Star Wars: Every movie in the Skywalker Saga, ranked from worst to best

7. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The Star Wars fandom’s response to The Rise of Skywalker was almost as divisive as its reaction to The Last Jedi, and there’s good cause for the divide. While The Rise of Skywalker certainly does its job when it comes to entertaining an audience, it fails to take risks and it fails to deliver an emotional impact worthy of concluding a trilogy — much less a nine-film saga.

Don’t get us wrong. The Rise of Skywalker is a solid movie. The action and humor are well placed throughout the film, and it certainly serves as a love letter to the saga with all of its cameos and callbacks to previous movies. (And let’s not forget how it pays homage to Carrie Fisher.)

That said, there are just as many flaws in this film as there are strengths — and that’s why it falls so far down on our ranking system. Beyond the disappointing emotional impact of the film, much of the story feels rushed. Palpatine’s return — a major part of The Rise of Skywalker — is barely even explained, and Kylo’s redemption could have used a few more scenes to make it more believable.

There’s also the fact that Rose Tico was completely sidelined and that poor excuse for LGBTQ+ representation, but … we may just be nitpicking now.