Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has divided fans in a big way, and perhaps we shouldn't
be too surprised about that.
The final installment of the Skywalker saga hit theaters on Thursday, December 19th…
and since then, responses to the film have been pouring in across social media.
So far, professional critics haven't been particularly impressed by the movie - with
many reviewers arguing that the installment provides too much fan service and too little
substance.
Meanwhile, plenty of viewers have taken to Twitter to both praise and scorn the film.
Honestly, reactions have been all over the map.
Make no mistake: Plenty of diehard Star Wars fans stayed up late on Thursday night to catch
the premiere… and many of them had nothing but good things to say about the film.
One fan tweeted,
"I loved it.
For me, it provided perfect closure.
The acting, the effects, the action sequences... all brilliant.
I've loved Star Wars since the 80's and I was not let down by #RiseofSkywalker To all
those involved, from past to present...
I thank you."
At least one longtime fan of the franchise fully agreed with that assessment, writing,
"The Rise of Skywalker embodies everything I love about Star Wars, and it never skips
a beat.
A perfect ending to the Skywalker Saga.
Take it from a kid born in 1977, it's epic."
Another fan praised the lead performances and the direction in no uncertain terms, tweeting:
"J.J. Abrams did an incredible job.
I felt every second of this movie!
The acting is the best I've seen in Star Wars history.
[...] Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver killed it!"
Given the controversial reception of The Last Jedi in 2017, perhaps we shouldn't be too
shocked that some fans heaped praise on The Rise of Skywalker while totally bashing its
predecessor.
One such fan tweeted:
"Forget the bad reviews this is a blast!
J.J. Abrams managed to fix the [Rian] Johnson mess from the last movie and give a thrill
ride at the same time.
The fans will love it.
Great job!"
Adding fuel to the fire, another fan wrote that
"[The Rise of Skywalker is] a great movie and it's the best one out of the new trilogy.
The Last Jedi was a disaster of a movie and JJ Abrams did what he could to save the series."
Meanwhile, countless fans of the franchise were deeply disappointed by the film, and
they certainly didn't hold back when it came to voicing that displeasure.
One detractor tweeted, "After a 2nd viewing I can confidently say
that Star Wars IX: Rise of Skywalker BLOWS.
It's the perfect confluence of horrible pacing, uncomfortable close ups, terribly inconsistent
use of their own [canon], and forced Star Wars cliches ad nauseam."
Another viewer was similarly unimpressed, tweeting,
"Rise of Skywalker was absolutely terrible.
You could tell J.J. really tried, but it was a mess.
A sequel to a movie we never saw."
On the other hand, one fan seemed totally conflicted, tweeting:
"The Rise of Skywalker is the worst movie I have ever loved.
It was a dumpster fire of fanfiction tropes that made no sense.
There was no character development that made sense, there were no stakes.
It was a trash movie. But it was my trash."
Rest assured, plenty of big names shared their reactions, too - and those reactions run the
gamut from delight to disgust.
Fanboys director Kyle Newman was clearly satisfied with the film, writing:
"Advice to fellow #StarWars fans: Don't let the critics get you down!!!
Go have a [...] blast at the theater.
There are so many great things about #TheRiseOfSkywalker.
It's flawed but it's FUN.
And don't forget to bring that kid who lives inside you as your guest.
They'll dig it."
On the other hand, English writer, director, and actor Jack Howard tweeted that
"[The Rise of Skywalker] ends the new trilogy with a disappointing whimper.
It plays out like a fan film, back-peddling decisions in The Last Jedi in favour of connecting
dots to satisfy a specific group rather than tell an original story.
It feels like the series is at war with itself."
ESPN writer Ryan McGee revealed his own thoughts on the film, tweeting that,
"I haven't looked at the Tomatometer for #RiseofSkywalker because I legitimately don't care.
Took my daughter, like I have her whole life, and we laughed and cried and went 'Whoa!'
and had a helluva time.
Just like I did with my family 30+ years ago.
To me, that's the magic of it."
As we said, reactions are all over the place, and we don't expect the debates to die down anytime soon
. On the upside, at least The Rise of Skywalker has made us all stop talking about the "Maclunkey!"
debacle.
"Maclunkey!"
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