Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Blu-ray Review
Summary: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is a much more enjoyable experience on Blu-ray, particularly its special feature that go beyond the film!
4.3
The end!
Okay… I’m an old school Star Wars fans and while the new trilogy have been more miss than hit, they are still okay popcorn movies. Now when I originally saw Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker at the cinemas, I left with mixed feelings and director J. J. Abrams was pandering to my generation with ties that we did not want. To see how to pander correctly, check out The Mandalorian and Star Trek Picard which are a perfect mix of homage meets modernity. Also, The Mandaloian is the best thing since slice bread! Happy Birthday Pedro Pascal!
While I didn’t enjoy Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker at the cinemas, I actually enjoyed it considerably more on Blu-ray that I believe was due to my lowered expectations. One glaring problem was the previous director Rian Johnson decided to ignore a large chunk of what Abrams created in The Force Awakens and in the third film, J. J. did the same but thankfully he re-established the links from the first film and to an extent, The Last Jedi as well.
The other issue was that the late great Carrie Fisher also died before filming that unfortunately forced its creators to use a mix of CGI and previously unused footage. This kind of worked, except for the CGI and I felt that less Carrie would have been more powerful because it just didn’t gel… RIP. Furthermore, while some plot lines get closure, some characters do take a back seat to the pantomime of Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo (Adam Driver) but somehow this works as the others are used to help progress the themes along.
Let’s get onto the spoilers! In the “final” film of the Skywalker saga, we learn that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who “died” in Star Wars Return of the Jedi has been pulling the strings all along and from beyond the grave as he somehow survived the explosion of the Death Star. As a result, he has been secretly building a mega-fleet and it’s up to the Scooby gang of Rey, Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) to stop this intergalactic maniac from reining chaos on the universe again. From here, we get lots of moody shots between characters, a reformed Kylo Ren, who also has a chat to the imaginary ghost of his father Han Solo, a pep talk from a force ghost Luke Skywalker plus an epic battle between Rey, Kylo and Emperor Palpatine himself.
We also learn that Rey is a Palpatine which is kind of gross because somewhere on the way, old Palpy hooked up to have a child. However even with all his power, wealth and his massive mega-fleet that made the Empire look like a handful of space crafts, this old devil gets his just desserts in classic Star Wars fashion.
Furthermore, all the action scenes feel like something out of Japanese action films because it’s definitely over the top and putting this aside, it’s a fun yet ultimately forgettable popcorn film that ends with Rey taking on the name of Skywalker where she is reunited with the force ghosts of Luke and Leia. Oh… Ian McDiarmid is awesome as Emperor Palpatine and his Zombie-like character is probably one of my favourite characters from the film besides Rey.
While not on the same level as The Force Awakens yet more enjoyable than the previous film, please plenty of enjoyable moments to be found along the way. Sure, the movie hops around like lightspeed and the acting is a little stagnant in some parts, it somehow still falls into place. While the ending is acceptable and expected, it does conclude the greatest sci-fi sagas of all time that looks and sounds spectacular on Blu-ray! Then you have the special features that thankfully give you a slightly better insight into the story, particularly some of the “unknowns” that were unfortunately absent in the film but addressed in the novelisation.
Final Thoughts?
Sure the reviews for Star Wars The Rise of the Skywalker were a hit and miss, if you can push aside your fandom and logic for a couple of hours, it makes for a fun night in that is more entertaining if watched with other equally minded individuals as yourself.
Available now on Digital, DVD, Blu Ray and 4K
Official Synopsis
Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
Special Features
- The Skywalker Legacy Documentary – The story lives forever in this feature-length look at the making of the movie
- Pasaana Pursuit: Creating the speedster chase
- D-O: Key to the past
- And more!
Blu-ray Details
| Directors | J.J. Abrams |
|---|---|
| Actors | Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Ian McDiarmid, Kelly Marie Tran, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell |
| Film Genre | Sci-Fi |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Audio | French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS Master Audio 7.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), English Audio Descriptive |
| Subtitles | English, Spanish, French |
| Running Time | 142 |
| Aspect ratio | 2.39:1 |
| Region Coding | B |
| TV Standard | PAL |
| Rating | M |
| Consumer Advice | Science fiction violence |
| Year of Release | 2019 |
| Primary Format – Movies/TV | Blu-Ray |
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