Is ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ Destined to be the Next Divisive Star Wars Film?
Annlyel James 
Annlyel explores the initial reactions to Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Remember two years ago when The Last Jedi arrived?. Remember the crash of fandom waves as people chose sides and battled online with their opinions on the movie’s various decisions and unsuspected surprises. And remember the direct consequence of The Last Jedi‘s divisiveness? Solo: A Star Wars Story, five months after The Last Jedi, would end up being the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time.
Well, the reactions to The Rise of Skywalker are in, and while these reactions are mostly positive there is a clear consensus, to some, that the movie could’ve been better. With a packed storyline crammed into 2 hours and 22 minutes, J.J Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio had to find a way to answer all of the questions of the Sequel Trilogy as well as conclude the entire saga in a meaningful and concise way. Sounds daunting right?
Well, it appears that the daunting task, to some, may have resulted in a film that would turn out to be more disappointing than anything else. But there’s also a huge swell of viewers who watched the film and were utterly blown away, as well, giving one hope that walking out of that movie theater the casual Star Wars fan will be thrilled. It also appears, after reading the various reactions, that J.J Abrams is trying to rekindle the Star Wars fandom by reversing decisions made in The Last Jedi. Some are even calling The Rise of Skywalker basically a direct sequel to The Force Awakens, which sounds like Abrams ignored the deeper, thought-provoking storyline of The Last Jedi to deliver a rowdy adventure that’ll numb the senses.
And I think that’s what Star Wars fans need right now. The Force Awakens was a GREAT film because it was simple and fun. The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t seem to be simple, but it does seem like it’s going to be a whole heck of a lot of fun, and that’s all Star Wars fans want. If you were hoping for a story more akin to The Last Jedi then I’m sure reading these reactions was probably disappointing, but for those of us who just want a thrill ride intermingled with fascinating twists and turns these reactions will make your day.
Let the fandom debating commence.
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Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
