Rise of Skywalker: My Hypocrisy!

Several posts ago, I indicated that I would not go and see The Rise of Skywalker.  I did not wish to give any of my income to Disney given:

1. The company has become little more than another global monopoly
2. I don't really care for what they've done with the last three Star Wars movies.

Now, I must admit that I have succumbed to hypocrisy.  Last night, at the invitation of some friends, I went to see the film.  I went more out of sheer curiosity - could this thing be as bad as everyone has been saying?  Could it be as good as others have been saying?  I capitulated to the temptation, gave Disney my moolah and proceeded to watch the show.

First of all, many of the complaints that have been directed at this film were evident:

• It moves incredibly fast from one backdrop (usually some planet / world) to another.
• There is little regard for time continuity - characters seem to appear almost out of nowhere in scenes where they were far away from the action.
• The scenes with Carrie Fisher were a bit forced and it was difficult to suspend disbelief with the knowledge that these were outtakes from The Last Jedi.
• Strictly speaking, story canon is violated and there are plot holes all over the place.
• Storm Troopers continue to be the most incompetent soldiers ever conceived!
• Economics and physics clearly don't exist in this fantasy universe (ex: the creation of Palpatine's "cut and paste" fleet of Star Destroyers).  Again, this made suspension of disbelief difficult. I had to keep telling myself that this is not "science fiction" but "science fantasy".
• How can people stand on the outside of space ships that are high up in the atmosphere and still breath the air?  How do they not freeze to death?!  Suspension of disbelief... Science fantasy...
• Bringing back Emperor Palpatine is awkward.  While Ian McDiarmid is a wonderful actor and does a great job with this iconic character, it is difficult to suspend disbelief that this character actually survived the events of Return of the Jedi.  It felt like Palpatine had become just a clone of Voldemort from Harry Potter.

Secondly, there were some positives:

• While the pacing of the movie is insane (I tend to prefer slower, more "Kubrickian"-style movies), there wasn't a dull moment in The Rise of Skywalker.  The 2.5 hour running time did go by quickly.
• Despite the character of Rey appropriating the Skywalker name at the end of the movie, this really didn't bother me.  I saw it more as a repudiation of her Palpatine bloodline than a swipe at the canonical legacy of Anakin Skywalker.  It might have been an interesting twist if the story would have involved Rey sacrificing herself and Ben Solo returning to Tatooine at the end as the true "Rise of Skywalker".
• The special effects, per usual ILM standards were excellent (but could at times make it difficult to suspend disbelief - see my previous comments).
• I thought that, overall, J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Chris Terrio did what they could to pull together plot threads that were left mangled after the events of The Last Jedi.  Yeah, writing is hard!

Some final thoughts...

Like many other people that have commented on this film, I liked it but I have lots of problems with it due to things that distracted my attention while I was trying to watch it.  I kept finding myself looking for plot holes or trying to make sense of how the fast-paced events related back to previous movies.  Despite this, I find the film to be both good and bad simultaneously.

Did I find it very entertaining?  I have to say yes - despite it's flaws it is entertaining (time flew by and I wasn't bored).  Is this a great film?  No, it is not.  Just too many hard to believe events and scenarios  Would I see it again?  Not in a theatre.  I'll likely give it another go once it's available for streaming.

While watching the film, I simply kept telling myself, "It's just a movie!"  I had a fun evening out with some friends.  And, while I'm a hypocrite for seeing this film in first run (which I stated I would not do), I am actually glad that I did as I've seen each of these films in their first run since 1977.

I'm glad that's over...