Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I am mindful that all of my children (and even some of my grandchildren) have seen this movie before me. So, hopefully, they cannot accuse me of giving away the ending of this 9th episode of a franchise that has been running for 42 years.

But, to be fair, the poster above does just that. (And it seems to echo the original Star Wars poster from 1977.)

Even though Carrie Fisher died three years ago, her presence is still visible on the screen. And Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca, the Wookie, died earlier this past year. Fortunately, he had a stand-in who admirably stood in for him. Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness bowed out years ago.

Otherwise, all the original gang show up in this final tale. That’s amazing on its own.

The formula, if I may be so bold, is the same one used by Steven Spielberg in his version of Ready Player One. An independent individual teams up with others to defeat an ‘evil’ Empire. It’s so true to the present situation in the world that one cannot help but think that this story of ‘good versus evil’ is somehow in our DNA.

Giving One’s Life for Another

The Power of Love. George Lucas envisioned his Star Wars movies to be a space version of Samurai warriors. The Force was always going to win in the end, but which side?

The Dark Side takes on a whole other dimension when we look at our true motivations. Let’s face it, most of us are not lily white on the inside. We are easily tempted to take short cuts, when the better way would involve hard work to correct our mistakes.

And no matter how much spiritual training we have, we will not know how we will react until faced with insurmountable obstacles. It’s the Hero’s Journey…

There are many examples of love in this movie: a parent’s love for their child; a love between friends; even the love for one’s enemy. That’s the whole point of this story.

The bond between Kylo Ren and Rey is so strong they can find each other even when at a great physical distance. They were destined, to work together, to potentially die together.

Love is the answer…