It’s opening day for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Rian Johnson wastes no time taking what might be a big jab at the film and J.J. Abrams.
Early critical reception for The Rise of Skywalker is not good, with most citing that the film panders to fan expectation at the cost of good writing.
The audience reception (on the other hand) is positive after the first screenings of the film, which’s a great move after fans were divided over Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
J.J. Abrams had a monumental task in front of him with The Rise of Skywalker. Not only did the film have to rejuvenate the fanbase and reassure them that Disney can handle the franchise in a way that respects their expectations, but he also had to wrap up a nine-film storyline with a solid plot.
It’s a big ask for the top-tier director such as Abrams.
The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson recently sat down with the Swings & Mrs. podcast for Radio.com and spoke about catering to fan expectations when making a film. Although he doesn’t directly attack The Rise of Skywalker, the timing of his quotes are all too convenient:
“I think approaching any creative process with [making fandoms happy] would be a mistake that would lead to probably the exact opposite result.
Even my experience as a fan, you know if I’m coming into something, even if it’s something that I think I want, if I see exactly what I think I want on the screen, it’s like ‘oh, okay.’
It might make me smile and make me feel neutral about the thing and I won’t really think about it afterwards, but that’s not really going to satisfy me.
I want to be shocked, I want to be surprised, I want to be thrown off-guard, I want to have things recontextualized, I want to be challenged as a fan when I sit down in the theater…
What I’m aiming for every time I sit down in a theater is to have the experience [I had] with Empire Strikes Back, something that’s emotionally resonant and feels like it connects up and makes sense and really gets to the heart of what this thing is and in a way that I never could have seen coming.”
The initial reviews aren’t bad but cite that J.J. Abrams played it a bit too safe, with the movie being a ‘happy medium’ between The Force Awakens and correcting the trajectory of the franchise after The Last Jedi.
It’s almost as though Rian Johnson knows what Abrams did with the franchise after his film and is a bit jaded. Johnson took a ton of big risks trying too many big changes in his film.
It’s o.k. that a Star Wars film plays it a little safe. The plot should be strong, but as the final Skywalker saga film, there should be a coming back together of fan-favorite characters from the entire franchise. If you look at any story this happens.
It isn’t a film that’s going to make everyone happy, but it should appeal to the core fans of the franchise. As long as that pays off, I’m sure the fandom will be just fine moving forward.
