Delusions of Grandeur - What I Liked About the Star Wars I Wanted

     After first seeing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I posted on Instagram that it was “everything I wanted it to be” and then I followed that with a few heart-eyed emojis to really sell my point. Well, a few years ago in my review of The Last Jedi, I touched upon how I’m pretty notorious for changing my mind on things, aaaaaaaand… that’s definitely the case with this latest installment. The Rise of Skywalker was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure it was everything I wanted.

     But just because something wasn’t what I wanted, doesn’t mean that it’s not any good! Who am I, after all? You can’t please everyone! Not getting what you want in a movie isn’t any reason to incessantly whine about it. Just move on to other movies that you DO like! I mean, I didn’t like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, but do I go on and on about how bad it was and how the absence of both Corey Feldman and Judith Hoag ultimately hurt the franchise??? 

Only some of the time!

     So rather than waste time going into everything I didn’t like about the movie I did see, I thought it would be more fun to talk about everything I liked about the movie I wanted to see! Think of it as a movie from an alternate reality where I get everything I want and nothing I don’t! Sounds fun, right? Yeah it does! 

Oh, and since I’ll be discussing things that didn’t happen in the actual movie… Spoiler Alert?

Let’s get weird!

Rose Tico

     So, first of all, I want to talk about just how much I loved the arc of Rose Tico. Here’s a character who over the course of two films went from a sad mechanic who isn’t good at “doing talking” to the literal voice of the Resistance! The inspirational speech she delivers to persuade the disillusioned Lando, and subsequently the rest of the fleet, is right up there with Captain America’s pep talk from Avengers: Endgame! If there was ever a perfect representation of the disenfranchised and downtrodden rising above the fray to make a legit difference, it’s Rose. She has no magical superpowers or extensive military background, but she’s persevered through adversity and remained consistently optimistic! And… well yeah. That’s all of it! Like Lando and everyone else, I’m here for Rose! 

The Knights of Ren

     In the original trilogy, (although not the Special Edition) famed space gangster Jabba the Hutt doesn’t appear but is briefly mentioned in the first two films. This planted a tiny seed in our imaginations over what this character could possibly be and is then paid off in the third installment with fantastic spectacle! The same is the case in this trilogy with the Knights of Ren. Episodes 7 and 8 left us speculating over who these characters actually were with only the briefest of mentions and I, for one, was pleased to see that they’re not just more faceless henchmen, but actual characters with individual traits! There’s the strong silent one, the wild card, and if it’s okay to make another Ninja Turtles reference, one of them even does machines! This inclusion of Luke’s renegade pupils makes for an interesting reversal of the whole master/apprentice thing that we’ve become so familiar with in Star Wars. Rather than empathizing with the Vader-like henchmen, it’s Supreme Leader Kylo whose struggle we’re interested in, making his right-hand followers an ultimate foil.

     Plus, but the casting is phenomenal! Winston Duke, Ben Foster, Awkwafina… Well… I don’t need to list them all. Just check out my International Movie Headcanon Database and see for yourself.

#Reypoe

     It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of moment, but at the end of The Last Jedi, there’s the smallest of sparks between Rey and Poe as they meet for the first time and I’m really glad that The Rise of Skywalker expanded on that further. Of course, I don’t think characters have to hook up with one another for a story to be good, but at the same time, it’s not a bad thing when it does happen. A relationship between Rey and Finn has, of course, been hinted at in the past, but the more his character is developed the more sense it makes for him and Rose to end up together. Then there’s Ben aka. Kylo Ren, who tried to read her mind against her will and then murder her. Not the healthiest of love stories.

     Then there’s Poe Dameron, a headstrong pilot who has some pretty big shoes to fill. Hey! Same as Rey! While she’s struggling with taking on the mantle of Luke Skywalker, Poe’s having a time of his own with the responsibility that comes with replacing Leia. I love how the two butt heads on multiple occasions but ultimately belong together as the only ones who bring out the best in one another. Poe never tries to hold Rey back or feel any need to be surpass her while Rey constantly keeps Poe’s ego as leader in check.

Plus, BB-8 kind of already belongs to both of them and I think that’s sweet.

Master Rey

     Speaking of Rey, she’s a full-fledged Jedi now! Not only that, but a self-made Jedi who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and figured things out on her own… the way she has her entire life. The Last Jedi does a great job at not only establishing that Rey comes from nowhere, but that that’s completely okay! It would have been really easy for J.J. Abrams and friends to back down on this concept and retcon her as a Kenobi, or a Palpatine, or whatever but I’m really glad they didn’t. They gave us a hero who is her own person and who realizes that the best way to live up to a legend is to not even try.

The Legend Lives On

     So, what is this legend anyways? What is it that is inspiring people from all walks of life to rise up and follow Rey? Episodes 7 and 8 have this sort of meta quality that I really like. Episode 7 had the impossible task of creating a villain comparable to Darth Vader and, as a result, the film gave us Kylo Ren, a villain who struggles to do that very thing. With Episode 8, we saw how these new characters had to rise above everything that happened in the past in order to succeed, the same way the Star Wars franchise, in general, must do. I think it’s fitting, then, that The Rise of Skywalker ties a nice little meta bow on the saga by dealing with the concept of what Star Wars… is! 

     What does Star Wars mean to people? What did the legend of Luke Skywalker mean to all of Rey’s new followers? The answer is different depending on who you ask. Ultimately, then, it’s not about what the legend is but about the impact it has. Maybe someone is a moisture farmer, or a former Stormtrooper. Maybe Star Wars is how you connect with a family member, or a group of friends. No matter where you come from or what walk of life, this is more than just a series of films or a handful of tales about some old Jedi. Star Wars is a bond… and it’s a bond that endures. Supreme Leader Kylo can lay waste to the galaxy. Internet trolls can straight up poison the fandom. Battles can be won and lost. Good and bad films can be made. Expectations can be met and also shattered. Come what may…the legend lives on. 

Star Wars lives on!

     One more quick thing. It was a little gratuitous, but the shot of Benicio del Toro’s character, DJ, rotting in a jail cell made me as happy as that moment in Ninja Turtles II when the turtles team up with Fugitoid to defeat the Triceratons.

Brought it back full circle. Nice.

Quite the fake-out putting Palpatine on this poster, amiright? ...okay, fine. I'll come back to reality. *sigh*