Jean-Paul’s rating: 3/5
Bottom Line: A reasonably good finale to the sequel even if you won’t really ever look back with nostalgia on it.
Today, we have a very special movie review. I will be interviewing my mom who saw Episode IX with my brother and me.
Me: So Mom, what did you think about “The Rise of Skywalker”?
Mom: It was too dark.
Me: But you liked the other two of the trilogy. Didn’t you like seeing all the characters again?
Mom: No, it was way too dark. The other movies were bright and colorful and full of light. This one was just dark. Dark from start to finish.
Me: I know the movie had its issues. Like the whole spy thing was just silly, and the story has been rehashed a billion times at this point, but it was still pretty fun most of the time.
Mom: But why did they make it so dark?
Me: I guess they wanted the color scheme to fit the mood of the movie. Perhaps J. J. Abrams doesn’t trust the audience to fully appreciate the darkness of the plot without messing with the brightness level of the movie screen. What about the characters? They were still pretty fun right?
Mom: I didn’t like any of them because the movie was so dark.
Me: None of them? I mean, sure, they’re all pretty one dimensional in their thinking in this one and don’t really express much of the depth that they did in the other episodes, but they are still fun to watch and we get all sorts of great cameos from prior episodes, including if you watch carefully, Wedge!
Mom: What’s a wedge?
Me: He’s a character from…you know what, never mind. So Mom, sum up “The Rise of Skywalker” for us.
Mom: When I watch all the other Star Wars movies over I will never watch this one again because it’s so dark.
Me: Harsh. I thought it was reasonably fun, but it tried too hard at times to create moments that people will talk about and it failed miserably to do so. “Rogue One” is still the best of the new Star Wars vehicles. Thanks Mom for joining me for this review. I think your input will prove valuably useful to my audience.
Mom: I just wish they didn’t make it so dark. Every scene was just so dark.
Me: Yes, I think we got that. Thanks.