The Rise of Skywalker: Let The Past Return, Revive It If You Have To

There comes a moment when a wayward prince, a highborn child with powers beyond measure, must face the spite caused by his past actions. He has to contend with a legacy of suffering left behind and choose how to move forward, should he be given the opportunity. It's a moment with no clear solutions.

Oh wait, this isn't a review of Avatar: The Last Airbender. No such moment exists in The Rise of Skywalker - a title that continues to confound me. A more accurate title (read no further if you don't like spoilers) would be The Rise of Palpatine, as the only true villain in the franchise returns from the dead to reclaim his devilish mantle.

And from that sentence stems all the movie's problems.

In his two outings as director, J.J. Abrams found a way to include another Death Star in Starkiller Base and to resurrect Palpatine. He would like nothing better than to remake the original trilogy under the guise of something new. It is an easy thing to do. Like no other major franchise, Star Wars banks on nostalgia. Referencing the old is a move that goes over well, but it should just be that, referencing, not a wannabe cover album of The Return of the Jedi.

Despite this overt love for the original trilogy, Abrams's biggest accomplishment in Rise of Skywalker is to take the three movies that changed Hollywood and render them irrelevant. Darth Vader didn't kill the emperor. Han and Leia didn't end the Galactic Empire. Luke didn't...do anything except lose his hand in a battle that didn't matter. They were never gone, just hiding in the shadows and developing more planet destroying technology.

That is a far, far worse crime than any Rian Johnson stands accused of. For all the fans' gnashing of teeth over his handling of Luke, he set the stage for a saga finale that didn't include a one-dimensional puppet master controlling everything. Adam Driver's Kylo Ren/Ben Solo would have had to come to terms with killing his father, being rejected by Rey, who seems to understand his inner turmoil, and becoming the Supreme Leader of an army fighting Rey and his mother.

We all know from how skilled an actor Driver can be. Let him and Daisy Ridley take the story in a new direction and provide a more satisfying conclusion than yet another "destroy the Death Star and the emperor" story.

Furthermore, the return of the emperor feels more like an impression of the ever meme-able villain than the earlier iterations of him. He's more one-dimensional than ever, and that's saying something. Here, he just cackles and shows off his lightning-empowered force abilities. He even says, "Do it!" in the comical way we all know. If you are going to make the ill-advised choice to bring Palpatine back, can you at least get him right?

What I can say in the movie's favor is the momentum. Though it may skip steps and is illogical at times, Abrams has a good sense of pace. He's always had that. He's a professional crowd-pleaser and knows how to make even mediocre productions watchable. Driver and Ridley also get the most mileage out of the material given to them. Less committed actors would've put this film in Attack of the Clones territory.

Where I should be contemplating the course of the saga and feeling both elation and sadness at the series coming to an end, I'm left with mild exhaustion and annoyance. For a universe with essentially limitless possibilities and an expansive lore, the lack of variety in the stories makes no sense. Not everything needs a Death Star (or something like it) and an emperor (or something like him). Please, Disney, let someone take a chance and reward them when they do.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (We've Seen Before)

Han Solo takes his cues from the classics. He’s one-part John Wayne, two parts Captain Blood, and a drop of James Cagney. Rather than solve his problems in a calm, rational manner, he’d rather whip out his blaster or crack a (somewhat cornball) one-liner about not understanding Princess Leia. His heart of gold, however, refuses to leave a lost cause alone.

More than that, he likes to improvise. Han revels in breaking the rules, going outside the box, and manages to work things out despite not hitting all the checkboxes when they’re supposed to be hit. This freewheeling essence, in theory, should be at heart of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Instead, Solo operates like a car (or spaceship) fresh off the assembly line. The engine runs smooth, the different mechanical parts work in the way they are supposed to, and there are no hiccups in the latest technology to ruin the experience. No problem, right? For a vehicle, sure. A movie, however, needs a little nuance and narrative invention.

That is nowhere to be found.

The Kasdans’ screenplay feels rote rather than robust. Ron Howard’s direction is distinctly uninspired. Given what appears to be his most well-remembered movie, A Beautiful Mind – which borrowed heavily from the film noir aesthetic and other Hollywood tropes – it should come as no surprise that he does the same with Solo and shamelessly.

The movie takes the worst quality of the Star Wars franchise – the strict adherence to the Joseph Campbell formula and the rehashing of plot points seen in old sci-fi films and westerns – and makes that the foundation. How many times have we seen the “destroy the Death Star” plot? At least four, perhaps more.

To be fair, Solo has its brighter moments. Almost all of them come from the cast. Alden Ehrenreich is not Harrison Ford, and it shows. He may not have the same charm, but he has enough to make him a passable Han Solo. Emilia Clarke, who plays Qi’ra, Solo’s love interest, puts in a solid performance. Woody Harrelson almost makes you forget that his character resembles every other on-screen bandit nearing their career’s end.

Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian puts them both to shame. The man possesses a particular set of skills; skills that make him and his abundant charisma an enjoyable watch whenever he appears on the screen.

Following another common theme in the Star Wars universe, the most colorful and interesting character is not a human. It’s a robot. L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) commands every scene she is in. She provides much-needed humor, energy, and personality. She could also teach Korg a thing or two about starting a revolution. Without her, the movie would be flatter than a tabletop.

The cast makes the movie watchable.

At the end of the day, Solo is what the Old Hollywood studios would call “harmless entertainment.” No attempts to convey a deeper message beyond the tale. A one-dimensional good-guy, bad-guy plot.

Pure escapism. 

Follow @WinBribach on twitter. 

Review: Episode VII Awakens New Life Into the Star Wars Franchise

I will start by saying that I have never been a Star Wars fanatic. No part of my childhood included pretending that Darth Vader was my father. In fact, I spent my time figuring out what links existed between any of the Godzilla movies, though now I cannot understand my obsession with the super-breath empowered dinosaur. Regardless, I have seen all of the Star Wars films and even played the LEGO Star Wars video game when it came out years ago, so I am very familiar with the world and the lore. That being said, however, I found myself highly skeptical of the praise surrounding The Force Awakens, as I am often reminded of the disastrous Episodes I, II, and III.

Abrams is right in his element with Star Wars.

Now, having seen the film, I must say that I was very surprised to find a little substance behind Disney's massive marketing mask. Actually, I will take it a step further. In some ways, Episode VII is the best movie to come out of the Star Wars franchise. The most important arena where this holds true is character development. I can remember this being the most disappointing aspect of the six previous installments in the pop culture staple. Thanks to the work of J.J Abrams, the driving force behind this sequel trilogy, Lawrence Kasdan, who helped make the original Star Wars what it was, and Michael Arndt, a relatively unknown writer with a Best Original Screenplay Oscar to his name. I'm convinced that this renewed devotion to the human side of the characters is due to the involvement of Arndt. Yes, he left before the product was finished, but his quality had to have influenced it.

The First Order, which has taken up where the Empire left off, has been given a very European look.

Anyway, as I was saying, the characters do not come across as stock heroes thrown into a mosh pit of sci-fi world made for nerdist worship. While there are plenty of those features and little asides to the old days depicted in the original three films, The Force Awakens spends more time on allowing the audience to truly connect to Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren, the want-to-be Darth Vader. They struggle, internally and externally, with who they are and what they are meant to do. The force calls to them or rips them up inside, leaving them to fight it out. Nothing is made easy for them. Rey is forced out of her element and she has find a way to thrive in the face of near-constant immediate danger. Finn rebels against the anonymity and lifelong conditioning of being a storm trooper, using Poe's capture as a means for an exit. Then there's Kylo Ren. He does not know what he wants to be. Darth Vader or the man his parents and mentor taught him to be.

Being a self-proclaimed critic, however, I have to find something to tear down. This film was made by J.J Abrams, who has been labeled a Star Wars "superfan." True to form, he made a movie that fans would love. Complete with visual references to Episode IV, V, and VI as well as new creatures and technology tailor-made for a killing in the merchandise sales, there is no question that the guiding hand was a fan fashioning out a labor of love. Also, this influence is clearly carried out in the plot, which seems to follow A New Hope just a little too closely. Some parallels and references would have been fine considering the franchise, but some of the story elements resemble Lucas's first installment more than they should. The new elements are great, especially how storm troopers are not merely addressed with stock anonymity. I'm just saying that maybe more originality could have been included in the plot. Then again, who am I to argue with the box office receipts?

Rey and Finn do not disappoint initiating the flagship roles for the sequel trilogy.

All things considered, The Force Awakens is exactly what the doctor ordered for Disney investment in Star Wars. It mixes the old and new in a way that opens up many avenues to exploration during the subsequent films. Not only that, Abrams has not forgotten the first rule of entertainment--don't be boring. Episode VII is nothing to snooze about.

How will these characters be expanded upon in Episode VIII?

The Star Wars Craze

If social media is an indication of what's going on with our society, then there is an epidemic going around. It's not necessarily deadly, unless people have gotten overzealous with their imaginations, and it's nothing that should concern a doctor, except maybe the amateur psychologist I'm sure everyone knows. More than anything, it's annoying...and it's everywhere--the Star Wars Craze.

Big celebrities these days.

Advertisement after advertisement, even highly unrelated ones, added to this malady. Instagram post after Instagram post feature Star Wars costumes and themes. Not to mention, your countless memes. For someone who chooses to remain level-headed and intelligent about the new update on what has become a cultural phenomenon, this is extremely bothersome. A massive number of people have bought into the marketing campaign set forth by Disney, who has a big stock in making sure this operation is promoted to every possible wallet. They've created an army with only one thing on its collective mind: Star Wars. To some, those two little words mean nostalgia. A little mental trip back to 1977, when hippies were still in style and dads like Red Forman were left dumbfounded by there children's behavior.

This says it all.

Of course, not everyone was around during those days. I certainly wasn't. However, the craze was inherited by following generations. Whether that was by parental prodding or curiosity over what the hell is the big deal will probably differ in each case. Whatever the reason, George Lucas managed to create a pop culture staple. Disney, the blood-sniffing money oriented shark of a studio, felt it was time to throw its hat into this influential and profitable ring. Also, they decided to make Lucas, already a billionaire, four billion dollars richer. While he's on easy street, Disney has to do all the work. So what do they do? Promote it more than any movie has ever been promoted and make sure it has the widest release (the most screens) in history (much to the chagrin of Quentin Tarantino). Also, they decided to throw in lots of kids' books, dime novelizations, animated TV shows, and whatever else they could think of. No wonder the cost to market Episode 7 was more than the actual cost of producing the movie. 

Old meets the new.

By doing this, Disney has succeeded massively in creating battalions of wallet owners who will march, like storm troopers, to the theaters. Ex-hippies, ex-hipsters, and ex-diaper dandies (meaning people of all ages) will drop loads of money into Disney's imperial coffers. These movies are probably the surest-fire profit makers Hollywood has ever seen. 

The masters of marketing and making back all of their money.

As one of those who's managed to stay free of this disease, I will hold judgement on the merits of the movie until I actually see it. The last time someone tried to add onto the series ended in disastrous but sadly profitable results.