Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 18, 2020

A few 'Star Wars' universe spoilers appear throughout this review.

The Rise of Skywalker, the ninth and final film in what has become known as "The Skywalker Saga," returns the franchise from an off-course outing in fairly spectacular fashion. Beyond simply ending the nine-film, four-plus decade journey into and through a galaxy far, far away, the film is in many ways about reconnecting with core Star Wars audiences by correcting some of the structural and narrative wrongs from The Last Jedi. More on those later, but suffice it say that Writer/Director J.J. Abrams, who also performed those same duties on the highly regarded The Force Awakens, takes the material seriously, giving fans a more grounded, recognizably structured, cadenced, and characterized film that is strong with the force.

Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), long thought dead following the battle of Endor, lives. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), supreme leader of the First Order, seeks to destroy him, hoping to consolidate the powers of the Dark Side firmly within him. But when the young Ren arrives to kill the aged Emperor, he is promised control of a new Empire, more powerful than anything the galaxy has ever seen, as well as the title of Emperor. That is if he can kill Rey (Daisy Ridley) and finish off the Jedi once and for all. Meanwhile, a First Order spy has given vital information to the Resistance confirming Palpatine’s return and the construction of the Final Order fleet, an uncountable number of Star Destroyers each outfitted with planet-destroying weaponry. Intel places the Emperor on a mythological world called Exegol, “The Hidden World of the Sith.” Unfortunately, it doers not appear on any star charts but Rey believes she can find it using Luke’s (Mark Hamill) own search notes, picking up where his search ended. She sets out with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and several other friends in search of the Emperor’s whereabouts with plans on putting an end to the war once and for all.

The Rise of Skywalker doesn't challenge the franchise's best films for supremacy, but there's no mistaking the movie's reach to truly put an end to this saga, even if some might feel Palaptine's return to be a reach in and of itself. But with Rian Johnson painting Abrams into a corner by unceremoniously undoing the Snoke storyline in Episode VIII without assigning any rhyme or reason to the villain, not to mention dismissing a number of questions and plot lines raised by Abrams' own The Force Awakens, it was imperative that some larger force be at play in the movie. Here, the Emperor is essentially the puppet master as he has been throughout the saga, beginning with grooming a young Anakin Skywalker to the dark side in the prequel trilogy, commanding Vader in the original trilogy, and now here revealed to be watching events unfold from afar and putting a plan in place to ensure iron-fisted Sith rule over the galaxy, finding use for both Rey and Ren as pawns in a high stakes scheme of command, control, manipulation, and domination. The movie broadly encompasses elements from the entire franchise, directly and indirectly, and even with rumors floating around the Internet (spoilers for this movie at link) of a radically different storyline originally conceived for the film, it feels perfectly reasonable to bring the franchise back full circle to the true power at the Imperial throne from the start. Besides, if Darth Maul can survive being cut in half and falling down a shaft, it's reasonable that the Emperor could withstand his fate, too.

Central to this movie and central to The Force Awakens but dismissed out of hand (though not poorly, for what it's worth) in The Last Jedi is the plot point of Rey's origins. Johnson ascribed to her no significant origin story in Episode VIII, with Ren proclaiming her to be a nobody from nowhere, born of parents with no special powers or reason to stand apart from anyone else in the galaxy. Her rise to power as a Jedi, then, was essentially a bridge to that movie's overarching theme which posited that the force exists in everyone, that it is not some pick-and-choose power that inhabits a select few, stronger, obviously, in some more than in others. Here, her origins and her fate tie directly into the story. With this, and by doing several other things, from relegating Rose to but a handful of lines and returning Luke Skywalker to a place of prominence more in-line within character parameters and audience expectations, Abrams essentially renders the entirety of The Last Jedi moot. Is there anything in that movie, beyond the growth of Rey's powers as a Jedi, that ultimately means anything now that the whole picture has been painted? Not really. It's odd to call the last film in a nine-film saga a "course correction" but that is essentially what this is. The Last Jedi won't be remembered as Halloween III in terms of truly "in name only" franchise entries, but it certainly feels like the least "necessary" film in the canon, a title previously bestowed upon The Phantom Menace.

This film also marks the high point for the franchise in terms of technical construction. Now that the saga is complete, it's interesting to watch its evolution from analog to digital to the seamless merger of the two. The original trilogy, of course, relied heavily on miniatures and practical set pieces and props to build the illusion of galactic conflict. The prequels bet heavily on what is now comparatively crude digital animations and antics, with The Phantom Menace in particular a playground for what was in 1999 groundbreaking technology. These latest films blur the line between real and digital to the point that there's essentially nothing in the movie that stands out as obviously fake or manipulated. It's a stunning achievement of seamlessness in great complexity. The Rise of Skywalker also features one of the most riveting lightsaber duels in the franchise. The best still arguably remains within The Phantom Menace -- it's almost impossible to top Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon versus Darth Maul -- but audiences are in for a treat when Ren and Rey duel above a familiar world's ferocious waves and atop the wreckage of an iconic Star Wars locale. The space battle at film's end can't match that from A New Hope for dramatic intensity, but it sure does look pretty, as gray as it may be.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

The Rise of Skywalker's 2160p/HDR UHD immediately fixes the most glaring Blu-ray weakness, light blacks behind the opening crawl and across the first shot. The familiar yellow text is a bit more subdued here but very effective in pop and over the inky star field. Black level improvements are also noted in chapter 13 when Kylo Ren, clad in black, telepathically communicates with Rey while standing in a bright white room. Both his costume and the star field through the porthole are much more deeply pronounced on the UHD, and it's also perhaps the best example of white balance betterment in the entire movie; this is a more pure, intense white compared to a flat, creamy color on the Blu-ray. The picture is by-and-large perfect. Color saturation and tonal extension are terrific, from densely colored natural green during Rey's training early in the film to the bleak grays that dominate much of the film's third act. 3PO's golden body is a more sublime, thoroughly saturated color. Lightsabers dazzle with newfound intensity over the Blu-ray and high yield luminance that allows the beams to leap off the screen as the most dominant tonal force in the movie, followed closely by hyperspace light and Palpatine's lightning. The image is not as bright as the Blu-ray, but it's more accurate with improved overall depth and nuance. It's very pleasing beginning to end.

Textural improvements are surprisingly not as dramatic. While grain is more natural and more flattering (though it's unproblematic on the Blu-ray) and overall image clarity and sharpness are improved, there's not a night-and-day difference here. The picture enjoys more thorough filmic stabilization accuracy as well as generally crisper and accurate details, but the improvements are more fine than they are far-reaching. Viewers will note improved clarity and steadiness to wear and tear on robots and Resistance fighters, more intimately revealing skin and hair elements on humans, and sharper environmental elements, ranging from sandy deserts to dense jungles, from the weathered Falcon interior to slick and smooth First Order bridges and meeting rooms. Make no mistake, the UHD improves on the Blu-ray's resolution limitations, but even at native 4K the differences are not dramatic, albeit vital in the big picture. Source and encode flaws are entirely absent when viewing from normal distances. This is the best way to watch The Rise of Skywalker at home.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, it's immediately obvious that this Dolby Atmos soundtrack is in dire need of an upward volume adjustment from calibrated reference levels. Once there, the presentation largely evens out and even approaches "knockout" levels of sonic satisfaction. Bass is not wanting as the Emperor lifts his fleet in the opening moments; the rumble is impressively intense and stage saturating, marking the first truly exciting listen in the movie, even beyond the familiar Williams refrain to open the film, which does sound puny without the volume turned up. Music throughout pleases at adjusted levels, boasting rich instrumental detail and well dispersed but front-dominant stage saturation. There are a number of impressive subwoofer pronouncements, including again when another Star Destroyer enters a planet's atmosphere at the 53:56 mark, causing quite the rumble and stir from within a structure. Action scenes are intense, with endless movement and seamless directional accuracy; listeners can trace a number of objects as they maneuver through the listening area, whether one-off examples of a TIE Fighter or the Falcon screaming through or a symphony of action in the finale when First Order and Resistance ships zoom around and shoot at one another in orchestrated frenzy. It's highly enjoyable and the added fullness created by the top layer only adds to the excitement. The top end also chimes in with a few obvious discrete effects too; listen at the 1:39:00 and 1:58:00 marks for a couple of the best examples. With faultlessly reproduced dialogue also in play, this track never fails to impress; just turn it up.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disney's UHD disc for The Rise of Skywalker contains no extras, but one of the two included Blu-ray discs is home to plenty, including a feature-length documentary. There is also a digital exclusive extra entitled The Maestro's Finale. A Blu-ray copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• The Skywalker Legacy (1080p, 2:06:11): The supplementary package highlight. This feature-length documentary not only explores the making of The Rise of Skywalker in great detail but also dives deeply into franchise history and lore, intermixing making-of takes from throughout the saga that complement Episode IX's creative story, with emphasis on the original trilogy and the latest trilogy. While the program is divided into 16 chapters, there are no titled "chapter selects," so to speak.
• Pasaana Pursuit: Creating the Speeder Chase (1080p, 14:16): An in-depth look at the making of one of the film's biggest action sequences.
• Aliens in the Desert (1080p, 5:59): Returning to another desert location for parts of The Rise of Skywalker, shooting in Jordan, building a small community to support the production, and exploring the part the location plays in the movie.
• D-O: Key to the Past (1080p, 5:33): Exploring a key ship new to the latest trilogy.
• Warwick & Son (1080p, 5:37): Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Return of the Jedi, returns to play the character in The Rise of Skywalker alongside his son, Harrison.
• Cast of Creatures (1080p, 7:46): A fun look at the the role creatures play in the saga as well as applauding those who build and perform them.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Duel of the Fates might have been a better title for Episode IX, but would it have been a better movie than The Rise of Skywalker? Who knows, but Abrams has salvaged the final trilogy from a disappointing Episode VIII by essentially ignoring and negating it, much as Johnson did Abrams' The Force Awakens. It's sort of like its own lightsaber duel between movies, with the better films winning out. Maybe Colin Trevorrow's never-materialized version would have worked better with a superior middle movie, but with so much wreckage to salvage Abrams has done a masterful job of resurrecting the trilogy for its final bow. Disney's UHD is strong with the force. The Atmos audio definitely needs a volume boost but works nicely at well above calibrated reference. The 2160p/HDR video is great and the supplements are world-class. Highly recommended.