Happy New Year and welcome back fellow readers to the movie review column, Cinema Perception. In this column, I write about a notable film that recently came out, discuss its pros and cons, as well as provide my overall recommendation of the film. Preferred films will be at the end of this review in regard to the selected genre. To those wondering if there are any spoilers in this column, I can assure you that there are none. If there are, they will only be minor, but nothing major regarding the plot. Although this is only a critical review of a selected film, I definitely recommend that everyone sees the actual film in order to gather a different perspective. After all, with great knowledge comes great responsibility. So sit back and relax as I tell you my highlights. For this issue, I will review the ninth episode of Star Wars.
“The Rise of Skywalker,” the latest Star Wars film, carried with it memorable moments that put average fans of the Skywalker saga in astonishment and awe. For example, I was moved when witnessing Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, hugged Leia, who is played by Carrie Fisher. Though I cannot spoil anything, there were other notable actors that stood out within the film. After I saw the film in its entirety, I felt that it carried a certain appeal to allow Star Wars fans to crave more excitement and nostalgia. Another positive that the film had with it was special effects. For instance, I was blown away at the amount of detail presented within the film, particularly the action scenes.
Despite its theatrics and grandeur of special effects, I believe that the film had more faults than true successes. For starters, the last episode to the Skywalker saga did not correlate properly from the previous films. Part of the reason might have to do with public criticism from “The Last Jedi.” Due to negative feedback and the sudden loss of Carrie Fisher in 2016, “The Rise of Skywalker’s” plot changed in order to reconnect with lost nostalgia. Another issue of the last episode — spoiler alert to those who did not see the trailer — was the return of Darth Sidious. I felt that Sidious should not have been the villain in episode IX since there was not enough backstory to properly bring back a well-known villain. Snoke, on the other hand, was the proper villain for this film because of his darker appearance and mystique. In addition, there were several plot holes that were not filled in this final episode. There was one scene where I had to ponder what Finn was trying to say to Rey, but as the next scene came about, Finn’s question went unresolved. The last problem this film had for me was the major lack of action. Though there were lightsaber duels and dogfights in the film, I felt annoyed that there were not enough combat action scenes involved in the climax. In my opinion, episode IX had no sense of imagination.
Out of all of the episodes that I had witnessed, episode IX did not live up to my expectations as a true successor to Lucas’s original episodes, despite having special effects, a well-known cast list and its nostalgic lore. With plot holes, lack of action scenes and the return of a known villain leaves the average fan to feel conflicted about where the Star Wars film franchise is going. Though I enjoyed the film’s ending, I felt its plot did not hit the mark. True fans to the Star Wars saga would be disappointed at the lack of creativity that the film had brought out. Overall, I personally recommend to fans and newcomers the original saga of “Star Wars.” If unsatisfied, I also suggest “Star Trek.” For those that have thoughts or comments about the film’s review, feel free to email at my WCU email for your deep insight about the film. Until the next issue of The Quad newspaper, this is Nicholas Bartelmo signing off from Cinema Perception.
Nicholas Bartelmo is a fifth-year student majoring in history. NB790429@wcupa.edu.