When the folks over at Screen Junkies first sat down (probably remotely, given the COVID-19 pandemic) to discuss ideas for the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Honest Trailer, you have to assume that they had a pretty massive whiteboard filled with jokes. Where do you even begin when you have a film that has no shortage of behind-the-scenes drama and ridiculous expectations to go along with the fact that ‘Rise’ just isn’t a good film? (Even its biggest defenders will ultimately own up to the various shortcomings of the film.)
And don’t worry, Screen Junkies doesn’t take it easy on the film, presenting a seven-minute “trailer” going over just about every aspect of the Skywalker Saga finale imaginable. Hell, they even raise some issues that I didn’t even think about. (Who knew that C-3PO is the most consistent character throughout the nine films?)
As you might expect, there’s talk of ‘The Last Jedi,’ but that is limited to the fact that JJ Abrams was able to unite the folks that loved Rian Johnson’s film with those that hated it by giving them both something to be disappointed in. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, I suppose?
Obviously, when you talk about Honest Trailers, the bulk of the video is left to the actual issues with the film and less about the environment that surrounded ‘Rise of Skywalker’ during filming. Plot points such as the fake-out death of Chewie and the fake-out mindwipe of C-3PO are brought up, as is the fact that the plot revolved around finding a do-dad that was required to locate another do-dad, which is then used to locate Palpatine (clone?) for a big ‘Endgame’-esque final battle. Oh yeah, and there’s the glaring issue of Abrams once again reusing scenes of the Original Trilogy—this time, the final battle with Palpatine from the end of ‘Return of the Jedi.’
And let’s not forget the (nitpick) moment where the trailer points out that Daisy Ridley (clearly one of the best parts of the new trilogy) using a very similar face to express shock/disappointment/terror/etc…
You can watch the full trailer below: