Review: The Rise of Skywalker is a wobbly but enjoyable conclusion to the saga

Even if you didn’t wake up this morning and read all the wildly divergent reviews, it’s no surprise that The Rise of Skywalker is divisive. There’s just too much baggage for it not to be, and what Star Wars project ever manages to please everyone?

And it’s true that it’s not a perfect movie. It plays things far too safe. It has more MacGuffins than any given Indiana Jones film. It’s not as good as either The Last Jedi or The Force Awakens. But I can say that I enjoyed it, and think it manages to hit most of the right beats. Not all of them, but most.

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Star Wars out this week: The Rise of Skywalker is just days away!

It’s movie week! The Rise of Skywalker will have the official premiere tonight in Hollywood, and debut throughout the rest of the world Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

But first up, let’s look at the comics that are dropping here in the U.S. on Wednesday, December 18. There’s The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 and Empire Ascendent from Marvel, plus Star Wars Adventures #29 from IDW.

Then in addition to the movie, Friday, December 20 brings Pablo Hidalgo’s The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary. We usually get the art book here as well, but The Art of Rise of Skywalker has been pushed back to spring.

Beyond Skywalker: What’s the future of Star Wars?

Kathleen Kennedy talks to the Los Angeles Times about what we can expect from Star Wars in the post-Rise of Skywalker world:

Kennedy said she plans to make key decisions about the direction of the franchise in the coming weeks. But some things she already knows. While the “Skywalker” saga is ending, the company won’t abandon the characters created in the most recent trilogy. Additionally, she said, the plan is to move beyond trilogies, which can be restricting.

“I think it gives us a more open-ended view of storytelling and doesn’t lock us into this three-act structure,” she said. “We’re not going to have some finite number and fit it into a box. We’re really going to let the story dictate that.”

Not too many detail details – although we do learn that Jon Kasdan has completed a pilot script for a Willow series – but some things to chew on.

A new Rise of Skywalker clip and other news

The Rise of Skywalker clip that debuted in Fortnite yesterday is basically what leads up to the “Jedi Mind Trick” bit from the commercials. This version is a little dark but you get the idea.

Also in this post: Victoria Mahoney writes on how she nabbed the second-unit directing gig, new TV spots, some interesting interviews and one question with the Late Show folks. Read on!

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Josh Gad is still after Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars secrets and more Rise of Skywalker news

The latest The Rise of Skywalker spot features a new shot of Leia – with Rose Tico, Dominic Monaghan’s Beaumont Kin and Snap Wexley in the background.


Josh Gad takes his pestering of Daisy Ridley full corporate with the help of a chorus line full of Disney stars – including Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk and even John Boyega – but she doesn’t break. Again.

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Kimmel’s Rise of Skywalker show set for Monday, the score (and titles) are out, and other news

Jimmy Kimmel’s traditional pre-Star Wars episode is getting the prime-time treatment for this round. Jimmy Kimmel Live After Darth: A Star Wars Special will air Monday, December 16 at 10:00 p.m. EST and feature J.J. Abrams and cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran and Keri Russell.


The Rise of Skywalker (Trailer #2)

Here’s what Disney wants awards voters to consider for The Rise of Skywalker.

SPOILER WARNING: Also up is John Williams’ score. While the link has no track titles, they were in the metadata and have been named elsewhere. There’s nothing quite on the level of ‘Qui-Gon’s Noble End’, but if you’re particularly spoiler-averse, please avoid all the usual suspects. (And I wouldn’t listen to the audio, either.) If you’re not, you probably don’t need me to say they’re on Reddit, but… They’re on Reddit. Thus endth anything that could be considered a spoiler.

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