Disney and Lucasfilm's final entry in the fabled and epic Skywalker space opera saga has been out for a little bit now and, needless to say, people are divided on it. When it comes to the critics, they are largely giving it a mixed reaction. As for the fans, user ratings on Rotten Tomatoes have been kind to it, and definitely more so than The Last Jedi on the TV and film review site, but on places like IMDb, it is much more mediocre.
Some long-time Star Wars fans are enjoying The Rise of Skywalker while at least just as many are feeling disappointed with the way the 40-year-plus old saga has been concluded with people debating whether it did the Skywalker saga justice. Here are five reasons why it did contribute to it and five why it held the saga back. Major spoilers ahead.
10 Contribution: Ben Solo's Destined Redemption
The ultimate redemption of Kylo Ren, or Ben Solo (also the last living Skywalker after Leia's death), might come off as totally predictable to some and especially to those who have seen the original trilogy, but that does not mean that the character's redemption is a bad thing.
The fact that Ben ultimately came back to the light (more on how he came back was a contribution later on) felt largely appropriate to the character. His return to the light side of the force and his final life-giving act was fitting in a tragic way.
9 Held Back: Ben's Minimized Role
On the flip side, while Ben Solo as the last living Skywalker had his fitting return to the light side of the Force, how he was utilized from the time his redemption arc of the story started to the end of the movie was underwhelming. Overall, this story and film, as well as the whole sequel trilogy, should have been equally about Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and Rey.
However, the vast majority of the overall story felt like it was unbalanced in Rey's favor. Not that Rey is a bad character or anything but Ben is arguably the most interesting and tragic character of the sequel trilogy and deserved a 50/50 share of the story. After he was redeemed, he was left with a lone "ow" as his final line.
8 Contribution: They Didn't Make Rey A Blood-Related Skywalker
Surely, many fans were concerned toward the early parts of this sequel trilogy that Lucasfilm were going to take the easy way out of sorts in on of the biggest plot points of the story--Rey's history--by simply making her a Skywalker.
Of course, The Rise of Skywalker and the rest of the sequel trilogy is part of the greater Skywalker saga, but simply making Rey a bloodline Skywalker would have been far too easy and predictable. As discussed, predictability isn't always a bad thing as long as it is fitting for the story, but here it wouldn't have been necessary.
7 Held Back: Luke Skywalker's Minimized Role
By far one of the boldest--and most controversial--decisions made throughout the entirety of the 40-year-plus Skywalker saga was killing off the legendary Luke Skywalker, son of the Chosen One, in Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. Many probably hoped that since "no one's ever really gone" that he would still have a sizable role to play in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
Instead, Luke was given a minimal role to play in guiding Rey while at least some, if not then many, likely would have liked him to become the Yoda to Rey in Force ghost form or be the catalyst for Ben to turn back to the light. One would think in this about year-long time jump that she would have traveled to Ahch-To to seek his training instead of going about it in part by herself with some help from Leia.
6 Contribution: The Rey Palpatine Twist
Perhaps some thought that this revelation was at least somewhat out there, but most cannot deny that it was shocking to say the least. In that respect, The Rise of Skywalker succeeded in delivering one more big twist to the Skywalker saga. This also ties into the earlier pro, or contribution this film made to the Skywalker saga as a whole, that Lucasfilm did not take the cheap way out by making her a bloodline Skywalker.
Some out there even speculated she might even be a Kenobi. While that may have been interesting to see how it would play out in the minds of fans and critics, making her related to the villain is an entertaining twist if nothing else.
5 Held Back: No Role for "The Chosen One"
A lot of fans suspected, and even expected, for the one Chosen One who was born of the Force in order to bring balance to it would have some role to play in the finale of the Skywalker saga. But, alas, those expectations were not met. Aside from the brief line given to help motivate Rey to rise up to Palpatine in the end, he was not seen or given any significant role in the film.
While the cameo of Harrison Ford as Han Solo was heartwarming as Ben turned back to the light, it might have been more appropriate since they were on the site of the Death Star for Anakin Skywalker, the man Ben idolized for the wrong reasons, to talk some sense into him.
4 Contribution: The Return Of The Saga's Main Villain
Surely, one of the main flaws within Rian Johnson's eighth episode, The Last Jedi, was that it killed the supposed main antagonist Supreme Leader Snoke far too prematurely. There was so much the fans did not know about the late Supreme Leader of The First Order and fans would have appreciated some meaningful back story.
However, in spite of that particular flaw, it is rather poetic that, since this is the Skywalker saga after all, that the ultimate puppet master Sith lord came back to end with the Skywalker's final episode.
3 Held Back: It Retroactively Undid A Key Johnson Decision
While Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi struck the fan base in half in terms of who loved it or hated it (even though critics seemed to love it), The Rise of Skywalker could have respected Johnson's past decisions while still succeeding on its own.
While, yes, the Rey Palpatine twist was a fun shock to the story (as discussed earlier), it did so at the expense of Johnson's previous decision. While technically Rey's parents chose to be nobodies, they, in the grand scheme of things, were most certainly somebodies, thus making Rey's origins suddenly crucial.
2 Contribution: One Last Hurrah For Carrie Fisher/Leia
Fans of the Star Wars franchise all over the world were left in shock and despair when it was officially announced that Carria Fisher, actress who played Princess Leia, passed away in late 2016. Rumors swirled around the Internet that Leia was meant to have a much larger role in the sequel trilogy of the Skywalker saga, making her death even more tragic than it already was.
Given the circumstances, one contribution this film made to the saga was that it gave the character of Leia one more important role to play. After all, she was one of the catalysts for Ben's return to the light.
1 Held Back: Rey Acknowledging Herself A Skywalker
For those who enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker overall, this entry might be a little controversial. At the end of the film, Rey acknowledges herself as Rey Skywalker to an old woman on Tatooine who asked what her full name was. Make note, this entry is in no way suggesting that Rey hasn't earned the honor of being a Skywalker or being on the same level as the Skywalkers as she certainly put in the work over the course of the trilogy to make herself an honorary member.
But the issue is that she shouldn't have to be a Skywalker--or a Palpatine for that matter--to be an important character. She can literally make a name for herself independent of those two families if she wanted to.
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