Hello, everyone!!!
I saw
STAR WARS IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) the other day!!! Aaaahhhhh!!! You read about
my thoughts on the trailer, and, now I am here to review it. I've only seen it once and I was way to excited to take notes, so please excuse my paraphrasing for quotes. But, first things first:
My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.
This review is 100% SPOILER-FREE! There are no spoilers here at all. For any of you who are wondering, "What do
you mean by spoiler-free, MovieCritic?" It means that in this review all of the wonderful surprises that are in the movie are still intact and not mentioned here. I just give a plot summary (like a trailer or on the back of a DVD [except spoiler-free]), who plays who in the cast (I exclude anyone who is a surprise), and tell you what content it has, meaning things that could disturb people. I just want to make sure that we are all on the same page.
Secondly, I don't blame any of you at all if you decide to read this after you have already seen it even though there are no spoilers. I was so worried about spoilers everywhere that I avoided the internet (not counting my email and school things) and I didn't even want to know if my sister's friend liked it or not. Haha, I'm a bit extreme, but it is my favorite movie series. So I completely relate to you if you do the same thing. I hope that this review is helpful to anyone who is not sure if they want to see it because they are wary about any possible content.
Third, I am sorry that I have such a long intro, but this is a very important bit. If you haven't seen any
STAR WARS movies, it is so, so, so, so, so, so important that you see them in this order:
IV: A New Hope (1977),
V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), VI: Return of the Jedi (1983),
I: The Phantom Menace (1999), II: Attack of the Clones (2002), III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), VII: The Force Awakens (2015), VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), and
IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Please do this and don't follow the numbers, because there are so many wonderful surprises that you don't want them ruined!
Now, getting down to business, I hope that you enjoy my spoiler-free review!
STAR WARS IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019):
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
Kylo Ren is looking for Sith lords of the past, searching for the entrance to the Sith domain. Our rebels have found a base and Rey is continuing her training. When a mysterious message is heard, Rey must journey with Finn, Poe, Chewy, and droids to find a hidden clue that could show them the way to defeat the evil in the galaxy. Can they rise to overthrow something so huge?
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action.
Length: approx. 145 minutes.
Costumes: 8, the costumes are all very suitable, but nothing super fancy.
Script: 8, a few bad words.
"Don't be afraid of who you are."
Crew:
Directed by: J. J. Abrams.
Written by: J. J. Abrams, Chris Terrio, Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, & George Lucas.
Starring:
Daisy Ridley as Rey.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren.
Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa.
Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron.
John Boyega as Finn.
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO.
Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca.
Naomi Ackie as Jannah.
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.
Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux.
Richard E. Grant as General Pryde.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico.
Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata.
Keri Russell as Zorii.
Greg Grunberg as Snap Wexley.
Shirley Henderson as Babu Frik.
Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix.
Dominic Monaghan as Beaumont.
J.J. Abrams as D-O (voice).
Josefine Irrera Jackson as Young Rey.
Cailey Fleming as Young Rey.
Annie Firbank as Tatooine Elder.
Cinematography: 9, there are a some really neat shots in here! Wow!
Cinematography by: Dan Mindel.
Music: 10!!! I love it!!!!
Music by: John Williams!
Notes: There are some references to the Sci-Fi book
Dune - by Frank Herbert which both my parents and I spotted.
Quotes: 8, once again, please forgive my paraphrasing.
"They win only by making us think that we are alone."
Oscars won: N/A.
Content: 7, explosions, fighting, killing, death, a suggestive thing, and a graphic death. Some themes in here are healing, rebirth, and sacrifice, which might be weird to some people, but I thought that they did a really good job on that bit.
Originality: 10, it is so neat how they tie in the other STAR WARS movies as well as other themes and messages. I would never have thought of it, but it was a perfect finale.
Good For: STAR WARS fans, anyone who is finding themselves.
Age Range: This movie is rated PG-13 for a lot of violence in fighting and explosions. Because of that, I would say it depends on each person's tolerance level, but it would probably be fine for a lot of 10 year olds, even.
Overall Score: 8.5!
Bonus thoughts:
What do I even think? Man, ever since I saw it my head has been in a crazy whirl. I needed to think about it before I could even say if I liked it or not. When my family asked me about it I said, "I don't even know." After all of this thought, what did I come up with?
I liked it. To me, and my family, it was the only ending that could have been the end this epic saga. Something that I was hoping to happen did, which pleased me greatly. There were a lot of plot holes, but I still enjoyed it and am willing to overlook all of those
except for the one very impossible thing. STAR WARS is one of my favorite things, and seeing it come to an end is very bittersweet. My mom keeps saying that in another 20 years there will be more, and that is probably true. I am so attached to all of these characters, they are so relatable and I find myself asking the same questions that they do. Another bittersweet bit was the fact that Carrie Fisher is in it. I was so surprised about how many scenes they filmed before she passed away, and I shed a few tears there
and through the entire thing. Also that Peter Mayhew passed away this year. Can I tell you how happy I am that Lando was there?? He is one of my favorites. Though, there was one character who there was not nearly enough of...
Now, some people might not like this, and that's okay. I loved what they brought in and used. The only thing is a pretty huge plot hole around a big point and while it was creative, and I would never have expected it, I am still very confused. To me this one doesn't beat
A New Hope or
The Last Jedi (which are my two favorites), but it is still very high on the list. I'll probably go see it again in theaters, and that is something that I never do, but it means that much to me.
I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas! I meant to have this review up sooner, but as I said, I couldn't decide of what I thought about it! Have you seen this? Let me know your thoughts on
STAR WARS because I would love to discuss it with you!
Thanks for reading, and as always,
"May the force be with you."
MovieCritic