The highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is finally out, with the movie bringing 40 years of storytelling and world-building to a thrilling end. The blockbuster had the unenviable task of restoring faith among fans following the divisive The Last Jedi and, while it fails to live up to the standards of the original trilogy, it still gives us a satisfying end to the Skywalker story.
So we’re now going to look at the 11 main characters in the movie and rate them. Starting with the worst before getting to the best.
Palpatine
Disney has always insisted that it was always their intention to bring Palpatine back into the fold, 36 years after he’d seemingly died at the end of Return of the Jedi. But we’re not so convinced, with the character failing to display any of the same villainous traits that made him so iconic all those years ago.
He reveals he was behind Supreme Leader Snoke via cloning but there’s still much we need to be answered. Also, we still don’t know how he survived being thrown down the second Death Star. He doesn’t dispute that he died but doesn’t elaborate. All in all, he was underwhelming.
General Hux
It seems a long time ago that General Hux came across like an authoritative character. In The Force Awakens, he was the perfect bad guy, showing himself more than capable of being the sequel trilogy’s own Grand Moff Tarkin. In The Last Jedi, however, his character regressed.
And that’s the same for The Rise of Skywalker. Hux is revealed to be the mole but his reasoning (he wants to see Kylo Ren fail) is flimsy at best. He dies at the hands of General Pryde when it should have been Kylo himself to do the deed.
Luke Skywalker
Don’t get us wrong, it was brilliant to see Luke Skywalker return one last time. He is, after all, the poster boy of Star Wars and always has been.
However, his force ghost cameo was poorly executed. He gives Rey advice, raises his old X-wing from the watery depths of Ach’ To but doesn’t do a lot. It actually felt he was only in the movie because he has to be, with his part pretty insignificant when compared to what the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda did during the original trilogy.
Admiral Pryde
Richard E. Grant is a huge Star Wars fan, one who was thrilled to get a part in The Rise of Skywalker. But an actor of his caliber deserves better than what he got.
Admiral Pryde is a bad guy but his character only felt necessary because of how much General Hux had regressed in the last movie. It was cool knowing that he served Palpatine during the Clone Wars but, once again, he appeared to be a mere narrative device, whose sole purpose was to make sure the likes of Kylo Ren and Rey got to where they needed to be for the final act.
Leia Organa
It was always going to be difficult giving Leia Organa a huge send-off given that, because of Carrie Fisher’s death in 2016, Disney was going to use unused footage from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
So, all things considered, they did well with what they could. Leia is a good mentor to Rey, perhaps better than Luke Skywalker was. Her death is sad and sparks the sudden change in Kylo Ren, which was her intention. But Leia, like Luke, just isn’t the same character we saw during the original trilogy.
C3PO
In both of the previous movies, C3PO had been somewhat overlooked, with BB-8 instead getting much of the spotlight. However, with this being the final movie in the Skywalker saga, Disney decided to bring the character back into the fold.
And the payoff is great. C3PO is back to his likable, albeit irritating best and it’s hilarious when he has his memory wiped and meets R2D2 all over again. He’s also pretty vital for the plot, too, sacrificing his mind so they can read the writing on an old Sith dagger which leads them to Palpatine on Exogal for the movie’s frantic finale.
Chewbacca
Chewbacca was another character who had been forced to settle for minor roles in the previous two movies, and The Last Jedi in particular. And, though the Wookiee looks as if he’s been given a makeover in recent years, he was back to his fighting best.
It was great seeing him fight alongside Poe Dameron, Finn, and Rey and the moment where audiences think he’s dead is both thrilling and tragic at the same time. We’re glad they didn’t kill him off, too, and the sight of seeing him and Lando Calrissian back in the Millennium Falcon certainly gave fans reason to smile.
Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren was one of the best things about The Last Jedi and, while we believe he didn’t get quite as good a part in The Rise of Skywalker, Adam Driver does a superb job once again with the character.
Ben Solo undergoes another journey, He starts as Palpatine’s stooge, plots to betray the Sith Lord to obtain his Empire before then turning to the light side after being stabbed by Rey and an emotional exchange with Han Solo. He’s responsible for the biggest part in the blockbuster when he sacrifices himself to bring Rey, who had died as a result of her showdown with Palpatine, back to life.
Finn
John Boyega recently admitted he felt ‘a bit iffy’ about The Last Jedi but that he was much happier with Finn’s role in The Rise of Skywalker. And, having watched the blockbuster, it’s easy to see why.
Finn is at the heart of the movie, leading the Resistance on the battlefield while managing to help Rey keep the darkness at bay. Boyega’s chemistry with Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron is also brilliant, something that rivals the same chemistry between Luke Skywalker and Han Solo during the original trilogy. And we’re happy that Finn, after being marginalized in the previous outing, got a good role for the final movie of the Skywalker saga.
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron ranks above Finn because of how you can see he’s evolved since The Last Jedi. While he had his reasons in the previous movie, he was reckless, rude and stubborn, resulting in many innocent people losing their lives and making things extremely difficult for both Leia Organa and Vice Admiral Holdo.
But Poe here is willing to take on responsibility and every decision he makes is a good one. It was also great seeing him and Rey finally interact properly and his prowess in an X-wing is second to none.
Rey
Finally, after two movies, Daisy Ridley’s Rey delivers the best performance. She’s brilliant, outshining everybody else and it was great to see the big questions and mysteries surrounding her character finally addressed.
We’re still a bit unsure about her being a Palpatine and taking the Skywalker name at the end of the movie but, those things aside, Rey is the best thing about The Rise of Skywalker. We see both the light and dark within her - adding an element of balance to a character who had previously been portrayed as angelic. And we’re hoping that one day in the future, Ridley reprises the role like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher did.
