Winter break is the time to unwind from the chaotic mess that was the last 16 weeks of college madness. It’s the time to stuff yourself with home cooked meals, spend some quality time with family and enjoy the holiday season by having absolutely no responsibilities. And, apparently, it’s the time to binge the entire Star Wars saga.
The beauty of Star Wars can be seen in my efforts to convert my girlfriend from a slight hater to a die hard fan of the space epic. It took a few tries, sure, but once we got A New Hope done, it was a domino effect of falling in love with the story. It turns out Star Wars has the unique ability to pull in people over time, but also in a matter of a few short days. And what better way to end a Star Wars binge than to see the finale at its midnight premiere on a Thursday?
Especially when The Rise of Skywalker turned out as perfectly as it did.
Maybe it was watching the entire series together, maybe it was having Jar Jar Binks in the back of my memory, but this film has truly the best end in sight. It surpassed what I thought would be possible when tackling such a huge beast like the ending to Star Wars, or at least the story we’ve gotten up until this point.
J.J. Abrams took everything that wasn’t quite right from The Last Jedi and retconned it in ways to harken back to what he was trying to do in The Force Awakens. While The Last Jedi wasn’t a terrible movie by any means, it certainly had some disappointments and an anticlimactic aura. The Rise of Skywalker almost makes the movie irrelevant, but it turns out to be beneficial when it comes to giving Star Wars the ending it deserves.
The amount of fan service, Star Wars lore and nods to previous iterations of the story are insane, yet still placed into the plot with enough care to allow casual moviegoers to follow along. There’s a lot packed into this movie, yes, but it all feels right and necessary to the nature of the film. From tear-jerking heartbreak to incredible lightsaber duels, the film is a true definition of a cinematic spectacle done right.
The Rise of Skywalker is a once in a lifetime movie event that sees a saga that’s gone on longer than the MCU finally come to a close. It’s clear that everyone involved in this film, from writing to post production, did everything they could to give not only the new Star Wars trilogy, but the entire Star Wars saga, a proper ending. Not to mention, all the actors seem committed to conveying their characters and the end of this story, making it all flow even more naturally.
Complaints and nitpicks are inevitable. When something like this has gone on for as long as Star Wars has, you’re never going to be able to please everyone. But, it seems fair to say that The Rise of Skywalker did the absolute best job it could with the story that has come before it and the resources and time it was given. It’s hard to think up a better conclusion than what Abrams and his team gave the world.
If you weren’t the biggest fan of the film, give it a shot in true binge style. Take a day, maybe a few, put on some Star Wars pajamas and binge the series in all its glory. This way, all the callbacks and plot fulfillments can be noticed from this finale that is the true definition of a Star Wars movie.
Maybe you’ll even realize the prequel trilogy gets way more hate than it deserves while you’re at it.
Jackson Horvat is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Jackson by tweeting him at @horvatjackson.
