a Star Wars film. There was an emptiness in the storytelling. It lacked the soul and heart that defined the original trilogy and, to a lesser extent, the prequels.

Having allowed my thoughts to settle during the past week, I rate The Last Jedi as a 2.5 out of 5. It is an adequate film, but somewhat lacking. My views on the positives and negatives of the film are below.

SPOILER ALERT: The remainder of this post discusses aspects of The Last Jedi, including plot and characters. If you intend to watch the film and don't want to know what is in it, read no further.

The positives:

1. The cinematography on the whole is well done and gives the movie a quality aesthetic; many of the sets and location shots are a joy to view and well framed. 
2. Likewise, the space battles are more interesting than in some of the previous installments. The battle engagements are shorter, more focused, and the special effects are beyond fault.
3. The interaction between Luke and Rey is fascinating and insightful, up to a point - because there was plenty of scope for more to have been achieved here - in particular in relation to Luke's torment and why he had taken the path he did. Mark Hamill's acting is magnificent and one of the film's highlights.
4. And then there is Kylo Ren's uneven relationship with the dark side of the Force, so dynamically portrayed by Adam Driver that he overshadows Rey as the most interesting protagonist on the screen. 
5. The developing story between Kylo and Rey is now clearly the signature theme for the trilogy, and it made for the most compelling on-screen interactions.
6. The throne room showdown was memorable (albeit, with the proviso below regarding Snoke).
7. Leia's no-nonsense final flourish that puts Poe in his place, twice.
8. A blisteringly brilliant standoff as Luke faces Kylo and The First Order's ground attack AT-ATs.

The negatives:

1. There's no real hero. Rey is surely meant to be the heroine of the piece, but she is unengaging and that is worrying two films into a trilogy. Her background and deeper motivations remain opaque. It is hard to really care for a character that you know so little about. The classic hero's journey is absent from Rey's character. All the interesting development stages have been left out. Also, she lacks emotional empathy, other than the edgy interplay with Kylo. It might be that this is all by design. We have one film left to find out.
2. As mentioned in the positive list Carrie Fisher's performance of Leia was fine, but there was potential for more. For example, when the communications operator reported that the call of help had been received at the outer rim but no one was responding, had it been shown, the sadness on Leia's face could have been a showstopper, particularly when immediately followed by Luke stepping out from the shadows. As for Leia's flying through space scene, the less said, the better. I'm fine with the concept - but what we got looked ridiculous.
3. The new charactors have not developed in any compelling ways. Finn looked the most promising, but his side adventure with Rose was underwhelming and a drag to the main narrative. Poe has yet to fulfill the potential he showed in The Force Awakens.
4. Chewbacca was a bit player. The meeting with Luke could have given something; that moment when Luke realised Han was no longer around. But the moment was squashed.
5. Luke's finale was uneven. There was the brilliance of his emergence from the smoke during the AT-AT standoff, but his ultimate departure missed a beat. Considering the film's nondescript ending, it was a shame it did not climax at, or around, that moment. If only the movie had flipped to the Millennium Falcon departing with the rebels and then back to Luke on the rock, the sunset, the empty cloak. End.
6. The bad guys. Are there any? General Hux is a shallow, ineffectual baddie who from the get-go is the fall-guy/punchbag for Snoke and Kylo. As for Snoke, so much potential thrown away with his highly anti-climatic demise. Who was he, where did he come from? Perhaps there's a bubblegum card that can help.
7. The film creaked under the sheer weight of its palette of characters. I had a hard job feeling connected or invested in the fate of most of them. The scripting left out the humanising elements.
8. Plot holes. So many, including a slow-motion space chase waiting for ships to run out of gas when it would appear simple enough to have a few star-cruisers head them off. And the casino subplot was weak and added little value to the main narrative.

Reflecting back two years to The Force Awakens, that was a fun and action-packed romp. Yes, it did retread past movies in the series, but it could be forgiven this as it was the scene setter for the new trilogy. The Last Jedi should have been the consolidating episode, but it failed to establish an emotional tether with the main protagonists.
The handling of Luke's character is questionable, and Mark Hamill has said so in blunt terms in interviews during the past two years. While I acknowledge the realigning of his character arc is a valid development (though not the only one), it cries out for some exposition. The Last Jedi missed that opportunity. I hope the next and final installment rounds things out.

Finally, I question the decision to not have the trilogy planned in some semi-structured way. I have read that director Rian Johnson scrapped an outdated draft of what Episode VIII might look like, and wrote his own version picking up from where JJ Abrams left the storyline and characters at the end of The Force Awakens. This "pass the parcel" approach to story sculpting must have some bearing on the disjointed feel of The Last Jedi.
And the film was longer than it needed to be. A sharper focus and editing would have made a big difference.

As I watched the quiet departure of the audience from the cinema at one of the early sold-out showings, to me it was a sign that this movie lacked the knockout stuff that many have come to expect from the Star Wars universe. As I mentioned earlier, I left the cinema not feeling that I'd witnessed a Star Wars film. It wasn't the same. There were too many diversions, too little depth, and too many unsatisfying gaps. It may be that Episode IX will deliver the answers that will cast The Last Jedi in a more favourable light. All now hangs on that 2019 release. Back to you Mr Abrams.

To end with here is a video of Mark Hamill expressing his views on The Last Jedi version of Luke:



And here is a trailer, and a very good one, for The Last Jedi....