…in which JJ Abrams performs a sky-walk of shame, walking back all kinds of ideas that just didn’t work for the Star Wars universe. Abrams, of course, seemed to herald a new kind of film-making when he took to the big screen after the success of Lost. Where once George Lucas had struggled to create a consistent universe in his reviled prequel trilogy, Abrams was seen as the cure for the disease, a fan-boy who knew exactly what fans wanted and would give it to them. The Force Awakens was heralded as the beginning of a golden era for Star Wars, new characters, new worlds, a new on-message PC mind-set, and a blockbuster franchise to last a lifetime.
Fast forward to 2019, and fans can’t wait for the Abrams Star Wars era to end. Sure, there are some satisfied customers, but they’re few and far between; complaint is the main content of any Star Wars conversation. And fatigue is part of the issue; The Rise of Skywalker fights for advertising space alongside a glut of licenced products including the Fallen Order video game, the Galaxy’s Edge theme park, and a new TV show (The Mandalorian) which has ignited genuine interest. With characters like Finn and Rey failing to engage audiences, legions of fans are looking elsewhere rather than the flagship trilogy.
The third of the four trilogies originally mooted circa 1978, The Rise of Skywalker has continuity issues; Abrams has killed off too many of the key characters too early, and his faith in the new recruits seems misplaced. Does anyone care if Rey (Daisy Ridley) goes to the dark or light side of the force? Does Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his redemption hold much water after he killed his father in The Force Awakens? Will Poe (Oscar Isaac) ever find, erm, whatever he’s looking for? And as for Finn (John Boyega), who knows? He’s side-lined as effectively as Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), discarded toys tossed asunder due to a lack of traction in key markets. Meanwhile Han and Luke are gone, but not forgotten, reduced to motivational-trainer ghosts shouting encouragement from the side-lines like soccer-moms, while poor Carrie Fisher has her grave comprehensively robbed as deleted scenes are artlessly repurposed to create the illusion that she’s still alive.
The Empire Strikes Back’s climactic plot twist has proved a mill-stone around the neck of Star Wars in terms of creating soap-opera rather than space-opera expectations; the revelation that Rey is, spoiler alert, the grand-daughter of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) doesn’t resonate at all, other than to throw up the series complete lack of interest in this villainous character as anything other than a get out clause. When did Palpatine have time to have kids, or even grand-kids? Abrams, as with Lost, is far better at asking questions than providing answers; when the solutions finally appear, the audience has lost interest.
Fan-service is a dirty word, and yet it’s the one thing, other than casting and packaging, which Abrams does so well; the call-backs to personnel, themes and scenes all create some genuine connection to a beloved universe, and for some, that will be enough. But in terms of plot and character, the third Star Wars trilogy has been a misbegotten, stuttering disaster. There’s no more films scheduled beyond this, and rightly so; the inverted pyramid of expectations that snuffed out George Lucas’s talent seems to have claimed further victims in the undoubted abilities of Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams. Until some new talent emerges, it’s probably best to keep the fourth and final trilogy on the shelf for now.
Also, didn’t Kylo Ren’s ship get destroyed twice?
I’ll need to check my notes, which are as vague and confused as this film was!
Ray downed it with her lightsaber in the desert, then she stole it and crashed it on Ahch To.
That rings a bell! Also wasn’t a fan of the ‘chewbacca is dead’ sequence; did we need that note again in a story where the central characters get a curtain call in each and every episode. At least he got a medal…
Very interesting commentary…I have not seen the movie yet so I’ll hold off commenting until then. I’m glad you confirmed what I suspected about Rey’s ancestry…makes sense. more later, cheers
Look forward to your comment… there’s a sense of deja vu about another trilogy that appears to have been badly thought through. For some, the call-backs will be enough…
The prequels I watched, as a loyal fan. The death of the book EU killed my interest in Star Wars and the Force Awakens put the headstone on the grave of my fandom.
Star Wars is Dead…
I hear your pain! What surprises me is that they launched into a trilogy without answers to the questions they were asking; that’s what is going to upset audiences, who will feel let down. Rogue One manages to create involvement with new characters over a two hour movie; none of the new trilogy managed the same trick. Rest easy, you missed nothing!
I keep hearing good things about Rogue One, so maybe one day I’ll watch it. But we’ll see…
It seems to be almost impossible for film-makers to handle The Force within a story; Rogue One plays it down in favour of a Where Eagles Dare spy movie that’s not short of action; aside from the original film, it’s the best single-use entry in the series.
I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies since Return of the Jedi. I’ll have to get caught up some day.
JJ Abrams has become the established go-to guy for stuff like this now. I wonder what he’ll be remembered for. Everything he does seems totally generic to me.
I wouldn’t rush. In retrospect, Rogue One is the only one that hits the mark.
Rogue One was supposedly a throwaway movie, based on a single line from the original film. But in retrospect, it’s probably the best in the franchise since 1978. There’s few such choice visuals in this new opus.
This is another of those hot ‘n’ cold movies with no middle ground, it seems. I watched Rogue One again. I have to say, the planet-based battle scenes are a sight to behold. Like watching an updated WWII epic.
Does anyone care if Rey (Daisy Ridley) goes to the dark or light side of the force?
Well, I do. She’s about the one character who really interests me. That said, none of the SW movies have fully enthused me after the first two, with the possible exception of Rogue One.
Fair enough, but the arcs for Finn and Poe have minimal stakes. Rogue One made it look easy, but these films make it look hard. Thanks for reading!