Star Wars: Episode IX – Der Aufstieg Skywalkers

Im IMAX war es ein Knaller. Ein Weltall-Spektakel des Jahres, im intensiven Tempo, mit super (digitalen) Orten, einer delikaten Bewegung der Kamera und mit Nostalgie, die dadurch gefördert wurde, dass unerwartet alte Figuren erschienen sind. Bei der Abschlusskonfrontation spürte man die Kraft ähnlich wie bei dem finalen Widerstand gegen Sauron. Und schließlich fand ich auch an Daisy Ridley Gefallen. Die Enthüllung von neuen Identitäten von Altneugestalten verstand ich nicht so richtig. Weil ich mich aber nicht daran erinnere, was genau in der vorigen Episode passiert ist, war es mir egal (diese Trilogie halte ich nicht für einen Teil der geliebten STAR WARS, es ist nur ein kommerzieller Parasit). Die zweite Projektion fand auf einer wesentlich kleineren Leinwand statt, wo man nicht mehr die (Un)Ehrlichkeit gegenüber den Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauern übersehen konnte. Der Aspekt einer sinnvollen Geschichte hinterließ in mir einen negativen Eindruck. Es ist nur eine effektvolle Einweg-Bergfahrt, welche Besucher in den neuen SW-Teil von Disneyland locken soll. (24.12.2019)

About halfway through, it was an excellent, brisk fairytale that made sense and delivered a refreshing joke here and there. Without any irony, it was fine. But from the moment Rey's origins were revealed, it magically became a horribly stupid, bizarre, clichéd, clueless piece of idiocy that would have been beautifully parodied by Monty Python if they still were around. I suffered like an animal, hiding my head in my hands and counting the minutes until the end of the second half. When Finn says "I can feel it.", I had a fit of laughter; not joyful, but despairing, disbelieving at what I was seeing and hearing. I can't believe the pervasive pathos in the ending is the work of someone as clever as Abrams, didn't he maybe suddenly go on vacation and let Emmerich take control instead? I can totally see the brainstorming session of Disney executives gathered around the table, panicking about how best to blow it so as to avoid the miserable box office results of the eighth installment (an excellent one, by the way, I still stand by that). That one at least offered a bold detour, took things in its own way and unfortunately stumbled. So Disney has cowardly negated the whole thing, stood it on its head, nonsensically incorporated old themes and characters, and the result is the proverbial stew cooked by a dog and cat that makes your tummy hurt, and not even charcoal will help you. (21.12.2019)

The 4 billion acquisition must be great, but it's also the most expensive funeral in history for a pop culture icon who, in his eagerness to please everyone, has stagnated in place, and is pathetically floundering in the shit that zero dramaturgy and auteurist belligerence got him into. When I looked at my watch after an hour, the question of whether something was about to happen was inevitable. And then the floodgates of pathos, platitudes, and the easiest solutions were raised, where someone should have hit the table at the writing stage and shouted that nobody could take such a shit seriously. Instead, it ended up on the screen. Johnson may have disrespected the canon and boldly relativized all that this religion entails. Abrams respects nothing and the result is a ridiculous nothingness that lacks good characters and cool moments, making it look like a generic Marvel movie - obviously expensive, colorful, frilly - but lacking passion and any iconic monument for future generations. Burn in hell, Disney, and all of you who have anything to do with it! (19.12.2019)

I watched the 9th episode of Star Wars while knowing that it has bad ratings on this site. And I have to admit that I must slightly object. This movie doesn’t deserve bad ratings. It is evident that it deserves good ratings. The problem is not with the actors. We have been living with them for a few years already and among the newest ones, the closest to my heart are Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver. We can state that as a fact because the actors are simply good. Moreover J. J. Abrams is a certainty that considering the technical aspects, this movie would have adequate amount of tension as well as action. That I acknowledge with gratitude and I appreciate it. Considering this aspect, The Rise of Skywalker is quite decent. The problem with which everything rises and falls is the script. But what did you expect? I do admit that the screen writers could have omitted a few scenes. Not only do I have the feeling that all stormtroopers are black now, which feels like racism, but moreover I have a feeling that in nowadays Hollywood movies, there must be a black general, which also feels like racism. From time to time I had to close my eyes to be able to finish this movie but eventually I did finish it and I must say that it was more or less a good movie. Let us not lie to each other, this trilogy is not a world-wide breakthrough, so why should we judge it as such? It is just fine for 4 stars. (29.12.2019)

Disney reap what they sow, and it's not a pretty sight. Episode VII bet on nostalgia, so I've forgiven the new boring protagonists. Episode VIII took a different direction, but the studio found they didn't like where it went. So in Episode IX they try to fix everything from the previous film and we're with Rey, Kylo Ren, Poe and Finn for the third time and they're actually still utterly boring and empty characters. And now, as a viewer, I am supposed to be interested to see how they turn out. I just don't give a shit. J.J. Abrams isn't actually wrapping up a trilogy here, his main job is to clean up the mess that came from not knowing what they wanted at Disney. He may have done the best job he could, but that doesn't change the fact that whenever there’s no action and Rise of Skywalker attempts some emotion and relationships, it's awfully boring and annoying. The movie has no foundation to build on in that regard and out of desperation even has to make up new rules for how the world works. And yet it fails to evoke any emotion other than a sense of giant disappointment. The ninth Star Wars did succeed at something I didn't think could ever be accomplished. They stifled my enthusiasm for the franchise. I sure as hell hope not forever. (19.12.2019)

Der Fluch dieser Trilogie besteht darin, dass keiner der Bosse offensichtlich genau wusste, was er erreichen wollte. Sicherlich, der Siebener vertrieb elegant den faden Geschmack, welche von der zweiten Trilogie übrig geblieben war und erzählte der neuen Generation eine ähnliche Story wie die ursprüngliche Filmtrilogie. Dann kam jedoch Johnson und begann in Anbetracht der Ansicht, dass man bei Disney etwas mehr Mut wollte, radikale Entscheidungen zu treffen und Veränderungen durchzuführen. Er wurde jedoch von einer Hater-Welle weggeschwemmt, so dass Abrams als Fehlerfaltenbügeleisen zurückkehrt. Diesmal ging jedoch seine Wette auf einen sicheren Kandidaten nicht auf. Das Tempo des Filmes ist rasend, wobei er unter einer fehlenden Logik sowie einem Übermaß an Momenten der Art "Ich mache es, weil ich eine solche Intuition habe“ leidet. Es grenzt an Absurdität, wie die Drehbuchautoren jedes Problem mit einem knappen Entkommen sowie unklaren Motivationen lösen (und dann sehen wir nur noch traurig zu, wie die Ritter von Ren wie ein Haufen Volltrottel mit übergroßen Waffen durch die Galaxie waten) mitsamt der Erscheinung einiger alter kanonischer Charaktere, die jeden Flatuus der an Inkompetenz strotzenden Charaktere genehmigen müssen. Den Film killte Rey absichtlich, der Johnson eine überraschende Wendung gab, man weiß sich jedoch mit Nebendarstellern überhaupt nicht zu helfen. Ohne Kylo Ren glich der Sinn und Zweck der Trilogie null und hätte keinen dramatischen Bogen. Schon, der Streifen ist kompetent gefilmt, es ist schön, sich ihn anzuschauen. Doch der Zauber ist weg. Und das ist wiederum nicht nur das Ergebnis eines Fan-Service. Denn selbst das hat Abrams nicht gut hinbekommen. Es ist nun einmal ein auf Tatsachen basierendes Ergebnis, dass niemand weiß, was diese Trilogie nun eigentlich bewirken sollte. Außer dessen, dass sie Milliarden verdient hat. (20.12.2019)

The interesting thing about the Star Wars franchise is that I'm not into it on its own, but if a spin off (Solo) or a series (The Mandalorian) comes out, I'm downright excited, which is pretty weird. Again, I wasn't entertained at all, I didn't care about the characters, I didn't like the action or the practical effects, so I suffered through the classic two hour martyrdom. Story**, Action**, Humor*, Violence>No, Entertainment*, Music***, Visuals***, Atmosphere**, Suspense*. 2/10. (19.03.2020)

An undeniable roller coaster, where you jump at such a speed throughout this universe that I don't even have time to stop, admire, or absorb the atmosphere of the new location or the old one. At the same time, this naturally means that there's nearly two and a half hours of shooting, fighting, or explaining, and you never get a chance to catch your breath. Fortunately, what you learn in between the jumps works for me. I've had a weakness for Reylo from the very beginning, so I swallow up the development of their relationship and abilities with enthusiasm, and I would like to see even more. More than ever, the rest are just a supporting cast for this couple, but fortunately, they are truly funny and imaginative, especially Poe, because it's clear that Oscar Isaac is really enjoying this role. I was most afraid of the return of the old familiar villain, who has had enough presence throughout the entire saga, but luckily his presence makes sense in tying it all together with the new generation of heroes, and in the end you see that with his involvement, the going gets more than just tough, and if the plan fails, it will be the end of everything. And while things sometimes work out too conveniently or quickly, or the main characters are helped out by chance (the Force), that's how it is in fairy tales sometimes, and Star Wars has been a fairy tale with princesses, knights, and swords for over forty years – and it saddens me that those who call themselves true fans, unlike me, have forgotten this beautiful fact. Fortunately, the dreamer J. J. Abrams has a noticeably better memory. (23.12.2019)

With the end of the saga, the time has come to remember the man who started it all and who is only artfully recalled here and there so as not to be mentioned – see the nostalgic promo videos perfectly crafted by Disney's marketing team to create the impression that the saga now finally belongs to the fans and that the fans conclude it for the fans (thus Lucas is found there in the grand total of only one shot). It is fascinating how the corporation succeeded in cutting George Lucas, who had always been mentioned in the same breath with the franchise, off from Lucasfilm within a few years of acquiring the brand. Lucas was not only the creator, but also a malevolent god who does whatever he pleases with the films and ignores the prayers of the fanatical admirers of his work. This distant memory makes a refreshing impression today, when we conversely live in an era when marketing campaigns and the entire PR product are often more important, powerful and characteristically even more expensive than the blockbusters that they promote, and when the films themselves are made according to PR plans and not on the basis of any vision or ambition. How paradoxical it is that the cleverly designed return of the saga to the fans and, furthermore, the evident subordination to their taste gave rise to the most unforgettable and most unanimously panned film of the entire series. If the highlight of the series still remains the fifth (strongly atypical in the context of the whole saga) episode with its outstanding narrative structure, which perfectly alternates between the environment and the characters so that it never gets bogged down, then the ninth instalment, following the example of its hyperjumps, rushes to cram as many elements as possible into its monumental runtime. However, the resulting effect is merely a blur of colour from which nothing remains at the end of the closing credits. I vaguely recall that the ninth film nullified (seemingly) everything innovative and fresh from the previous episode and replaced it with nonstop fan service, which made even hardcore fans nauseous. But, as is the case with few films, you have to see it in the cinema, because you will not get the gradual disappearance of the crowd’s enthusiasm and incredulous cries and outbursts of desperate laughter anywhere else. Personally, I decided that I wanted Porgs, Ewoks, Jawas and Gungans to be present at the end of the saga, so I am 75% satisfied with the film. (22.12.2019)

So I've been kicking it around in my head and I’m going to stick with the highest rating. I got everything I'd expect from a new Star Wars installment, the original atmosphere wasn't compromised, and actually the whole thing was enjoyable to watch. I can understand diehard fans being annoyed that the filmmakers are accommodating the viewer so much, making the legend more readable for those who only come to the film by chance. But isn't that kind of a logical step? We can debate whether it's right or not. For me, it's a weaker 5 stars. (18.12.2019)

I actually left the cinema rather disappointed. I couldn't even properly tell what I thought of the film, but I wasn't enthusiastic. Sure, it jumped from one to the next and serviced what it could to please everyone, so even I found something there that I was happy with. Unfortunately, as a whole, it didn't work for me. The film doesn't let up and it doesn't really matter that much if you enjoy what's happening on screen, but I can't quite say I did. The first half is basically a diamond chase, then it jumps into drama, then it jumps into a battle, and we end with a big galactic party of forty people somewhere in the jungle. Perhaps there weren’t more people celebrating because they knew there was nothing to celebrate. In the end, I liked Ben the best out of the whole series because he was going somewhere. It's just a shame about the ending, it could have been better. I'm embarrassed and unsatisfied with the movie and I'm sorry because the second one had the potential to be something new, good, spectacular. In the end, I got bogged down and got nothing new or spectacular. Damn shame to end it like that. A weak 3 stars. (28.12.2019)

A high-octane rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Abrams is no longer afraid to choose his own path, but he has so little damn time and just one film in which to demonstrate all of his ideas. So he dishes them all out like french fries. The action scenes are great and the outcome is pretty interesting, but all of the sprinting and redundant fan-service takes away from the movie. (27.12.2019)

A dud. Not only is it impossible to see this as a worthy conclusion to the trilogy, because except perhaps for Episode VII, the films are so jumbled, inconsistent, and stylistically disjointed as to be woeful, but Abrams also fails in the purely filmmaking elements, where it doesn't matter if you're a die-hard fan of the original films or just a lover of sci-fi worlds. The acting is still pretty solid, but the screenwriting is a disaster full of clichés and clunky dialogue, and the jaw-dropping moments are few and only found by the end of the first half (the duel on the water). I hope this ordeal is over. This makes the fantastic technical aspect of this otherwise quite empty colossus all the more disappointing. (17.03.2020)

Ich bin ziemlich schlecht drauf… Verlegen… Die Episoden 7 und 8 mag ich wirklich. Als ich aber diese Episode zum ersten Mal gesehen habe, war ich enttäuscht. Beim zweiten Mal, wenn man weiß, worauf man sich da einlässt, ist es schon ein bisschen besser. Es ist aber immer noch kein besonders guter Film, den die Saga am Ende verdienen würde. In Das Erwachen der Macht habe ich alle neuen Figuren richtig lieb gewonnen. In Die letzten Jedi haben sie eine (ziemlich vielversprechende) Entwicklung durchgemacht. In Der Aufstieg Skywalkers haben sie mich jedoch kaum interessiert. Der Film scheint mir schrecklich schnell zu sein. Und obwohl ich aus der Star Wars - Welt mehr als die neun Hauptfilme kenne, mag ich es nicht, wenn folgendermaßen erzählt wird: "wenn du das oder jenes nicht aus den Büchern oder Comics kennst, beschwere dich nicht, dass du verwirrt bist“. Schon Darth Maul in Solo war grenzwertig. Es ist natürlich schön, dass die Filmemacher auch an die größten Fans denken. Manchmal hatte ich aber das Gefühl, dass sie nur an sie denken und dass die Geschichte immer sehr offen ist und nicht zu Ende erzählt wird… Der Film hat viele gute Szenen. Meiner Meinung nach gibt es aber auch viele "Jetzt-im-Ernst?“- Momente. Manche von ihnen sind bestimmt wegen dem Druck von lästigen Hatern entstanden, dem die Filmemacher nachgegeben haben, manche leider wegen dem vorzeitigen Tod von Carrie Fisher. Die Musik von John Williams und 3PO und Chewie, die wirklich rührend waren, sind wahrscheinlich die einzigen Dinge, bei denen ich keine Vorbehalte habe. (19.12.2019)

It’s sad perhaps that Episode IX works better as a stand-alone film than as the culmination of a (bloody) expansive story, but that was inevitable after Disney’s takeover. Episode VII worked on weakly recycled material that, in the style of the original trilogy, only served to present the potential core conflict of two mysteriously related characters; Episode VIII, in the hands of a new and confident director, developed the motifs in an impressive manner and boldly closed some of them, but the loud critical responses of fans from the pop-corn herd lead to the return of the original director, who, in the face of sure defeat, was afraid to follow the established plot and narrative mode of The Last Jedi. Thus, at the expense of the development of the story of the characters, he had to bring back a long-forgotten villain, who becomes the only driving force that moves the characters on the chessboard. And here we get to what bothered me the most in this film: it was not about what actually happened, but how it happened and the ways in which it was achieved. The principle of chance and a permanent Deus ex machina, the questionable decisions of the characters that only serve to speed up the story and keep it on its forced path, the copying of proven approaches from SW, due to which the ending is very shoddy in terms of motivations, and that the promising relationship of Rey and Kylo Ren can never escalate in a wholesome way. And yet, I was able to accept this old-new forced cliffhanger and get tuned to a fast adventure note, and in the end the climax didn’t irritate me. Unfortunately, they arrive to it very hastily and, doing away with the unwanted motifs, the only thing that stands out is the hackneyed concept of the desperate fight, but this time with a lousy villain and an awful intervention from an ill-conceived plot. At least, by borrowing the final one-liner before killing the villain from Avengers: Endgame, Disney admitted that The Rise of Skywalker served more to expand their toy line than to competently close the most popular film saga ever. Weak 3*, out of respect for the definitely surviving original characters, John Williams and for my final sympathy towards Rey and Kylo’s line. (24.12.2019)

Als eigenständiger Science-Fiction-Film ist es ein handlungstechnisch durchschnittlicher Blockbuster über den Kampf zwischen Gut und Böse mit einigen soliden Einzelideen und herausragenden Effekten, aber als extrem erwarteten Abschluss der neuen Trilogie (oder vielmehr der Serie aller neun Filme) ist es eine absolute Verhöhnung des Zuschauers und ein Beispiel für absolute kreative Hilflosigkeit. Es ist offensichtlich, dass von Anfang an kein Plan existierte, wie die neue Star Wars-Trilogie geleitet werden sollte, denn was sich der überschätzte Routinier J.J. Abrams und der überbezahlte Pfuscher Chris Terrio (unter anderem Drehbuchautor von Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, was Bände spricht) in diesem Film erlaubt haben, ist schlichtweg peinlich aus Verzweiflung. Das können selbst die optimistischsten Star Wars-Fans wohl nicht mehr schlucken. Im Vergleich zur schlampigen neunten Episode wirkt sogar die ganze verfluchte Prequel-Trilogie von Lucas, Episode I-III, wie ein vollständiges und konzeptionell durchdachtes Werk. Die dritte Trilogie werde ich ignorieren und insgesamt bin ich von Star Wars irgendwie genug. Danke, Disney! Pure Verzweiflung. (08.01.2020)

Die dritte Star-Wars-Trilogie ist zu Ende gegangen, und viele von uns fragen sich sicherlich, wo die Macht geblieben ist. Der Aufstieg Skywalkers hat die unangenehme Aufgabe, die letzte Episode einer Saga zu sein, die beim Publikum Erwartungen von vielleicht biblischem Ausmaß weckt, und jeder Fehltritt wird mit einer Welle von Hatern belohnt. Was die audiovisuelle Aufbereitung und die Action-Sequenzen betrifft, so handelt es sich um eine gute und im Allgemeinen klare Routine mit Schwung und Spannung (wovon es in der ursprünglichen Trilogie IV-VI allerdings deutlich mehr gab). Selbst nach dem dritten Film konnte ich mich mit Adam Driver nicht anfreunden, was sehr subjektiv ist. Andererseits habe ich mich über die kleine Rolle von Carrie Fisher und die Rückkehr einiger Figuren aus der ältesten Trilogie gefreut (hier habe ich mich gefragt, ob die Filmemacher sie nicht nur wegen des besseren Effekts dort platziert haben). Die Szene mit Palpatine war für mich wahrscheinlich die interessanteste von allen Sequenzen im Film - vielleicht, weil seine Figur schon eine Weile auf Eis liegt. Ich hatte ein merkwürdiges Gefühl, nachdem ich den Film gesehen hatte - einerseits war ich froh, dass die Saga zu Ende war (im positiven wie im negativen Sinne), andererseits bemerkte ich fast keine Emotionen in den eskalierenden, bewegenden oder plottwistigen Szenen, während ich den Film sah (vielleicht lag es an meiner besonderen Gemütsverfassung). Wie Diablo sagen würde: "Not great, not terrible." (20.12.2019)

Simply vacuous. Even in hindsight, I can't believe how bad Episode IX is. An uninspired and unimaginative movie with insanely confusing battles, bizarre dialogues, boring fights and, most importantly, a completely pointless story. It truly goes to show how Disney still have no idea what story they want to tell in the new trilogy. I struggle to find a single character whose fate would significantly matter to me. The fear of coming up with something new or doing something that would go against the viewers' expectations is painfully obvious here. There is not a single memorable moment. Nothing. The plot twists are far-fetched. It never occurred to me that the biggest saga the cinema had ever seen would end with such a sloppily narrated episode. (20.12.2019)