Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: 5 Characters It Did Justice (& 5 It Didn’t)
The Rise of Skywalker, like it's predecessor The Last Jedi, appears to be rather divisive among fans. The blockbuster does a good job at bringing an end to the saga which, given how popular it is, was always going to be tricky. However, still, some aren't too impressed, accusing Disney of shortchanging them when it comes to certain characters.
We now take a look at five characters we think the movie did justice - as well as five we believe didn't get as big a role as they deserved.
10 Justice: Rey
Rey had been accused of being too powerful without reason in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, certainly lacking the same depth and scope as previous trilogy protagonists Luke and Anakin Skywalker. However, in the final installment of the franchise, she's given a deeper and darker role.
She nearly kills Chewbacca via force lightning which - pardon the pun - was a bolt from the blue. We were also aghast when we thought she'd murdered Kylo Ren during their duel on the remains of the second Death Star. And the reveal that she's the granddaughter of Palpatine was surprising, too. Overall, Daisy Ridley's character was at her best yet.
9 No Justice: Palpatine
Don't get us wrong, it was still brilliant to see Palpatine back. He's at his villainous best, pulling the strings without always being prominent and encouraging others to embrace the darkness within themselves.
Yet the reason we feel the movie didn't do him justice was the lack of explanation surrounding his return. Given how we thought he'd died in Return of the Jedi - a fact he doesn't even dispute himself - it would have made sense to come up with at least some reason as to why he's back. We also think he should have got more screen time, just like he did in Revenge of the Sith when Ian McDiarmid produced his standout performance of them all. Disney's failure to do this suggests a lack of imagination on their part.
8 Justice: Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren was possibly the best thing about The Last Jedi, with Adam Driver delivering a masterful performance. And Driver does the same in The Rise of Skywalker, nailing both the dark and light elements of the character.
For the first half of the movie, he's the perfect antagonist, chasing down the Resistance and Rey in particular with vigor. And when he becomes Ben Solo again, Driver is superb at doing things Han Solo does - from shooting without looking to arrogantly mocking his opponents. Our only complaint is that he dies but even that's done well, being genuinely emotional that he gives up his life so Rey can live.
7 No Justice: Jannah
Big things were expected of Naomi Ackie's character Jannah, particularly given her cool costume and the fact she had an intriguing past. There were even rumors before the movie came out that her character would actually be the daughter of Lando Calrissian.
But while she plays a key role in the final battle at the end, we thought she'd be involved more. Jannah only appears near the end of the second act when Rey, Finn, Poe and the rest of the gang travel to the remains of the second Death Star. We also thought the fact she was a former stormtrooper should have been used more - and that her relationship with Lando, teased at the end, should have been explicitly stated.
6 Justice: Finn
John Boyega has admitted he was 'a little bit iffy' about The Last Jedi. Fans, certainly, were unhappy with how Finn was shafted on a mission with Rose Tico while Poe battled his own ego within the Resistance and Rey attempted to turn Kylo Ren back to the light side of the force.
But Finn gets a prominent role in The Rise of Skywalker, even becoming General once Poe succeeds Leia as leader of the Resistance. He and Jannah are immense on the battlefield, wiping out Sith Troopers on Exogal and succeeding in stopping the entire fleet from wreaking havoc over the galaxy.
5 No Justice: General Hux
Back in 2015, when The Force Awakens released, General Hux was established as a loathsome villain - one to even rival Kylo Ren. It was he who destroyed the New Republic with the power of Starkiller Base and the pleasure he took from it was unsettling, to say the least.
But he regressed in The Last Jedi, becoming more of a comedic figure rather than imposing, and his slide to mediocrity is completed in this blockbuster. Hux announces he's the mole within the First Order in rather poorly-written circumstances and nobody is surprised when he's then consequently killed by Richard E. Grant's Allegiant General Pryde.
4 Justice: C3-PO
Up to this point, C3-PO had been in the background of the first two movies of the sequel trilogy, with Disney choosing to make BB-8 the main droid of this story instead.
However, the Star Wars icon is at the heart of the action this time around. He's with the gang when they travel to Pasana and his decision to sacrifice his memory helps the gang decipher the Sith Dagger and up the ante when it comes to fighting Palpatine and the Final Order. We're glad, too, because we were saddened by the reduced role of both he and R2-D2 in the previous two installments.
3 No Justice: Rose Tico
Rose Tico wasn't the best thing about The Last Jedi, sure. But fans had gone overboard in hating on the character, even bombarding actress Kellie Marie Tran with abusive messages on social media.
Unfortunately, it seems a consequence of the fan backlash is that Rose is very much on the fringes of things during The Rise of Skywalker. She isn't a significant player during the epic battle at the end and her only standout scene comes when she's talking with Leia on Ajan Kloss. There are rumors of a Disney+ show for the character but whether that happens is something only time will tell.
2 Justice: Leia Organa
It was always going to be difficult for Disney to give Carrie Fisher the perfect sendoff, with the decision made to use unused footage of her from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. And while she isn't heavily involved, we feel they succeeded in giving her one final appearance.
Leia's death is beautifully handled, with the Princess of Aladaran sacrificing herself in one last attempt at turning Kylo Ren back to the light. It succeeds, too, with Kylo having an epiphany and then becoming Ben Solo once again shortly afterward.
1 No Justice: R2-D2
While we're delighted C3-PO is heartily involved in The Rise of Skywalker, we can't say the same for R2-D2.
Once again, the droid is barely involved and it means that, across the sequel trilogy in general, he's just another table decoration. The only things he's done of note across the three movies is provide the final piece of the map to Luke Skywalker, show Luke an old message of Leia and restore C3-PO's memory. In our opinion, he should have been used more although, following the death of Kenny Baker, we can slightly understand why he may have been sidelined.