Second Look - Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

Note: This review contains spoilers for the Star Wars Skywalker Saga and Avengers: Endgame.

As the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy went on, though I noticed some issues with it, I made the choice to reserve my judgement on the trilogy as a whole until the release of the final part, The Rise of Skywalker, cautiously optimistic that it might make the journey worth it as Revenge of the Sith did for the prequels. Unfortunately, The Rise of Skywalker proved what happens when you devote yourself to a trilogy without a solid outline, dragging down the entire trilogy as a result. This eventually led me to reevaluate the trilogy with the context provided by The Rise of Skywalker, though it wouldn’t be fair to go through said reevaluation without looking at the third part again, which I have not seen since the original theatrical release in 2019. Upon a second viewing, my opinion didn’t change all that much, and in fact it may have lowered a little bit.

Second Look - Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Note: This review contains spoilers for the Star Wars Skywalker Saga.

Among the films in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi easily proved the most contentious when it first released in 2017. While critics clearly loved it, as reflected in the Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% at the time of this writing, audiences felt mixed. Some liked the bold choices made throughout the film while others disliked certain plot and character developments. Personally, when I first saw The Last Jedi in a theater, I had mixed feelings on what this film did, but I didn’t fully hate it because I had given the then-unfinished Sequel Trilogy the benefit of the doubt. With this trilogy now long-since completed, I went back and reevaluated my feelings on The Last Jedi, since I now had the full context. Unfortunately, placing this film within that context doesn’t really do it any favors.

Second Look - Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Note: This review contains spoilers for the Star Wars Skywalker Saga.

Between The Walt Disney Company’s acquisitions of Marvel and 20^th Century Fox, the company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, and with it came the announcement of a new trilogy of Star Wars films, collectively referred to as the Sequel Trilogy for taking place after the Original Trilogy. The announcement of the first film, The Force Awakens, naturally generated an amount of hype not seen since the Prequel Trilogy to the point where I saw the film opening weekend and enjoyed it on my first viewing. The further away I got from this first experience, however, the more problems I began to see with it on subsequent viewings, to where I wanted to reevaluate it following the trilogy’s lackluster conclusion. While The Force Awakens did do some things right, it’s not nearly as good as I once thought it was.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Note: This review contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Three years after Attack of the Clones, the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy came to a close with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005, notably the first PG-13 film in the series. Even though I didn’t watch this film very much after its original theatrical release, I remembered its general events the most even over a decade later. To complete our re-evaluation of the Prequel Trilogy, we watched the 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon to help bridge the gap from Attack of the Clones, then watched Revenge of the Sith through the original 2005 DVD release, which features one minor editing change from the theatrical release (two wipes are replaced with straight cuts). While this doesn’t rise to the same heights as the Original Trilogy, it represents a significant improvement over the other Prequel films and is the most memorable and entertaining, even enjoyable.

Second Look - Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) and the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy.

In the time between the releases of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, a series of animated shorts was produced to help bridge the gap between them, under the title of Star Wars: Clone Wars, directed by Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack fame. The series was originally two Seasons of 10 episodes each, each lasting 3-5 minutes, however positive reception led George Lucas to commission a third Season consisting of five episodes lasting 12-15 minutes, with the intent of providing a direct lead-in to Revenge of the Sith. The series was later compiled into two hour-long features spread across two DVD volumes, the first compiling Chapters 1-20 and the second Chapters 21-25, however this would later be superseded by the 2008 series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and even declared part of the non-canon Legends continuity by Disney following their purchase of Lucasfilm.

Having grown up watching Samurai Jack when this series first came out, and being caught up in the Prequel Trilogy hype at the time, I made sure to catch every episode as they came on, even the very short ones, and the strong animation and character writing never failed to disappoint. I even got the two DVDs as they came out, which has since made it much easier to re-watch the series over the years even without the context of the trilogy it was based on. Despite this series being officially designated non-canon material, I choose to pretend it still is for reasons that will become evident. While going through a re-evaluation of the Prequel Trilogy, however, I decided it would be good idea to revisit this series again in between Episode II and Episode III. While my general positive opinion of the series hasn’t changed much, I must admit I got a lot more out of it with the full context of the Prequel Trilogy’s events.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Note: This review contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and The Mandalorian.

Following the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, the Prequel Trilogy continued in 2002 with the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, furthering the story of Anakin Skywalker. While I did see this movie in the theater when it first premiered, I will admit to have sparsely seen it since then, in part due to the overall negative reputation the Prequels had at the time, though I will also admit further to not fully paying attention to the story since I was young when I first saw it. As part of our re-evaluation of the Prequel Trilogy, I rewatched Attack of the Clones through the original 2002 DVD release, which features the most minimal changes compared to the original theatrical cut of the movie. While my opinion on the movie has overall improved since my initial viewing, my feelings on it are still a bit mixed.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Note: This review contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. 

For at least a decade, the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy maintained a mostly negative reception from fans and critics due to a perceived lack of quality compared to the Original Trilogy. We also held this viewpoint once the Prequel Trilogy ended in 2005 with Revenge of the Sith, at least until we saw the truly disastrous results of the Sequel Trilogy. After The Rise of Skywalker failed to address many of the Sequel Trilogy’s mounting flaws and exposed its lack of any solid direction, we decided that although we had skipped the Prequel Trilogy in our initial buildup to The Force Awakens, it might be worth looking back and re-evaluating our opinion.

Naturally, we begin with Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Though this entry is the most infamous due to the hype surrounding its initial release and pretty much everything that could be said about its low quality has already been said, lack of input from anyone but George Lucas notwithstanding, this won’t stop us from voicing our opinion anyway. As for my own personal history with this film, I distinctly remember watching it in the theater when I was six and liking it, though admittedly I didn’t pay close attention to the plot and a subsequent viewing lowered my opinion. Now, as an adult viewing it with essentially fresh eyes through the 2001 DVD release, which features very minimal changes from the original theatrical cut, I have to agree that the film is indeed bad, but I didn’t find it quite as bad as I had thought.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Note: The following review contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

As per Disney’s current Star Wars schedule, The Last Jedi, the heavily anticipated follow-up to 2015’s The Force Awakens, has hit theaters. In an interesting turn of events, The Last Jedi was written and directed by Rian Johnson as opposed to J.J. Abrams, although the latter will return to direct the still-unnamed Episode IX. In honor of this blog’s seventh anniversary, and the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, here are our thoughts on whether or not Episode VIII could live up to the expectations set by Episode VII, based on a viewing at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in 3D.

As of The Force Awakens, the First Order has assumed control over the galaxy and the rebellion, led by Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), is on the run. As they try to plan an escape and an opportunity to regroup, Rey (Daisy Ridley) has met up with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to try and convince him to help the rebels in their efforts. Meanwhile, the First Order’s Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is emotionally conflicted about himself and his place in the Order.

From there we hit spoiler territory, which we will avoid for now for the sake of those who have yet to see this film. What I can say is that the story makes some very bold choices with its plot that seem to hit and miss, as well as create a number of plot holes. The film makes a strong effort to largely ignore Episodes I-III, most noticeably ditching the concept of midi-chlorians in favor of restoring the spiritual context of the Jedi Order and the concept of the Force. While this certainly works in the film’s favor, there are certain plot points that seem pretty contrived or mess with the continuity by cutting off threads dangling from The Force Awakens that didn’t have time to fully develop. To consider the aforementioned bold choices understandably divisive would be enough to say without going into a more spoiler-ridden play-by-play.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has a much larger role this time around.

With that out of the way, the acting is superb. Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and John Boyega deliver improved performances this time around, as they seem to be getting more comfortable in their respective roles as Rey, Kylo Ren and Finn. Mark Hamill does an excellent job in his portrayal of Luke Skywalker, a character given a suspenseful air of mystery in the ending of The Force Awakens. His interactions with both the older and newer cast show that he can still play the part well after all this time.

Perhaps the most notable cast member is Carrie Fisher, who managed to film all of her scenes for this film before her untimely death. While it remains to be seen how the role of Leia Organa will affect the franchise going forward, Fisher gave an emotionally powerful performance that suited the state of her character. She is given an appropriate dedication during the end credits.

Apart from the acting, the action was very engaging, including the inevitable lightsaber fights, and the special effects were well-done. The use of CG felt downplayed outside of the space battles and the practical effects, including one very surprising application, helped make each world more immersive. The lighting was also very effective in setting the mood or tying with the emotional core of certain scenes. In the case of our viewing, the 3D was also used to great effect. However, we would like to note that the color red, which is featured prominently on the theatrical poster, is also used prominently throughout the film.

The adorable Porgs fit in very well with the Star Wars universe.

In spite of its numerous plot holes and bold plot developments, The Last Jedi is a good movie. It’s not bad like the Prequel Trilogy, but it feels more like the Sequel Trilogy’s equivalent to Return of the Jedi (1983). There are some good emotionally powerful moments and the plot is engaging with some great action and special effects. You may or may not want to watch it again right away, but it’s still worth watching at least once, especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars.