- [Dan] The first reactions to
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" are here
and it's a mixed bag.
After 40 years and three trilogies of "Star Wars" films,
the Skywalker saga has officially come to a close.
At least for those who saw the movie at Monday's
red carpet premiere in Hollywood, Californ-I-A.
I can't believe they made me say that.
And those lucky few have shared their reactions
on the internet.
So we're here to break down those initial impressions
into the good and the not-so-good because, boy oh boy,
who woulda guessed a "Star Wars" movie,
people have thoughts!
Now since these are just reactions,
we're gonna keep this as spoiler-free as humanly possible,
but if they very thought of knowing if someone liked
or disliked a movie is something you consider to be
a spoiler, then godspeed in life.
And also, our hearts go out to you
because the road until the movie releases on Friday
is gonna be a rough one.
Honestly, stay off the internet if you're worried about it.
(hiss)
So, what did the people thing?
Did "The Rise of Skywalker," well, rise to the occasion?
Well, the reactions placed it all across the boards.
Some folks thought it was the best "Star Wars" movie ever!
Some thought it really had too much goin' on,
didn't quite stick the landing.
Definitely didn't Keri-Strug it.
Divisiveness in reaction to a "Star Wars" film,
I know, seems wild but here we are.
40 years later, still doin' it.
Well, let's start things off on the positive end
of the spectrum with one of director J.J. Abrams' peers,
filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
She's no stranger to "Star Wars" herself.
J.J. consulted her for "The Force Awakens"
and her reaction to the film was a concise "Wow!"
Well, as Bill Shakesman once said,
"Brevity is the soul of wit,"
and yes, that was his nickname amongst friends,
just ask Marlowe.
Mashable's Angie J. Han had this to say,
"'The Rise of Skywalker' is, um, a lot!
"Tons to love here, no shortage of crowd-pleasing
"moments and twists and cameos, but also quite a bit
"to thinking emoji.
"some faves: Jannah heart emoji, D-0 heart emoji,
"Finn of course heart emoji, and what a lovely send-off
"for our General Leia hearts emoji, rocket ship emoji,
"shooting star emoji."
Sorry again to the poor intern who had to transcribe
those emojis because they don't show up in the teleprompter.
Slash Films' Peter Sciretta offered even more hope
for "Star Wars" fans.
"'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' reaction:
"J.J. Abrams nailed it.
"He was able to bring a cohesive arc to this trilogy
"that feels like a fitting end to the saga as a whole.
"I'm so emotionally drained.
"'Star Wars' fans will be very happy."
Now far be it for us to argue on the internet
but will "Star Wars" fans ever be truly happy?
- Maybe.
- Depends on which kind of "Star Wars" fan you are.
Film writer Yolanda Machado said,
"So I'm not too surprised and at times I felt too much
"fan service was given, but 'The Rise of Skywalker'
"is everything and nothing that you're expecting.
"So I guess what my immediate reaction is:
"God I love this franchise
"and I'll miss the Skywalker saga."
Fandango's Eric Davis,
"Epic.
"All of it.
"'The Rise of Skywalker' is a terrific finale that is
"just stuffed with so much of everything.
"Action, adventure, answers, humor, heart, love and grit.
"I spent the entire second half with tears in my eyes,
"a wonderful way to end the Skywalker story."
And best-selling author Roxane Gay had this to say,
"I really enjoyed 'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.'
"It offered a very satisfying conclusion
"to a 9-movie narrative arc.
"The strongest of the last trilogy.
"A few silly parts but overall, a damn good movie.
"Adam Driver was excellent.
"Better than he had to be.
"Fans won't be disappointed."
Now there must be balance in The Force
because among all of that lavish praise,
there were also those who voiced their misgivings
about the movie.
Such as Cinema Blend's Eric Eisenberg who said,
"There is good in 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.'
"But there is more that is disappointing.
"There are a number of choices that just don't track,
"fan service that doesn't work, and ignored details
"that are missed.
"I'm bummed."
IO9's Germain Lussier had this to say,
an enigmatic reaction, if you will,
"'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' has everything
"you want and more.
"Which I don't necessarily think is a good thing.
"I loved parts, I didn't love others,
"and I'm leaving the theater
"very, very conflicted about it."
And IGN's Terri Schwartz said,
"I've seen 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.'
"It's a lot.
"There's a lot I like and some I loved
"but overall my feelings are pretty mixed.
"It felt like an apology for 'The Last Jedi' in some ways
"and a sequel to 'The Force Awakens' in many,
"which I found frustrating."
And these sentiments about the film being a sort of,
atonement for "The Last Jedi" seem to be a through line
in many reactions.
Vanity Fair's Joanna Robinson said,
"If you loved 'The Last Jedi,' I have some bad news for you.
"If you didn't, then you might be pretty stoked.
"Shrug emoji."
The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan put it like this,
"'Rise of Skywalker' could only have been ruder
"to Rian Johnson if they had motion-smoothed it."
Yikes!
That is savage, my friend.
And just a reminder to everyone out there,
turn off motion smoothing on your family's TVs
when you go to visit for the holidays.
It'll truly be the best gift
you could possibly give them and yourself.
And some fella named Dan Casey--love that guy--
posted his reaction to Twitter.
What a handsome fella, and his tweet said,
"All I can say is 'wow.'
"'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' is many things:
"horrifying, hopeful, violent, low-key horny,
"and full of the right kind of fan service.
"But most of all, it's a fitting ending
"for this incredible, 40+ year-long saga."
Wow!
What an insightful young man.
Man, I really hope we hear more from that guy in the future.
Now, all in all, these first reactions to
"The Rise of Skywalker" seem to promise a film
that tries a lot of big things that may or may not
pay off for "Star Wars" fans, but it does its best
to close out such a long saga.
Now the actual reviews for "The Rise of Skywalker"
are gonna be dropping very early on Wednesday morning
and you can bet your last Republic credit that
we can't wait to see what those have to say.
Make sure you head to Nerdist.com at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time
to see what we had to say about it.
But in the meantime, what do you all think?
Do these tweets have you hyped for "The Rise of Skywalker"?
What trilogy of "Star Wars" films is your fave and why?
And were you on board for "The Last Jedi" or not?
Let's discuss.
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(electronic outro music)