Following a pair of screenings that took place earlier this week, the first reviews of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are online. Based on what’s out there, it’s not everyone’s favorite.
At the time of report, Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a score of 57 percent for the film with 151 reviews. However, that’s not the lowest of the Star Wars franchise. Episode I: The Phantom Menace sits at 53 percent. And it’s way higher than the feature-length Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, which is at 18 percent.
SuperHeroHype’s review for The Rise of Skywalker went up earlier this morning. In it, Luke Y. Thompson considers it a grand-scale finale.
“Yes, some secondary threads could easily inspire continuations in the future. But if it ends here, the Skywalker saga can rest easy in the Jedi afterlife, knowing a good ending was had,” wrote Thompson.
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Over on Vital Thrills, Jenna Busch gave the film an equal amount of praise.
“Overall, this film is satisfying. It was the first word I thought of when I left the theater. As someone who has spent most of my life loving this franchise, with a career that has been often based around it, I left happy.”
Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers gave the film high marks, even with its imperfections.
“Flaws and all, The Rise of Skywalker is part of our film history and, when Rey and Kylo seize the screen, an indelible part of our hearts.”
RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico wasn’t as in love with the film as other critics, but still liked it quite a bit. “It’s easy to digest, but not that filling or memorable.”
But alongside praise, The Rise of Skywalker also has its fair share of naysayers. A.V. Club’s A.A. Dowd voiced negativity with the film, saying it relies heavily on fan service.
“This is a space opera animated not by joy but insecurity—the anxiety, evident in almost every moment, that if it’s not very careful, someone might feel letdown.”
Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson agreed, saying, “If The Force Awakens kicked off a new cycle in the franchise and The Last Jedi set it up to push beyond its familiar patterns, The Rise of Skywalker for the most part runs screaming in the other direction.”
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And finally, Collider’s Matt Goldberg calls the film “a piece of junk.” In his review, he states, “It feels like we’re going through the motions of a Star Wars movie, but with a complete unwillingness to take any chances there’s nothing surprising or exciting. The only spark of life is when the movie stumbles into yet another idiotic reveal.”
None of this is likely to impact The Rise of Skywalker‘s opening weekend. Fans will get to make up their own minds when preview screenings start on Thursday, December 19.
Will you see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it opens? Let us know in the comments below!
Recommended Reading: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
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