It seems like the only thing Star Wars fans can agree on these days is how much they absolutely hate Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Whether it’s fans of Star Wars: The Last Jedi angry over J.J. Abrams walking back all of Rian Johnson’s decisions or fans who cringe at the idea of Rey declaring herself a Skywalker, the general consensus is that Rise is the weakest film in the entire Skywalker Saga. The thing is, if you’re willing to accept that the film isn’t perfect — and let’s be honest, no Star Wars movie is — there are plenty of things to enjoy about Rise of Skywalker.
Much like the equally maligned Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Rise of Skywalker may not work as a cohesive narrative, but certain aspects of the movie, when taken on their own, are good as anything else in the franchise. Though we know we’re setting ourselves up for backlash, here are our picks for 10 things that redeem Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
1) Palpatine’s Creepy Aesthetic
Putting aside whether the Emperor should have returned or not, the way he was depicted in Rise was truly chilling. The scenes featuring a rotting, zombie version of Palpatine are the closest the franchise gets to horror. J.J. Abrams surrounds Palpatine with mysterious Sith acolytes wielding equally mysterious Sith magics and forbidden rituals. The whole thing evokes an occult aesthetic that has never been seen in Star Wars before or since.
2) Babu Frik
Just when we thought Grogu was the cutest thing in the Star Wars universe, Rise of Skywalker goes and drops Babu Frik on us. The adorable little Anzellan is one of the highlights of the film with even the most ardent haters begrudgingly admitting their appreciation for the tiny droidsmith.
While ILM certainly deserves the lion’s share of the credit for bringing Babu’s puppet to life physically, Frik wouldn’t have been quite so popular without the voice acting talent of actress Shirley Henderson — Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter series.
3) The Citizens’ Fleet
In stark contrast to The Last Jedi, where nobody answered Leia’s call for help, Rise of Skywalker featured a makeshift navy of 14,000 ships assembled to help the Resistance fight their final battle. The Citizens’ Fleet isn’t is the very thing the pause button was made for. Comprised of countless Easter Eggs like Hera Syndulla’s ship, The Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels and Dash Rendar’s Outrider, the fleet is a veritable Where’s Waldo for Star Wars fans.
Is it blatant fan service? Of course. Does that make the Citizens’ Fleet any less enjoyable for Star Wars fans? Not as far as we’re concerned.
4) The Return of Lando Calrissian
Of course, the Citizens’ Fleet wouldn’t exist without the help of an old Star Wars mainstay, Lando Calrissian. Lando’s inclusion in The Rise of Skywalker seems like a no-brainer, but at the time, fans weren’t sure if the conclusion to Disney’s sequel trilogy would feature the aging scoundrel or not. Not only did J.J. Abrams bring Billy Dee Williams back to the Star Wars universe, he gave him an honor not bestowed upon Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, or Carrie Fisher: his character got to live.
5) Chewbacca Finally Gets to Grieve
Nobody loses more in the sequel trilogy than Chewbacca. In The Force Awakens, he’s forced to watch his best friend in the galaxy be murdered. In The Last Jedi, Chewy loses his longtime companion Luke Skywalker when the Jedi Master becomes one with the Force. Both times the Wookie is forced to continue fighting with no time to slow down and grieve his friends. When it’s Leia’s turn in The Rise of Skywalker, Chewbacca is finally in a position to let it all out, and boy does he.
The second Chewie hears that Leia has passed away, he drops to the ground and begins howling in pain. The strangled cries escaping from his throat carry the weight of not only Leia’s death but those of Han and Luke as well, as Chewy completely loses any sense of control and lets the grief overtake him.
6) The Visuals
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is constantly praised for its cinematography and is lauded as the best-looking movie in the entire franchise, and while the movie is visually appealing, so is its sequel. Rise of Skywalker receives almost none of the praise for its visuals that The Last Jedi gets, despite being just as beautiful. From Rey and Kylo’s breathtaking duel on the wreckage of the Death Star II to Exegol’s haunting atmosphere, Rise is an utter joy for the eyes from beginning to end.
7) Ian McDiarmid’s Performance
Any prequel fan can tell you Ian McDiarmid as Sheev Palpatine is one of the best performances of the whole trilogy. His scenery-chewing approach to mustache-twirling villainy is unmatched by any other Star Wars actor. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that McDiarmid brings that same energy to Rise of Skywalker.
The veteran actor fluctuates between soft-spoken old man attempting to lure first Kylo Ren and later Rey to his side and the cackling maniac Star Wars fans have been in love with ever since he was introduced in 1983’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. With all due respect to all of the other actors, Rise of Skywalker is McDiarmid’s movie; everyone else is just acting in it.
8) Han Solo’s Non-Force Ghost
Of all of the cameos in Rise of Skywalker, Harrison Ford’s was the most unexpected. After all, Han Solo isn’t a Force user, and usually, those are the only Star Wars characters that ever appear as ghosts. Ford isn’t a ghost, though — at least not in the literal sense — but rather a figment of Kylo Ren’s memory.
That figment gives Ren the assurance he needs to throw away his dark persona and find his way back to the light as Ben Solo. While the reunion between father and son is short-lived, it manages to feature one of the saddest moments in the entire sequel trilogy. As a remorseful Ben struggles to tell his dad the one thing he never said to him in life, Han says the same two words he did to the boy’s mother years before: “I know”. Cue the waterworks.
9) Leia As A Jedi
It may only be a brief flashback, and it may star a weird-looking CGI Carrie Fisher, but Rise of Skywalker features the only scene in the entire saga of Leia Organa as a Jedi. Fans of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, now known as Legends, know that Jedi Leia has been appearing in books since the early ’90s. However, those fans who only know Star Wars from the movies have been waiting since Luke first told Leia of her Force-sensitive heritage in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi to see the former Princess pick up a lightsaber and embrace her true potential.
Thanks to Rise, those fans finally got their wish, even if it wasn’t under the most ideal circumstances.
10) Ben Solo vs The Knights of Ren
Light side Ben Solo only gets about 10 minutes of screentime all told, but that’s more than enough time for a fight. Finally wielding the Skywalker family lightsaber he so coveted, Ben Solo goes all out in a one-v-six against his old lackeys, the Knights of Ren. It’s a short but sweet battle. Adam Driver flexes his acting muscles by giving Ben Solo a fighting style distinct from Kylo Ren’s that’s still somehow familiar. Fans didn’t get to spend much time with Ben Solo, but what we did get was pretty awesome.
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