In case this is your first visit to my blog, I don't treat Star Wars movies, television shows, or books the same way I treat other titles. Because Star Wars is such a vital part of my childhood and seems to have become part of my DNA now, I tend avoid breaking down the artistic merits of the content. I focus more on the feelings each story generates in my soul.
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If I were to use one word to sum up each of the installments of the final trilogy of the Skywalker saga, it would be something like this...
The Force Awakens - Nostalgic
Not only did this movie return my childhood to me with one line, "The garbage will do" , followed by a shot of a beat up YT-1300 Corellian light freighter, it built a wonderful bridge between my then 8-year-old daughter and myself.
The Last Jedi - Annoyed
I still cannot believe how terrible this movie was. Thanks to the completely useless 45-minute long casino planet scene, I nearly chose the word "insulted" for this installment. After seeing The Rise of Skywalker it is even more clear that this movie was completely useless. One 22 minute long television show would have been enough to fit in the parts of this movie that actually mattered in the overall story.
The Rise of Skywalker - Entertained
This movie had one goal: pander to fans of all ages... and that is not a bad goal at all. This is a popcorn movie plain and simple. And that is enough. This film is a nothing more than a vehicle for space battles, land battles, and battles on spaceships that are now in the ocean. You know... FUN.
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Lightsabers blaze and old friends get to complete their stories. Some new friends get introduced... for some unknown reason... and my wife cried. My 14-year-old son and I pumped our fists as ships exploded and elbowed each other every time either one of us picked up on an Easter egg. My 12-year-old daughter cooed at cute aliens and did not have to ask "what's going on" even once.
We were all entertained... because all of us used our child brains that still believe in wizards, heroes, heroines, and Wookies.
Although I would have changed MANY scenes, The Rise of Skywalker was just good enough to fill my family with joy. At some point, when I'm not afraid of revealing any spoilers, I'll write more about this. But for now, some family joy is good enough for me.