Star Wars: Review III: Sequel Trilogy

STAR WARS

A +/- Review of the Sequel Trilogy

When Disney acquired LucasFilm and simultaneously announced the production of a trilogy of films to follow the events of Return of the Jedi, my reaction is best described as mixed. After completion of these films, that descriptor has not changed. The initial one might also have been called cautiously hopeful and that with each teaser and trailer, but in the end, my opinion has settled into recklessly apathetic. Regardless, as a rule, I have attempted to be careful for the purpose of this review to not play "they should have" with major points with the exception of timing and presentation. Also, I am unsure if their cohesiveness is actually the least or modern sensibilities have set that bar so high it just seems that way. The trilogy does contain several good visuals, some that do contribute in other ways, but none are discussed below. [Legend: OT: Original Trilogy, PT: Prequel Trilogy, ST: Sequel Trilogy, ANH: A New Hope, TESB: The Empire Strikes Back, ROTJ: Return of the Jedi, TPM: The Phantom Menace, AOTC: Attack of the Clones, ROTS: Revenge of the Sith, TFA: The Force Awakens, TLJ: The Last Jedi, TROS: The Rise of Skywalker]

The Force Awakens (Episode VII, 2015)

+Finn (FN-2187): The stormtrooper helmet has long been a recognizable symbol of the Star Wars franchise, but also caused strormtroopers to be only seen as the faceless soldiers of an evil regime in the OT. The PT continued this approach with clone troopers as briefly mentioned in my +/- Review of the PT. The character of FN-2187, a next gen of stormtrooper, has us audience ponder, "What if a stormtrooper did not want to be one?" It easily could have been followed with a "Who cares?" if not for John Boyega. In a single swoop, this concept adds a new dimension to the entire saga in that you might start wondering what's going on behind every helmet. I venture to guess that The Clone Wars series sparked the idea in individualizing the clones, as also mentioned prior.

+Rey's Raw Force: In parallel to Qui-Gon's first encounter with Anakin, Rey is powerful but untrained. A key indicating scene that occurs after Maz Kanata has informed her of her potential: she is able to resist Kylo Ren's Force probe and likely drew the knowledge out of Ren to use the Jedi Mind Trick moments later. It helps the audience understand how she could be left on a desert planet as a small child and survive.

+Han's Final Run: I believe it is widely known that Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo killed off during the OT, and leaving the character in carbonite at the conclusion of TESB was written in in case Ford did not return to the role. So, it is Ford finally got his wish and Han dies, in true Star Wars daddy issue fashion, at the hands of his son, Ben, who was then Kylo Ren. While some of the dialogue is ambiguous in meaning, the emotional depth is felt as it is clear Han was truly willing to do anything (after first mentoring both Finn and Rey like foster kids resulting in some of the best interactions in the film) to bring his son back to the light, and I like to think this is the first step for the very conflicted Kylo Ren/Ben towards it, but that may be reaching.

-Map to Skywalker: The concept of its MacGuffin, a second piece of a map, makes no sense, or at least was not fleshed out enough to make it so. It is never stated that anyone knows the name of Luke's location as Ahch-To. It comes off much more like a video game quest, great for a film like Ready Player One where that is the setting, but not so much for Star Wars. Also, if he was truly trying to exile himself, why leave evidence of a path at all? The map consists of a part which was evidently widely available through archives and the unique part which had been tracked down by Lor San Tekka, the fact of which is somehow then ascertained by the First Order. I might not feel so strongly if we knew his acquisition of this unique second map piece had been due to research similar to Luke's, and the pieces did not fit together like a literal puzzle in the visual.

-Star Wars: The Next Generation: While the PT features parallels of OT events (a couple of brief examples are the space battle that concludes each first episode and a Skywalker losing his right hand at the conclusion of each second), the film very much follows a checklist established by the OT: desert-dweller with Force potential (check), cute droid with important information to potentially save the galaxy (check), wise guide for the young heroes (check), Death Star III (check), and so on. This was my first impression, and while I have grown to see past it, it is still ever present. Or it was too on the nose and I cannot fully shake that first impression of a pale copy.

-Wasted Opportunity: No Map to Lando: Nearly all principle OT cast of surviving characters return if you can even count Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker. Yet, his five seconds equal more time than the glaring omission of Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. A Google search of why returns results that Williams said the character "just didn't fit into the storyline," and also he was not asked. I wonder if the two are related?

 

The Last Jedi (Episode VIII, 2017)

+Poe Dameron: Of course, the character had been introduced in TFA and is important to that story. But, if you have consumed much other Star Wars media beyond the films, you find most characters start with a basis of one of the OT characters, and you hope the creators do something unique with that base. Slightly different, Poe in TFA begins as maybe two parts Han and one part Luke as a basis, not that Oscar Isaacs does not make it his own. This film, and more specifically Leia, takes him on a personal journey of growth. We see him disobey even the beloved general, who eventually helps him see that effective leadership is important, especially with so much on the line. It sets up his character wonderfully to be the leader the Resistance ends up needing in TROS, while he humbly accepts he cannot do everything alone.

+Nobody Can Be Somebody: The film stays with this theme and it's a refreshing one for a saga that has had Skywalkers at the center of everything for 60 or so years of galactic events. The character of Rose Tico embodies the theme since she is a first as a character shown to not have amazing abilities (at least at first glance) but is good at the day-to-day grind. In fact, she is very much all heart and sees the galaxy at its heart, whether good or bad. So committed to the theme, the movie ends with a scene of one of the slave children that Finn and Rose had encountered in Canto Bight using the Force a bit to retrieve a broom and staring at the night sky. It is somewhat to a fault, though, as it contributes to the prolonging of Rey's parentage arc (see below) with the virtual red herring of Kylo Ren compelling Rey to admit, "They were nobody." After TROS, this could be viewed as he was exploiting her fears, but still misdirected the audience.

+Boldness: Many things that are in multiple Star Wars films could be viewed as either parallels and offshoots of galaxy-building or merely repetitious, depending on your point of view. This film certainly has some of those staples and, overall, is somewhat the pattern of the second films of the OT and PT, particularly TESB, not that that is an inherent issue. But, it also takes some chances to varying degrees of success, most of which are challenging how the audience views the Force. Examples include Rey and Kylo's Force dyad (named as such in TROS), Leia's Force-preservation to survive in space, Force-ghost Yoda's calling down of lightning, and Luke's Force-projection. The fact is, particularly with just the films, knowing exactly what abilities the Force can grant a user with has been merely skimmed over in the seven preceding films and it is sure to manifest differently in different individuals.

-One Step Too Far: The film rejoins Rey on Ahch-To at virtually the exact moment TFA ends with Rey handing Luke his father's lightsaber. He chunks it behind him after a few moments of consideration. I understand what may have been in mind is Luke tossing away his saber in ROTJ or even the legacy of Yoda's "Wars not make one great." I believe it is an attempt to impress the level of Luke's self-exile, but this choice undermines the weapon's symbolism, best expressed by Old Ben/Obi-Wan, "...an elegant weapon for a more civilized age..." TROS definitely attempted to dial this step back via Luke's Force ghost.

-Wasted Opportunity: Rey's Lineage: To be such an important motivation for the character, Rey's parentage was simply drawn out too long, from the retroactive point of view of the revelation of her lineage in TROS, of course. Had the reveal been near the beginning of this film or even at the conclusion of TFA, it could have been a much slower burn over the next two movies as Rey struggles with this identity.

-Wasted Opportunity: Heroic Sacrifice: I take no issue with Laura Dern's casting as Vice Admiral Holdo (I find her mouthing "pew pew" wonderfully childlike like the reports of Ewan McGregor on the set of TPM making lightsaber noises). I like the character as a whole. But, it is disrespectful to kill off Admiral Ackbar so cheaply, and then have her sacrifice herself and the Raddus (fun fact, named after the Mon Calamari admiral in Rogue One) to destroy the First Order's Supremacy instead.

The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX, 2019)

+Force Heal: Anyone who has played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel and/or probably a handful or so of other Star Wars video games is already familiar with this power. Ahead of this film, the seventh episode of The Mandalorian reminded audiences of its existence in the present canon. As explained by Rey, healing requires a transfer "of a bit of life, Force energy," inferring it is taken from the healer. The more severe the injury, the more transfer is required. The OT explains who the Jedi are, but the PT shows them at their height of hubris, leading to their fall. Discussion of the Jedi in the ST mostly circles around the fault in the Order, but that at their core, they serve others and what is right. Force healing is the embodiment of self-sacrifice and to see Rey take compassion on an animal shows us her true nature.

+First Order to Final Order: The OT established The Emperor as the scourge of the galaxy and gave a full face to it in ROTJ. The PT shows us the grandiose of his schemes, his diligence, and potentially most important, his contention plans as the character rises from senator to chancellor and then reorganizes the Republic to the Empire, all via his machinations. This meticulous planning included Order 66 that he had secretly instilled in the clones which begins the Jedi Purge when enacted in ROTS. The Emperor's own clone body and force casting that is his survival appears to be one of those contention plans, as well. The name, First Order, as the Empire's successor and then Final Order as its ultimate moniker, is a detail that almost makes Palpatine's return, or more accurately, that he was pulling the strings the entire time, conceivable.

+Rey Skywalker?: Upon my first viewing, I walked out of the theater unsure about Rey adopting the Skywalker name. However, I have come to appreciate this fact more. As alluded to above, the ST broke some conventions set by the PT to parallel the OT (perhaps a post for another time), but this conclusion of Rey's story is more parallel than copy. Rey (finally) discovers her lineage and it is Palpatine; evil is the period at the end of that sentence. With the Skywalker name, on the other hand, one can easily conclude Luke and Leia both had to come to terms with their father being Darth Vader. But that name also comes with the redemption of Anakin. Because they chose to see who she is, not where she came from, similar to how Luke refused to let his father's legacy end with Vader (Padmé the same) and Leia's belief in Ben, Rey feels she is more Skywalker than being nameless or Palpatine.

-Wasted Opportunities: Snoke and the Knights of Ren: Yes, Snoke died during the climax of TLJ, and this could very well have been a similar point for that film as the (near) death of Darth Maul is to TPM. The fact is the ST spent far too much time leaving mysteries open-ended, Snoke's origin is at least a second occurrence. After such a great voicing and performance capture by CGI character extraordinaire, Andy Serkis (other roles include Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy), to make Snoke the literal meat puppet of Palpatine just cheats the audience out of a potentially intriguing character. I have included the Knights of Ren, because TFA teased that they and Snoke may have been connected and again, my curiosity was piqued for origin and such, but the films never delved in.

-Pointless State of Shock: Did you know around three minutes of runtime passes between the "death" of Chewbacca and the reveal to the audience that he is in fact alive? If the point was to merely watch Rey experience her anguish, why have the brief moment at all? Clearly, the point is not to experience the anguish with her, because the reveal to the audience would not be so quick and before she senses he is alive. It is an indecisive direction or edit at best. At least the "scare" lasted longer with Poe in TFA? 

-Lazy Legacy: When creating media within a well-established and beloved franchise, legacy only gets one in the door. It can be freeing to be able to skip a lot of world-building and such, but too much reliance on previous emotional connections is lazy. The whole ST has these little moments with new characters, but the worst is Ben Solo's redemption and rejection of his dark side persona of Kylo Ren, presuming we the audience will care about it as much as Anakin's, which actually showed its work. I try not to judge too harshly with Carrie Fisher's passing and how Harrison Ford returning as Ben's memory of Han Solo for the moment is the best tribute to the actress a Star Wars fan could ask for. But it cannot be denied the redemption arc feels rushed, only showing his conflict at a few turns and never showing or even talking about who Ben was before. The overall feel is it is following the formula. Even without Anakin's character development in the PT, the OT did it better with Vader.

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