The latest in the Star Wars saga is a strange one. On the one hand I enjoyed it as a generic Star Wars movie, on the other it is deeply, deeply flawed. It reminded me of Avengers: Endgame in the sense that the spectacle was impressive, and it did have plenty of enjoyable sequences; but, in the end, it was more spectacle than substance. Like the prequels, I got the sense that there was a decent movie in there waiting to get out, but, in this case, it was smothered by fanservice.
Of course we’re dealing with Star Wars here, and, if cinemas full of 9 and 10 year olds around the world are happy, then mission accomplished. Star Wars is not Tarkovsky, and that’s fine. But still, I expected better.
None of this is to criticise the cast and crew who do a great job. It is to criticise JJ and his producers who have turned in, effectively, ultra-safe, corporate fanfiction. Coming after the thing of wonder that was The Last Jedi, that’s a shame.
Martin Scorcese recently made comments, deemed controversial by some, about Marvel movies and franchise movies. Writing in the New York Times, he said:
What’s not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes.
They are sequels in name but they are remakes in spirit, and everything in them is officially sanctioned because it can’t really be any other way. That’s the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they’re ready for consumption.
That’s pretty much my overriding thought about The Rise of Skywalker. Maybe I’m overthinking it 🙂
So, following my look at all of the films in December 2017, I would now say:
- Best of the original trilogy: Star Wars
- Best of the prequels: Attack of the Clones
- Best of the new trilogy: The Last Jedi
- Most frequently on our Blu-Ray: Rogue One
Were I to pick three of those for a desert island, they would be Star Wars, The Last Jedi and Rogue One.
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