Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Parent Movie Review
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER REVIEW
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be in theaters this week. Is The Rise of Skywalker safe for kids? Will your family be able to see this final installment of the Skywalker saga together? This Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker parent movie review will help you decide if The Force (and fanservice) is with you. And if you are ready for spoilers, here’s a list of Jedi voices in Rise of Skywalker.
Table of Contents
What’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker About?
I’m keeping this section pretty vague to avoid potential spoilers. And I’ll update the Rise of Skywalker movie quotes post in a few days to keep things as spoiler-free as possible.
The Rise of Skywalker is the final installment to the Skywalker saga. The Resistance is down but not out as it rallies around General Organa one more time to take on The First Order. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, however, has other plans for the band of Resistance fighters.
Old and new friends join together to take on the biggest threat to the galaxy yet: The Final Order.
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 155 minutes
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review
Sometimes it’s hard to find the right balance when you are both fan and critic of a franchise. It’s kinda like- oh, I don’t know, the Light and Dark Sides battling within you.
As a fan, you want to love every second of the film. And you kinda do.
As a critic, you know there are issues that need to be called out.
So here I am, just a film Jedi standing before you trying to find my own balance in The Force to give a spoiler-free review of The Rise of Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker: The Fanservice Is Strong With This One
Ahhh, fanservice.
It’s a dirty word in some circles, and I can see where many in the Star Wars fandom will see this as a negative to this film.
For fans who love when their longevity and devotion are rewarded with callbacks and easter eggs, this movie just might be your most favorite movie EVER.
Because it’s absolutely stuffed with fanservice moments. STUFFED, y’all.
That was what made this movie so much fun to watch. Hey, once a fangirl, always a fangirl!
JJ Abrams gave us just about errrrything we could want from a fandom callback point of view. And most of it worked, even if it wasn’t necessary.
And y’all, just because it wasn’t necessary doesn’t mean it wasn’t a heck of a lot of fun.
I can admit I said, “No, no he did NOT!” by the end of the film because, well, there was a lot of fanservice packed into those final minutes.
But all of it gave me joy- nerdy, geeky joy- and I can’t wait to get a full list of Rise of Skywalker easter eggs pulled together after I watch the movie a few more times.
Cause it will take a few more viewings to catch them all.
What Doesn’t Quite Work In The Rise Of Skywalker
I think my main concern here was just how much was packed into this single movie.
Holy moly there are about 3 full-length movies here when it comes to the plot points.
There’s a lot of story to tell, and Abrams tries to shove it all in this one last film. I can’t say it’s a complete success in that regard.
Maybe that’s because the other two were set up poorly? Or because they were designed to come together like this in the end?
Only LucasFilm knows and they ain’t talking.
I don’t want to cross franchises and compare, but here I am doing just that.
Where Marvel successfully weaves their stories together seamlessly, Star Wars has always struggled. We can probably blame that on the 42-year span of the franchise to some extent, but Rise tries to shove a lot of answers into a small amount of time.
And it just doesn’t quite work.
We get those answers- but some of them are literally “I don’t know why or how that happened, but it happened!” moments. That’s not the actual dialogue, but, uh, it’s pretty close.
C’mon, man.
The good news is, ultimately fans should feel satisfied with the threads being knotted up into proper endings by the time the film is over.
Our Princess/General has a fitting and loving send-off that also grabbed my mom-heart and tugged pretty hard.
And the final battle scene? That big, huge, moment of moments?
Avengers: Endgame did it better. Sorry- not sorry- but it’s 100% true.
When Can You Pee During The Rise of Skywalker?
This is a fairly long movie and one you’ll probably be taking the kids to see. I like to add this section to my parent movie reviews, especially when they are over 2 hours long.
So when can you pee during the Rise of Skywalker?
As mentioned before, there’s a lot packed into this movie, so make it quick, people!
- When they arrive at the desert planet around 21 minutes
- When they leave the desert planet around 42 minutes
- When Rey gets on the Falcon around 1:05 minutes
But the first half of the movie is where you can more safely scoot out without fear of missing too much.
The Rise of Skywalker Parent Movie Review
Is The Rise of Skywalker safe for kids? What ages can see The Rise of Skywalker?
Star Wars parents: I know you. And I know you are going to take your kiddos to see this one no matter what the parent movie review says.
And I don’t judge or say I’m any different.
Is The Rise of Skywalker kid friendly? Here’s what you know before you head to the theaters with the youngest of your crew.
Is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Safe For Kids?
It’s pretty much on par with most Star Wars movies when it comes to violence and action. There are some heavier moments and some deaths, however, that could impact the more sensitive children.
There is no sex or nudity, though we do get some embracing and kissing before and after big battle scenes.
As far as language is concerned, Poe Dameron is the one to watch out for! He does let a few profane words fly- that I personally missed and was clued in by a friend!
So obviously, I didn’t feel they were excessive or even unwarranted. We’re talking hell or damn, not the F-bomb for example.
Kids over the age of 6 are good to go, in my opinion, as long as previous Star Wars movies are ok in your family.
And as long as sitting through a rather long movie is something a child this young can handle. Because that, my parent friends, is half the battle!
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Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
I liked the atmosphere, the graphic and musical component and the acting. Of the shortcomings of this film, I still single out a scenario that could be made more understandable, logical and realistic. But despite this, I was still relatively pleased with the franchise ending. But it’s only my opinion. Thanks for your great review!