The best and worst of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best: Rey

Rey was the Luke Skywalker of the new trilogy. No one expected the scavenger to be the chosen one, but she was. Rey became the first female lead of the Star Wars films and has been inspiring fans ever since. Seeing her overcome her heritage and the Kylo Ren-sized barrier in the finale was emotional. She was doggedly determined – not to prove herself to anyone, but to save the galaxy. She made mistakes, but she got back up again. Rey didn’t forgive herself when she went wrong, but she backed her play because her friends believed in her.

Yes, everything in the film was over the top, yet there’s nothing more exciting than seeing Rey beat the odds to do the impossible. The scene on Pasaana, where Rey is attempting to outrun Kylo’s ship, was made to make viewers doubt her abilities. We needn’t have worried, as we see that Rey is a force to be reckoned with. Even when Rey is up against the Emperor and seems to be giving in to his demands, she trusts her gut and uses the power of the Jedi to beat him. In the end, Rey is the one who fulfills the Jedi prophecy of bringing balance to the Force. She ends the darkness and rises as a new Skywalker.

Worst: Also Rey

Many people are upset that Rey ended up having a known lineage, but that was inevitable. Her connection to Palpatine was an Easter Egg in The Force Awakens; her lightsaber technique was exactly like Palpatine’s in the prequel trilogy. She’s still a nobody, but with the added disadvantage of having the Dark Side flow through her. Unfortunately, Rey being defined by her feelings for the men in her life was carried over into this film from The Last Jedi, and that does her character a real disservice.

But how it played out was expositional and an exact copy of Return of the Jedi. Even in the run-up to the final confrontation, there were issues with how Rey’s character development kept see-sawing. There are only so many times you can watch a character recklessly rush into a fight before it gets old. Every time Rey saw Kylo, she lost perspective and attempted to fight him. Their fight scenes were delightful to watch but, after a while, her actions began to look ridiculous. The scenes looked like an attempt to show off Daisy Ridley’s skills rather than to allow the character to develop naturally through Ridley’s acting abilities. The creative team also relied heavily on the white saviour trope. Chosen ones are annoying enough, but Rey didn’t have to be the only hope. Even Luke wasn’t.