Critics are underwhelmed with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” saddling the finale to one of the biggest franchises of all time with just a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. They called the film a “safe,” “sour” or even “convoluted” end to the Skywalker saga.
It’s still early, and the score could change, but the review embargo for the film broke just after midnight on Wednesday, and with 119 critics reporting at time of writing, the current score places it below not just the previous “Star Wars” films “The Last Jedi” and “The Force Awakens,” but even behind “Solo” and “Rogue One,” though it’s just ahead of “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” which has just a 53% score.
“Rest assured that there’s nothing in this final ‘Star Wars’ that would prompt the eye-rolls or the snickers of Episodes I-III; Abrams is too savvy a studio player for those kinds of shenanigans,” TheWrap‘s Alonso Duralde wrote in his mixed review of the film. “But his slick delivery of a sterling, shiny example of what Martin Scorsese would call ‘not cinema’ feels momentarily satisfying but ultimately unfulfilling. It’s a somewhat soulless delivery system of catharsis, but Disney and Abrams are banking on the delivery itself to be enough.”
Many of the reviews pointed out that the film’s first act is loaded with exposition as a way to reunite the three main characters and tie up many of the film’s loose ends. Some reviews called it “incoherent” and added that many of those plot threads fail to satisfy in the end.
“The gang’s all here–every new and old favorite character one could imagine–for an experience so convoluted and overstuffed that I wondered whether the whole cast would board a flying kitchen sink for the final battle,” David Sims wrote in The Atlantic.
But much of the discussion has centered around Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi.” Critics have said Abrams’ film works as something of a course correction for fans who were outraged at the direction of the previous film, undoing some of “The Last Jedi’s” main and best ideas.
“The haste with which ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ rushes to undo its predecessor is almost comical at first, at least before its capitulation to the franchise’s most toxic fans turns outright contemptible. Mad that Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) didn’t spend enough time together in the last movie? Let’s shove them into the same frame from the beginning and throw in lots of forced banter to remind you that they’re pals,” Sam Adams writes in Slate. “Didn’t like when they killed off the pale evil guy with the misshapen face? What if we brought in another? And that whole thing about Rey being ‘no one,’ suggesting a radical rewrite of the idea that Jedi knights are made and not born? Well, you’ll have to see what happens there for yourself.”
“He’s made what feels sometimes like a glorified apology for his successor’s choices,” A.A. Dowd says of Abrams in The A.V. Club. “Remember in ‘Last Jedi’ when fallen son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) smashed his Vader-esque helmet to bits as a symbolic rejection of the past? It takes him all of 15 minutes to weld it back together in ‘Skywalker,’ the little red cracks across its surface evidence of a “mistake” that’s been mended.”
See more reactions from critics below. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” opens in theaters this Friday.
Abrams certainly knows how to manipulate, but when he does it, you can see the strings. How much or little you enjoy “The Rise of Skywalker” will rely almost entirely on whether or not you mind that every laugh and tear and jolt feels like it’s coming right off a spreadsheet.
J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is the most convoluted of all the Star Wars movies. It feels like three full movies worth of plot crammed into one film. The stories in the other Star Wars movies, even the Prequels, have a way of bringing a viewer into that world. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” never lets us in. It, instead, keeps us at arms length so it can use almost its entire first half as exposition. Just character after character explaining things.
At least since “The Return of the Jedi” (1983), the point of each chapter has been consolidation rather than distinction. For a single film to risk being too interesting would be to imperil the long-term strategy of cultivating a multigenerational, multinational fandom. “The Rise of Skywalker” — Episode IX, in case you’ve lost count — is one of the best. (It opens Friday.) Also one of the worst. Perfectly middling. It all amounts to the same thing.
“The Rise of Skywalker” gives people what they go to Star Wars for, but that’s all it does–and worse, all it sets out to do. It’s frenzied, briefly infuriating, and eventually, grudgingly, satisfying, but it’s like being force-fed fandom: Your belly is filled, but there’s no pleasure in the meal. The movie feels like it’s part of the post-“Last Jedi” retrenchment, when Disney jerked the leash on “Solo” and killed plans for future spinoffs by insisting that filmmakers stick to the established playbook. It’s of a piece with the pointedly unambitious “The Mandalorian,” just good enough to get people’s attention but fundamentally terrified of rocking the boat. Rather than making a movie some people might love, Abrams tried to make a movie no one would hate, and as a result, you don’t feel much of anything at all.
Not much has caused a disturbance in the “Star Wars” galaxy quite like Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi,” an erratic but electric movie that, regardless of how you felt about it, was something worth arguing about. The same can’t be said for J. J. Abrams’ “Rise of Skywalker,” a scattershot, impatiently paced, fan-servicing finale that repurposes so much of what came before that it feels as though someone searching for the hyperspace button accidentally pressed the spin cycle instead.
The gang’s all here–every new and old favorite character one could imagine–for an experience so convoluted and overstuffed that I wondered whether the whole cast would board a flying kitchen sink for the final battle.
But in the case of this ninth official episode, the batting-cleanup responsibilities are compounded by the expectations of a fanbase on the cusp of mutiny. “Skywalker” wants desperately to please them, a potentially impossible task it tackles with transparently ingratiating caution. This is a space opera animated not by joy but insecurity–the anxiety, evident in almost every moment, that if it’s not very careful, someone might feel letdown.
It’s a treat when Rey, Finn and Poe finally get to the adventuring, not only because there are tons of Han, Luke and Leia vibes when they’re together, but also because their taking on flying First Order goons in a wild, banter-laden “Mad Max”-esque speeder chase reminds why these movies are a hoot.
There are a few moments when it feels as if this movie is trying to satisfy every “Star Wars” fanatic in the world — but that would be beyond the scope of even the most impressive Jedi mind trick. “The Rise of Skywalker” rarely comes close to touching greatness, but it’s a solid, visually dazzling and warmhearted victory for the Force of quality filmmaking.
It wraps up the trio of trilogies begun in 1977 in a confident, soothingly predictable way, doing all that cinematically possible to avoid poking the bear otherwise known as tradition-minded quadrants of the “Star Wars” fan base.
Every 'Star Wars' Movie Ranked, From Worst to Best
Disney promised a new "Star Wars" movie every year after it acquired Lucasfilm, but the big-screen saga seemed to hit a pause with "Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker." But while many would call themselves "Star Wars" fans, even they will admit that the movies in the saga are by no means created equal.
In reverse order, here is a rundown of the best and worst that these films (not counting the cartoons, the Ewok spin-off or the infamous Holiday Special) have to offer.
11. "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
We waited 16 years for George Lucas to return to this universe, and what did we get? Trade routes and political intrigue, blood tests for the Force, and perhaps worst of all, Jar Jar Binks. "Menace" isn't terrible because it's a kid's movie; it's terrible because it's a terrible kids movie.
Highlight: The light-saber battle between Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Darth Maul (Ray Park) - they're the two most interesting characters the movie has to offer, so naturally both get killed off before the closing credits roll.
Worst Part: Any utterance of the word "Yippee!" whether by Jar Jar or by pre-pubescent Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Fox
10. "Episode II: Attack of the Clones"
A slight improvement over its predecessor, in the same way that a stubbed toe hurts less than a migraine. This installment introduces a hockey-haired Hayden Christensen as a petulant Anakin, smitten with Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), despite her noting, "To me, you'll always be that little boy on Tatooine" upon their reunion. Also, there are clones.
Highlight: The fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), which feels like a genuine clash of equals. Close second: Yoda's lightsaber battle with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).
Worst Part: Anakin woos his lady in a CG meadow that looks like the set of a toilet paper commercial. (No one can forget the immortal line, "I don't like sand.")
9. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story": Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and a rag-tag group of rebels set out to steal the plans for the Death Star to prove that Jyn's father Galen (Mads Mikkselsen) did indeed booby-trap that thermal port so that one day Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) can blow up the whole mama-jama. This first non-"Episode" movie in the series is less a film than a series of Easter eggs for hardcore fans to find and enjoy; the rest of us wound up less entertained.
Highlight:Â The climactic battle sequence, spotlighting the extraordinary combat skills of [SPOILER REDACTED], whose proficiency with The Force makes up for [SPOILER REDACTED].
Worst Part: The fact that the film prioritizes plot details over character -- especially since the existence of "Episode IV" assures that we already know how this one ends.
8. "Solo: A Star Wars Story"Â
Meet young Han (Alden Ehrenreich), who goes AWOL from the Empire and joins up with a band of thieves led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson) on adventures that will bring him face to face with a gambler named Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), not to mention a friendly Wookiee.
Highlight: It runs a little longer than it should, but there's a heist on a mountainous, elevated railroad that provides the film with some much-needed adrenaline.
Worst Part: We don't learn anything about Han or Lando we didn't already know -- but hey, look at that gleaming new Millennium Falcon!
Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios
7. "Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker"
It all leads to this, and "this" is director J.J. Abrams very calculatedly giving the audience what it wants without the artistry to fool us into thinking that he's doing anything else. The results are like a McDonald's meal, fulfilling your immediate craving but feeling ultimately unsatisfying.
Highlight: The surprise return of Luke to offer much-needed advice to Rey.
Worst Part: A plot twist that undoes what was, to me, one of the best ideas of "The Last Jedi," all in the name of fan service.
21st Century Fox
6. "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi": Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is unfrozen from carbonite, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is briefly enslaved by Jabba the Hutt (and forced to wear the infamous metal bikini), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) resists the temptations of the Dark Side and brings his dad, Darth Vader, around to defeat the sinister Emperor Palpatine. If only so much time weren't spent with those cutesy Ewoks, whose annoying presence presages the juvenile tone of the prequels.
Highlight: The speeder chase through the forests of Endor, one of the most breathtakingly exciting sequences in the entire saga.
Worst Part: The Empire seems a little less threatening when they have such a hard time standing up to a bunch of teddy bears with ropes and pulleys.
5. "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"
Anakin completes his journey toward becoming Darth Vader as the Empire succeeds in its hostile takeover of the Republic. Christensen remains as pouty as ever, but there are moments in "Sith" that support the notion that if Lucas had made just this one prequel rather than three, we wouldn't think so poorly of his return to this galaxy far, far away.
Highlight: Anakin faces off with Obi-Wan for a final confrontation that leaves that younger man beaten and dismembered. Also, the "unmasking" of Chancellor Palpatine as "The Phantom Menace" by a phalanx of Jedi who are made short work of (including Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu) by the evil Sith Lord.
Worst Part: A reconstructed Anakin bellows, "Nooooooooo!!!!!" when he awakens in his Darth Vader armor, in a ham-fisted homage to/ripoff of Boris Karloff in James Whale's "Frankenstein."
Disney
4. "Episode VII: The Force Awakens"
The first of the post-Lucas adventures sees director and co-writer J.J. Abrams connecting some familiar faces from the previous films to a new set of fascinating characters, both good and evil. The film bears more than a few structural resemblances to "A New Hope," but it's no less thrilling for its moments of familiarity. If George Lucas cribbed from serials, Errol Flynn and Akira Kurosawa, Abrams pulls ideas from George Lucas.
Highlight: Either when General (formerly Princess) Leia is reunited with Han Solo or when Rey (Daisy Ridley) realizes her destiny.
Worst Part: R2-D2 spends too much of the movie in sleep mode, becoming fully present only at a plot-convenient moment late in the story.
3. "Episode VIII: The Last Jedi"
After Ewoks, a disappointing prequel trilogy, and an entertaining rehash of the original movie, the eighth entry in the franchise brings energy and passion, mixing all the thrills and excitement of the best of these movies with genuine character depth and surprising sacrifices. It's with "The Last Jedi" that the new-school movies start to come into their own.
Highlight: That whole throne room sequence wherein Rey and Kylo team up to battle Snoke and his troopers.
Worst Part: Most of the scenes in which Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) is thrust into the middle of the action for seemingly no reason than to make us love a new character.
2. "Episode IV: A New Hope"
Or, to those of us old enough to have seen the film upon its original release in 1977, simply "Star Wars." Lucas' original space-spanning saga has become such an iconic American movie that it's joined the ranks of "The Wizard of Oz" -- nearly every moment, camera set-up or line of dialogue has been quoted, referenced or lampooned by another movie over the years.
Highlight: Who can choose? I'm a big fan of Luke and Han manning the turret gun in the Millennium Falcon as Chewbacca evades the Empire's TIE fighters, but if you prefer the escape from the garbage disposal or Darth Vader's hands-free strangulation of Admiral Motti (Richard LeParmentier), you're not wrong either.
Worst Part: Princess Leia's British accent and Luke's nasal whining indicate that Lucas hadn't quite yet pinned down the specifics of these characters.
1. "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"
Having created these worlds in the previous movie, Lucas (working with screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett and director Irvin Kershner) could let these characters and their relationships grow richer and more interesting, while simultaneously ratcheting up the stakes and the excitement. Here's a sequel that enhances its predecessor rather than attempting simply to re-create it.
Highlight: Again, so much to choose from, whether it's the AT-AT walkers on Hoth, Han Solo's evasion of the Imperial fleet via an asteroid field or Luke's apprenticeship under Jedi Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz).
Worst Part: I was 13 years old in 1980, and that cliffhanger ending -- with the knowledge that the next sequel was a full three years away -- really stung. (Not to mention that guy carrying an ice cream maker during the evacuation of Bespin.)
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Including the best and worst part of each film.
Disney promised a new "Star Wars" movie every year after it acquired Lucasfilm, but the big-screen saga seemed to hit a pause with "Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker." But while many would call themselves "Star Wars" fans, even they will admit that the movies in the saga are by no means created equal.
In reverse order, here is a rundown of the best and worst that these films (not counting the cartoons, the Ewok spin-off or the infamous Holiday Special) have to offer.
11. "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
We waited 16 years for George Lucas to return to this universe, and what did we get? Trade routes and political intrigue, blood tests for the Force, and perhaps worst of all, Jar Jar Binks. "Menace" isn't terrible because it's a kid's movie; it's terrible because it's a terrible kids movie.
Highlight: The light-saber battle between Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Darth Maul (Ray Park) - they're the two most interesting characters the movie has to offer, so naturally both get killed off before the closing credits roll.
Worst Part: Any utterance of the word "Yippee!" whether by Jar Jar or by pre-pubescent Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Fox
10. "Episode II: Attack of the Clones"
A slight improvement over its predecessor, in the same way that a stubbed toe hurts less than a migraine. This installment introduces a hockey-haired Hayden Christensen as a petulant Anakin, smitten with Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), despite her noting, "To me, you'll always be that little boy on Tatooine" upon their reunion. Also, there are clones.
Highlight: The fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), which feels like a genuine clash of equals. Close second: Yoda's lightsaber battle with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).
Worst Part: Anakin woos his lady in a CG meadow that looks like the set of a toilet paper commercial. (No one can forget the immortal line, "I don't like sand.")
9. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story": Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and a rag-tag group of rebels set out to steal the plans for the Death Star to prove that Jyn's father Galen (Mads Mikkselsen) did indeed booby-trap that thermal port so that one day Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) can blow up the whole mama-jama. This first non-"Episode" movie in the series is less a film than a series of Easter eggs for hardcore fans to find and enjoy; the rest of us wound up less entertained.
Highlight:Â The climactic battle sequence, spotlighting the extraordinary combat skills of [SPOILER REDACTED], whose proficiency with The Force makes up for [SPOILER REDACTED].
Worst Part: The fact that the film prioritizes plot details over character -- especially since the existence of "Episode IV" assures that we already know how this one ends.
8. "Solo: A Star Wars Story"Â
Meet young Han (Alden Ehrenreich), who goes AWOL from the Empire and joins up with a band of thieves led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson) on adventures that will bring him face to face with a gambler named Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), not to mention a friendly Wookiee.
Highlight: It runs a little longer than it should, but there's a heist on a mountainous, elevated railroad that provides the film with some much-needed adrenaline.
Worst Part: We don't learn anything about Han or Lando we didn't already know -- but hey, look at that gleaming new Millennium Falcon!
Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios
7. "Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker"
It all leads to this, and "this" is director J.J. Abrams very calculatedly giving the audience what it wants without the artistry to fool us into thinking that he's doing anything else. The results are like a McDonald's meal, fulfilling your immediate craving but feeling ultimately unsatisfying.
Highlight: The surprise return of Luke to offer much-needed advice to Rey.
Worst Part: A plot twist that undoes what was, to me, one of the best ideas of "The Last Jedi," all in the name of fan service.
21st Century Fox
6. "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi": Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is unfrozen from carbonite, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is briefly enslaved by Jabba the Hutt (and forced to wear the infamous metal bikini), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) resists the temptations of the Dark Side and brings his dad, Darth Vader, around to defeat the sinister Emperor Palpatine. If only so much time weren't spent with those cutesy Ewoks, whose annoying presence presages the juvenile tone of the prequels.
Highlight: The speeder chase through the forests of Endor, one of the most breathtakingly exciting sequences in the entire saga.
Worst Part: The Empire seems a little less threatening when they have such a hard time standing up to a bunch of teddy bears with ropes and pulleys.
5. "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"
Anakin completes his journey toward becoming Darth Vader as the Empire succeeds in its hostile takeover of the Republic. Christensen remains as pouty as ever, but there are moments in "Sith" that support the notion that if Lucas had made just this one prequel rather than three, we wouldn't think so poorly of his return to this galaxy far, far away.
Highlight: Anakin faces off with Obi-Wan for a final confrontation that leaves that younger man beaten and dismembered. Also, the "unmasking" of Chancellor Palpatine as "The Phantom Menace" by a phalanx of Jedi who are made short work of (including Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu) by the evil Sith Lord.
Worst Part: A reconstructed Anakin bellows, "Nooooooooo!!!!!" when he awakens in his Darth Vader armor, in a ham-fisted homage to/ripoff of Boris Karloff in James Whale's "Frankenstein."
Disney
4. "Episode VII: The Force Awakens"
The first of the post-Lucas adventures sees director and co-writer J.J. Abrams connecting some familiar faces from the previous films to a new set of fascinating characters, both good and evil. The film bears more than a few structural resemblances to "A New Hope," but it's no less thrilling for its moments of familiarity. If George Lucas cribbed from serials, Errol Flynn and Akira Kurosawa, Abrams pulls ideas from George Lucas.
Highlight: Either when General (formerly Princess) Leia is reunited with Han Solo or when Rey (Daisy Ridley) realizes her destiny.
Worst Part: R2-D2 spends too much of the movie in sleep mode, becoming fully present only at a plot-convenient moment late in the story.
3. "Episode VIII: The Last Jedi"
After Ewoks, a disappointing prequel trilogy, and an entertaining rehash of the original movie, the eighth entry in the franchise brings energy and passion, mixing all the thrills and excitement of the best of these movies with genuine character depth and surprising sacrifices. It's with "The Last Jedi" that the new-school movies start to come into their own.
Highlight: That whole throne room sequence wherein Rey and Kylo team up to battle Snoke and his troopers.
Worst Part: Most of the scenes in which Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) is thrust into the middle of the action for seemingly no reason than to make us love a new character.
2. "Episode IV: A New Hope"
Or, to those of us old enough to have seen the film upon its original release in 1977, simply "Star Wars." Lucas' original space-spanning saga has become such an iconic American movie that it's joined the ranks of "The Wizard of Oz" -- nearly every moment, camera set-up or line of dialogue has been quoted, referenced or lampooned by another movie over the years.
Highlight: Who can choose? I'm a big fan of Luke and Han manning the turret gun in the Millennium Falcon as Chewbacca evades the Empire's TIE fighters, but if you prefer the escape from the garbage disposal or Darth Vader's hands-free strangulation of Admiral Motti (Richard LeParmentier), you're not wrong either.
Worst Part: Princess Leia's British accent and Luke's nasal whining indicate that Lucas hadn't quite yet pinned down the specifics of these characters.
1. "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"
Having created these worlds in the previous movie, Lucas (working with screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett and director Irvin Kershner) could let these characters and their relationships grow richer and more interesting, while simultaneously ratcheting up the stakes and the excitement. Here's a sequel that enhances its predecessor rather than attempting simply to re-create it.
Highlight: Again, so much to choose from, whether it's the AT-AT walkers on Hoth, Han Solo's evasion of the Imperial fleet via an asteroid field or Luke's apprenticeship under Jedi Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz).
Worst Part: I was 13 years old in 1980, and that cliffhanger ending -- with the knowledge that the next sequel was a full three years away -- really stung. (Not to mention that guy carrying an ice cream maker during the evacuation of Bespin.)
