Tired of all the long-winded, unreliable nonsense on Rotten Tomatoes? Here’s all you need to know in 1 minute.
After the vitriolic fan response to Rian “Jackass” Johnson’s reprehensible The Last Jedi (and all of its SJW/Woke Brigade pandering), does the Return of the J.J. offer “a new hope” to the faithful? Already, mainstream reviews have been the most negative since 1999’s universally-disappointing The Phantom Menace. But do all the gripes hold water? Yes and no. The Rise of Skywalker has the impossible task of both course correction and wrapping up the nine-film, 42-year saga in a semi-coherent and satisfactory fashion. Director J.J. Abrams’ solution is to throw too much of everything on screen in a desperate attempt to please the audience at every turn. The returning cast of core players (Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and John Boyega) revert to the easy charm and likeability they first displayed in The Force Awakens. The return of a MAJOR player in the franchise is both exciting and illogical from a narrative and physical standpoint. Still, the film manages to be entertaining and moves along at lightspeed. The opening has a gothic, Hammer horror movie vibe that is perfect. The set pieces are inventive and visually stunning, and Skywalker is littered with callbacks and fan service, some of it cloying, but most of it welcome after the smug irreverence of The Last Jedi. After suffering through that much-loathed entry in the series, (admittedly as an Original Trilogy acolyte), I went into The Rise of Skywalker with very low expectations and found myself enjoying most of it. Though excessively corny at times, it is still a must-see for longtime fans to at least learn how the Skywalker story finally ends, before moving on to the now higher-quality (and less politically-motivated) Star Wars content on Disney+.
Final Rating (scale):
Opening Weekend
First Theatrical Run
Discount Theater
Rent/Stream
Free Telemundo premiere
B SIDES 