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  • - [Dan] The first reactions to

  • "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" are here

  • and it's a mixed bag.

  • After 40 years and three trilogies of "Star Wars" films,

  • the Skywalker saga has officially come to a close.

  • At least for those who saw the movie at Monday's

  • red carpet premiere in Hollywood, Californ-I-A.

  • I can't believe they made me say that.

  • And those lucky few have shared their reactions

  • on the internet.

  • So we're here to break down those initial impressions

  • into the good and the not-so-good because, boy oh boy,

  • who woulda guessed a "Star Wars" movie,

  • people have thoughts!

  • Now since these are just reactions,

  • we're gonna keep this as spoiler-free as humanly possible,

  • but if they very thought of knowing if someone liked

  • or disliked a movie is something you consider to be

  • a spoiler, then godspeed in life.

  • And also, our hearts go out to you

  • because the road until the movie releases on Friday

  • is gonna be a rough one.

  • Honestly, stay off the internet if you're worried about it.

  • (hiss)

  • So, what did the people thing?

  • Did "The Rise of Skywalker," well, rise to the occasion?

  • Well, the reactions placed it all across the boards.

  • Some folks thought it was the best "Star Wars" movie ever!

  • Some thought it really had too much goin' on,

  • didn't quite stick the landing.

  • Definitely didn't Keri-Strug it.

  • Divisiveness in reaction to a "Star Wars" film,

  • I know, seems wild but here we are.

  • 40 years later, still doin' it.

  • Well, let's start things off on the positive end

  • of the spectrum with one of director J.J. Abrams' peers,

  • filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

  • She's no stranger to "Star Wars" herself.

  • J.J. consulted her for "The Force Awakens"

  • and her reaction to the film was a concise "Wow!"

  • Well, as Bill Shakesman once said,

  • "Brevity is the soul of wit,"

  • and yes, that was his nickname amongst friends,

  • just ask Marlowe.

  • Mashable's Angie J. Han had this to say,

  • "'The Rise of Skywalker' is, um, a lot!

  • "Tons to love here, no shortage of crowd-pleasing

  • "moments and twists and cameos, but also quite a bit

  • "to thinking emoji.

  • "some faves: Jannah heart emoji, D-0 heart emoji,

  • "Finn of course heart emoji, and what a lovely send-off

  • "for our General Leia hearts emoji, rocket ship emoji,

  • "shooting star emoji."

  • Sorry again to the poor intern who had to transcribe

  • those emojis because they don't show up in the teleprompter.

  • Slash Films' Peter Sciretta offered even more hope

  • for "Star Wars" fans.

  • "'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' reaction:

  • "J.J. Abrams nailed it.

  • "He was able to bring a cohesive arc to this trilogy

  • "that feels like a fitting end to the saga as a whole.

  • "I'm so emotionally drained.

  • "'Star Wars' fans will be very happy."

  • Now far be it for us to argue on the internet

  • but will "Star Wars" fans ever be truly happy?

  • - Maybe.

  • - Depends on which kind of "Star Wars" fan you are.

  • Film writer Yolanda Machado said,

  • "So I'm not too surprised and at times I felt too much

  • "fan service was given, but 'The Rise of Skywalker'

  • "is everything and nothing that you're expecting.

  • "So I guess what my immediate reaction is:

  • "God I love this franchise

  • "and I'll miss the Skywalker saga."

  • Fandango's Eric Davis,

  • "Epic.

  • "All of it.

  • "'The Rise of Skywalker' is a terrific finale that is

  • "just stuffed with so much of everything.

  • "Action, adventure, answers, humor, heart, love and grit.

  • "I spent the entire second half with tears in my eyes,

  • "a wonderful way to end the Skywalker story."

  • And best-selling author Roxane Gay had this to say,

  • "I really enjoyed 'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.'

  • "It offered a very satisfying conclusion

  • "to a 9-movie narrative arc.

  • "The strongest of the last trilogy.

  • "A few silly parts but overall, a damn good movie.

  • "Adam Driver was excellent.

  • "Better than he had to be.

  • "Fans won't be disappointed."

  • Now there must be balance in The Force

  • because among all of that lavish praise,

  • there were also those who voiced their misgivings

  • about the movie.

  • Such as Cinema Blend's Eric Eisenberg who said,

  • "There is good in 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.'

  • "But there is more that is disappointing.

  • "There are a number of choices that just don't track,

  • "fan service that doesn't work, and ignored details

  • "that are missed.

  • "I'm bummed."

  • IO9's Germain Lussier had this to say,

  • an enigmatic reaction, if you will,

  • "'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' has everything

  • "you want and more.

  • "Which I don't necessarily think is a good thing.

  • "I loved parts, I didn't love others,

  • "and I'm leaving the theater

  • "very, very conflicted about it."

  • And IGN's Terri Schwartz said,

  • "I've seen 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.'

  • "It's a lot.

  • "There's a lot I like and some I loved

  • "but overall my feelings are pretty mixed.

  • "It felt like an apology for 'The Last Jedi' in some ways

  • "and a sequel to 'The Force Awakens' in many,

  • "which I found frustrating."

  • And these sentiments about the film being a sort of,

  • atonement for "The Last Jedi" seem to be a through line

  • in many reactions.

  • Vanity Fair's Joanna Robinson said,

  • "If you loved 'The Last Jedi,' I have some bad news for you.

  • "If you didn't, then you might be pretty stoked.

  • "Shrug emoji."

  • The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan put it like this,

  • "'Rise of Skywalker' could only have been ruder

  • "to Rian Johnson if they had motion-smoothed it."

  • Yikes!

  • That is savage, my friend.

  • And just a reminder to everyone out there,

  • turn off motion smoothing on your family's TVs

  • when you go to visit for the holidays.

  • It'll truly be the best gift

  • you could possibly give them and yourself.

  • And some fella named Dan Casey--love that guy--

  • posted his reaction to Twitter.

  • What a handsome fella, and his tweet said,

  • "All I can say is 'wow.'

  • "'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' is many things:

  • "horrifying, hopeful, violent, low-key horny,

  • "and full of the right kind of fan service.

  • "But most of all, it's a fitting ending

  • "for this incredible, 40+ year-long saga."

  • Wow!

  • What an insightful young man.

  • Man, I really hope we hear more from that guy in the future.

  • Now, all in all, these first reactions to

  • "The Rise of Skywalker" seem to promise a film

  • that tries a lot of big things that may or may not

  • pay off for "Star Wars" fans, but it does its best

  • to close out such a long saga.

  • Now the actual reviews for "The Rise of Skywalker"

  • are gonna be dropping very early on Wednesday morning

  • and you can bet your last Republic credit that

  • we can't wait to see what those have to say.

  • Make sure you head to Nerdist.com at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time

  • to see what we had to say about it.

  • But in the meantime, what do you all think?

  • Do these tweets have you hyped for "The Rise of Skywalker"?

  • What trilogy of "Star Wars" films is your fave and why?

  • And were you on board for "The Last Jedi" or not?

  • Let's discuss.

  • Thank you so much for watching.

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  • theories, news and rumors in the pop culture world.

  • (electronic outro music)

- [Dan] The first reactions to

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