Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker…What the hell was that, JJ?
The final installment to the latest Star Wars trilogy lends an expected “awesome” factor with impressive cinematography, special effects, and fight choreography. The reboot of the century saw fans emotionally and culturally inspired once again to participate in fandom with the combination of beloved characters and new ones to fall for.
True to form, ROS carries the tradition of fun-spirited adventure as well as a deeper commentary for the galaxy closer to home in which we normal humans reside. However, ROS is the weakest in the latest trilogy with significant flaws that can’t go unmentioned. At 2 hours and 21 minutes, the film left much to be desired. Here’s how:
***Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead***
Finn
Image from Lucasfilm
It’s really like they forgot what the hell they were doing with this man’s trajectory considering he didn’t have anything to do except wonder what Rey was doing. Btw, what was Finn going to say to Rey in the sand?? I must say it’s nice when women are the ones in the spotlight, but it’s equally disappointing when a prominent role played by a man of color fizzles out.
2. Rose Tico
Kelly shining regardless, image from WireImage
The Last Jedi introduced us to the good-hearted mechanic in the Resistance to much praise and much criticism. Praise for having an Asian lead for the first time in the SW universe and much harassment toward actress, Kelly Marie Tran from SW fans.
One would hope that Disney and Abrams would use ROS as an opportunity to meet racism, sexism, and toxic fandom with a dignified storyline that continued to develop a worthy character. The opposite seemed to occur in ROS, since Tran’s character hardly made an appearance at all compared to her prominent role in its predecessor.
Not only is it disrespectful to Tran, but it does a disservice to the story. Rose and Finn were headed toward a deeper connection, possibly romantic, which only made for more confusing holes when they went unaddressed.
3. Poe Dameron
Image from Lucasfilm
In Disney’s continued refusal to showcase a couple that actually makes sense (a queer one and that a one-second kiss between two women resistance fighters at the end doesn’t count), they just seemed to throw random pairs our way. Insert cool yet random character, Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell), to distract us with Poe’s affection (albeit briefly).
Also insert Jannah, a dope fighter and former stormtrooper that seemed to be headed towards a romantic connection with Finn, but then insert a confusing, borderline incestuous kiss between Ben and Rey at the very end. WHAT IS GOING ON?!
4. A Palpatine
So Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter...sure. Part of what made the previous trilogies so great (and yes, I’m including the prequels), was having that suspense already established in knowing our villain -- Darth Vader or in the case of the prequels, Anakin Skywalker.
Waiting until the final installment of a trilogy to bust that twist was bold and ultimately unsettling, considering it felt like the only reason to make her a Palpatine was, in fact, to NOT make her a Skywalker so that she could have a romance with a Skywalker...
5. A Kiss? Seriously?
...which brings me to the kiss. Really? So to put this in somewhat context, Rey heals snake/basilisk thing. Then, Rey heals Ben. Ben heals Rey. Ben dies, but not before they kiss? WHAT?! They actually thought it was a good idea having these two kiss after we spent two and a half films swearing they were related? Seriously? I don’t get it.
6. A Lukewarm Rescue
Rachel Leishman brings up an excellent point in addressing the similarities between ROS and Avengers: Endgame. After all seems lost, like most action journeys do, a horde of ships come to the rescue, leaving us all saying… “ok.” Where were y’all when Leia was begging you punk asses to show up for two straight films?? It was expected, anti-climactic, and carried no emotional weight.
7. A Weird-ass Throuple?
In an attempt to emphasize how the friendship between our main trio was the key to their survival, Disney basically just ended up giving us a weird version of a throuple (cue awkward hug at the end).
You can ABSOLUTELY present a beautiful, honest story involving throuples effectively, but not at the expense of a perfectly sensible, healthy, and culturally necessary queer relationship. HONESTLY, this all comes back to avoiding an on-camera, queer relationship. Come ON, guys! Even Oscar Isaac agrees this is what should have happened!
***
At the end of the day, where the film shines is in Rey. I know this is beside the point but I’m still a little mad she didn’t get a significant outfit change in three films. Geez, I mean even Luke got a makeover by his third film. And Leia. And Anakin. Hell, even Chewy got some new accessories, but I digress. The point is, there’s something to be said about a woman picking up a lightsaber, finally getting some swag with the Force (damn, that took mad long too, but she got it...eventually).
